Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by and tell us about your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper. Newcomers may notice that many who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about tips for mental hygiene in the times we are in. It’s true, taking care of oneself when the world is going to hell in a handbasket is very important. We each need to keep our center, somehow. But sometimes reaching out to others can help us keep our own balance. My personal philosophy (YMMV) is that it is because we are all, at a spiritual level, part of the same whole — and what affects one affects everyone else. Those that sow discord end up causing more pain than they may know. Those that sow kindness help heal the situation. There is a reason that the Golden Rule is a fundamental maxim of most religions. Atheists I know feel the same — if this is the only world we’ve got, it is best to keep it nice, no? So is being kind a way of being kind to yourself? I think it is.
The idea for the Community Quilt Project came to me at a time when I was feeling very beleaguered and down. It just popped into my head, “Make a quilt for Othniel” who was then at the hospital, waiting for surgery that would save his leg from a ghastly infection. And the rest is history...the project became popular because it is an invitation to be kind, especially to someone enduring illness or great pain (which might be emotional). People love that!
If you would like to try participation in a community quilt, we need 9 more messages for Rosebuddear, a female veteran who is in a lot of pain from an injury. No money required, the quilt is paid for — just need more loving words! Or, if you know Eclectablog, we are making a quilt for him and need 13 more messages. He had major surgery this week to remove an area of intestine that, due to diverticulitis, landed him in the hospital twice because of severe infection. He will be at home recovering for a couple weeks.
Heaven knows, this is not the only project on Daily Kos that spreads kindness and goodness. We have folks that look after various community needs, we have folks that help raise funds and awareness for disaster stricken areas (right now, it is tragically still Puerto Rico). We have meetups where like-minded people can get together for conversation. And we have daily diaries, such as this one, where people can have a virtual cuppa with each other and share their day, their trials and tribulations, and their joys, large and small.
Here is something that just came to my attention. Vetwife and her husband (Jack Kato who was a longtime, well known country studio musician), made a CD of country songs that Vetwife wrote. It benefits their efforts to help veterans in need — and it would certainly lift Vetwife’s spirits to see it get some love. The album is called “Hey”, and it is on Google Play, also on Amazon and I think iTunes and Spotify as well.
So tell me something good! Have you lifted someone recently? Could be something as small as picking up the phone to call an old friend, giving up your seat on the bus for someone frail, or getting someone in a funk to smile. Every little tiddly bit of kindness counts in this world of too many woes.
Come in, share your day, your weekend plans, your menus! This is an open thread.