humanity

For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.

Creating Hope
I was given 7 pairs of scissors, donated fabric, and tape. With this, I was to impact human suffering at the end of life, while protecting the love and innocence of my girls. By tuning in for a moment to the reality of the end of life, it’s impossible not to feel the grief, the fear, the uncertainty. These feelings are not only for the person in transition, but also for the entire family. It’s as if our elders were standing in line, waiting for their pass to cross the rainbow bridge.
By Cara Sadira5 years ago in Humans
Joy
One summer vacation filled with bike rides and Barbies, my big sister and I had fights galore, as sisters do. One of those days lead to what is fondly remembered as the "So?" fights. The two of us a cacophony of so's in a seemingly unending call and response. My mother, driven deranged, threatens "You wanna so? I'll give you something to sew." and disappears down the hallway. I remember our little girl eyes meeting in a silent 'Uh-oh' with the knowledge that we were in BIG trouble. As Mom came down the hallway with a giant box in her arms, I had no idea what our punishment would be. She dropped the box with a "Sew this, sew something!" as she walked away in a huff. I vividly remember a rainbow of colorful scraps and her scissors. Her good scissors! She was serious. In minutes my sister and I were comparing colors and digging through the fabric treasures. A happy pair imagining, designing and crafting together.
By Kayleigh Cullen5 years ago in Humans
My little Lantern Festival
This is a story about a dream. When my oldest daughter entered school, I had a vision of starting a Lantern Festival in her school. After spending many years in both Taiwan and India, I was accustomed to the chaotic joy that the numerous festivals produced in those communities. It was in Taipei that I learned about Lantern Festival. Upon return to the United States, I truly missed the colourful cacophony and atmosphere, produced by the yearlong barrage of festivals, that I had grown accustomed to in Southeast Asia.
By Alison Berkey5 years ago in Humans
Sewing: A Lifelong Friend
Sewing has been such a faithful and reliable friend for many, many years. It’s there for me at any time of day, in any moment I have to spare, and in more situations than one might think. It has given me so much to live for and has connected me with communities I may not have otherwise known about, let alone have a personal connection that I have been so lucky to experience. Despite all of the time I have invested into learning about different techniques, there is always more to learn. It is a craft that is almost as old as time and connects me to my mixed heritage in a very fulfilling way. Harnessing the craft has given me a marketable skill that allows me to help many people in my direct community with their clothing alteration needs. In short, sewing is not only my best friend but also, my superpower.
By Bianca Kim5 years ago in Humans
Garden Cuttings
I've lived in Portland for over four years, in four different apartments. Before my current place I never had an outdoor space in this city. Not a backyard nor a balcony. Until November of 2020, while in the thick of the pandemic I braved the cold drizzly day to view a place in Southeast. I thought it was too late in the year to move and secretly hoped I would hate it so, but as I pulled up I parked behind an Audie with a license plate that simply read "SUSHI" (my favorite food) and watched as a black long haired Norwegian forest cat (the same kind of cat I had for 18 years) crossed the street in front my parked car. I took these occurrences as signs from the universe but have not seen either car or cat since. I ended up loving the place with its sunny yellow walls, real fireplace, and private back deck. The deck was simple and wooden, nine feet long and five feet wide. I envisioned it covered in big green leaves and bursting with colorful flowers. After a rainy, icy winter I bought mint and lavender seeds along with two small pots of Erysimum, loving the purple magenta of the flowers that gathered at the tips of long stems. Once it grew warmer I bought two hanging pots of violas, the deep purple, bright yellow and soft white spilling over the edge of the pots. I went to Birds and Bees nursery and chose two small Lilac plants, one french and one common, one small Improved Meyer Lemon tree and the beginnings of a Star Jasmine vine. I saw a honeysuckle vine and was moved to take it home as well, so I did. Last but certainly not least, I bought a planter to hang over my deck banister and filled it with all the colors of the rainbow. Yellow, orange and pinkish red Nemesia intermingle with deep blue Lobelia, loved universally by the bees and hummingbirds. With care and patience I did not learn until the stillness of quarantine taught me, I tended these plants, positioning them to get the proper amount of sun, watering them daily, speaking words of encouragement to all but especially the ones slow to sprout or flower. I felt a happy sense of accomplishment when the lemon tree began to bud, and when the honeysuckle grew and lengthened, six stems upwards of four feet in length winding around my banisters and growing so much I had to take my green scissors and cut lengths of training tape to keep them attached. The Star Jasmine finally bloomed, becoming a favorite of the cat's with its aromatic scent. It is so ideally fragrant it has grown to become my favorite scent in all the world, too. Every flower blooms with such color and vigor I love taking my designated garden scissors and clipping a few stems here and there to create simple but sweet bouquets for myself, my lover, or a friend. The lavender and mint are too young to harvest but a joy to watch grow none the less.
By A.J.K.5 years ago in Humans
Create your own happiness
Suffering from crippling depression and anxiety - creating my own happiness is one of the main purposes in my life, what a journey is has been. I have not made it to the destination, but I can understand something clearly at last and I know it is possible to find/create happiness in any situation in life, no matter the amount, no matter what. No matter how small the measure of this feeling is - it can overcome any other negativity.
By Staying Strong5 years ago in Humans
100 Pieces of Love
Bailey is a kitty being cared for by Pasado’s Safe Haven of Sultan, Washington. Bailey was one of 35 cats rescued from a hoarding situation in eastern Washington.
By PawsWithCause5 years ago in Humans
Pocket Treasures. Second Place in Create Your Happiness Challenge. Top Story - June 2021.
My hands stay busy so my mind can focus. My laptop is set up on a cookie cooling rack, elevated above the surface of the desk which is covered in papers. My notebook is off to the side with bulleted notes capturing the highlights and questions that still remain after eight hours of back to back zoom meetings. The kids have finished another day of distance learning and escaped outside. I need to clean the remnants of lunch from the kitchen counter so I can start dinner. I scoot my chair across the floor which is covered in paper scrap confetti. Every surface is deconstructed paper piles.
By Adelheid West 5 years ago in Humans
Studying French
Looking back, I probably should have chosen Spanish to study rather than French. Where I lived when I could have started my language learning journey (Southern California) and where I live currently (Oregon), there are a lot of native Spanish speakers. But I had a negative experience with a teacher who was trying to peak not only my interest in Spanish but my fellow seventh graders as well. He made me never want to study Spanish again.
By Heather A Mayson5 years ago in Humans
Dear Friend
It’s a piece of paper and ink. It’s your hand gliding in patterned flicks. It’s asking the material to transport the ineffable. A magic show – a feather-light vessel for intent. It’s a letter, from a heart in one geographical reality to the distant next.
By Audrey5 years ago in Humans
I Patch
Piece A. It started with a desire. I fell in love, not with an object, but with the idea of an object. A ‘thing’ had never had such a profound effect on me before and it was this bewitchment that sparked the beginning of my new way of looking at ‘stuff’; the everyday objects that surround us and are rendered invisible by their ordinariness and our complacency.
By Victoria martin5 years ago in Humans
Chapstick Femme
The weather is perfect for a recovery day... The air lingers with humidity long before the morning sun touches my skin, promising us an extension on warmth and adventure before fall settles in. It’s especially perfect for a recovery day (for any day really). The first in months that my partner is well or strong enough to chance climbing our stairs. I get lost thinking of us, together again in the delicious heat instead of a frigid, sterile room.
By Spider Lilies5 years ago in Humans