squirrels, keara and community

there are so many lessons to be learnt and so little time to learn them.
yesterday i found my way to a place they call the beaches. it can't really be a beach coz toronto is no where near an ocean. but it is near a gigantic lake. anyway, i went there, on my own, and really enjoyed it (i would have found it disappointing if it hadn't been explained to me that the beaches are not real beaches, if i hadn't known that i would have been disappointed). i was sitting there, in the sun, reading my book, when i talked to a man who had sat down next to me. it was something so small and simple. yet, when i got up and left i was thinking about whether things like that really can make a difference. something so small. i decided yes. then something freaky happened - i saw a pretty looking grey squirrel. so what you may say. something so small. does that really make a difference. i'll explain. since i have arrived in regent i have only seen little black skanky looking squirrels. i think God was telling me something.
this afternoon i was involved in a squad. where we hang out with the kids from regent. i think i've mentioned squads and their purpose already. anyway. i was walking keara home. she and i connected instantly when i first met her. she's got some stubborness about her - mum and dad may say i was something like that when i was small. but still, she's just a little girl who wants to be loved and cared for. anyway, i was giving her a piggy back when she wanted to get down and get a dandelion to make a wish. she got down and went and picked one for her and me. we both made our own wishes. i said to her, you know what i think is cool, she said what, i said that whatever i wish for i can tell God about. she goes yeah i know. then she ran off and picked about 10 more. she bunched them altogether and came back to me. she grabbed my arm. let's make a wish together. i said ok. she said let's wish that God will talk to us. i said that's a great wish. and together we blew on the dandelion. it was a very precious moment.

to finish with a thought about community, zoe and sandra have these posters on their walls. i like it...

How To Build Community

Turn off your TV
Leave your house
Know your neighbours
Look up when you are walking
Greet people
Sit on your stoop
Plant flowers
Use your library
Play together
Buy from local merchants
Share what you have
Help a lost dog
Take children to the park
Garden together
Support neighbourhood schools
Fix it even if you didn’t break it
Have pot lucks
Honour elders
Pick up litter
Read stories aloud
Dance in the street
Talk to the mail carrier
Listen to the birds
Put up a swing
Help carry something heavy
Barter for your goods
Start a tradition
Ask a question
Hire young people for odd jobs
Organise a block party
Bake extra and share
Ask for help when you need it
Open your shades
Sing together
Share you skills
Take back the night
Turn up your music
Turn down the music
Listen before you react to anger
Mediate a conflict
Seek to understand
Learn from new and uncomfortable angles
Know that no one is silent
Though many are not heard
Work to change this