Beauty in the Rubble

In life we often have to loose to gain in order to find a greater appreciation for what we have. If we patiently took inventory of what we have ;we might discover we have everything we need to be successful. Some of the greatest treasures can’t be bought with money. Instead , our greatest treasures could be the most simplest things around us.

I absolutely enjoy taking what others consider garbage and turning it into something powerful and encouraging. The piece I’m sharing was simply garbage. It was folded and placed in a waste basket. The message was so strong upon the page. I couldn’t dare let it be thrown away. I began to take my scissors to savage what I could. I then took white out to cover the dark spots on the page. After that, I took a large piece of cardboard and cut it to the size I needed. There was still something missing, so I added simple butterflies that I took from an old tangled necklace. The necklace had been hanging on my mirror for months. I knew one day those butterflies would serve a greater purpose. I didn’t know that simple project would encourage so many children, during a time everything they had was lost in the rubble.

I found such joy in the collaboration of the metal and paper creating such a simple, but inspiring piece. When we have an attitude of gratitude it changes everything about us. It gives us new vision on how we see the sunrise each morning. It gives us a new understanding that things could be much worse . An attitude of gratitude allows us to give appreciation to the birds that sing. We begin to find a rhythm with the rain and storm.

It important to understand that somebody is praying for what we often complain about. The happiness within me comes from a place of gratitude. I refuse to take one second, minute, hour, day , or year for granted. I can’t afford to. I refuse to allow my gifts to be buried, and to be only discovered when my life expires. I want to dance, live, and laugh as much as possible. There is a feeling of emotional thankfulness that flows within me like the Mississippi River. I will forever be planted like a tree at the river banks. Strong winds may come , but my strong roots shall not be unrooted.

The piece I submitted encouraged me to just fly. I’ll fly when I’m weak. I’ll fly when I don’t exactly understand the deck of cards that was dealt to me. Life is often like a puzzle. When we begin to take our time, the pieces start coming together. Although it’s important to remember to never force a piece into a space where it doesn’t belong.

Indeed, there is often treasure in the rubble that brings me joy. It doesn’t matter if no one appreciates it but me.I recall Hurricane Katrina and how so many people lost so many memories in the rubble. I can’t begin to imagine the emotions that flowed through their hearts. Although, it made me happy to donate. I was also blessed to be able to work with some of the displaced children by doing arts and crafts. I would never have known a ream of copying paper, clue , crayons, and scissors would bring so much joy. I still recall entering the room with my limited supplies wondering if I could pull this activity off. It was such short notice, and I wasn’t equipped with what I needed. The smiles on the children faces was evidence that the activity was a success. They indeed had an attitude of gratitude. The submitted piece was the activity I shared with the children that was affected by Katrina. Definitely not anything fancy, but it served it purpose. We begin to think about all the things we were thankful for and we wrote them down. I was so amazed how the children had such long list after losing so much. The happiness inside of me couldn’t be explained. The smile on my face said it all.

I must admit my emotions didn’t know how to feel. I was between laughter and crocodile tears. I found laughter simply because the children were happy. I cried tears of a million rivers because I knew they had lost everything they owned. I met some of the strongest children that day; simply because they found treasure in the rubble. I cried because there they were with only one pair of shoes, and the clothes on their backs. Yet still, they found treasure in the rubble.

The energy those children released could fill a million suns. They passed that same positive energy to me; as if a torch was passed within the clutches of my hands. It was almost if the children understood my silence, and it seemed some of the older children read my emotions like a best selling novel. Although they were young, they knew my actions came from a deep place of concern. It was like nothing else matter, simply the artwork they created by their two hands.

It was absolute joy to return the following week to drop off more supplies to the children. I was able to have some donated, and had a caravan of supporters ready to help. By this time, several families had been placed in temporary shelter. I was so excited about that, but at the same time I wish I could put the art supplies in those children hands. A special thanks to the Red Cross because they made my dream a reality.