Kindness rocks. In all its forms be it big or small, random or planned, from strangers or loved ones. As I paddle through life right now it's more on the kayaking through choppy water side than canoeing on a placid lake. Interesting, challenging, character building, and at times a bit rough. But rather than vent about that, I want to take a moment to appreciate the kindness I've received and witnessed lately.

Last year, Sandy from the food blog "Eat Real" noticed that November was the invisible month tucked between October's Halloween and December's Christmas. She resolved to change that.

You know the feeling. There you are, waist deep in the troubles of the world, the stress of your life, and you just need to change the channel! Even for a minute! It has been a long week. The news has not all been good. I was haunted by images of tragedy and violence and hatred this week. The news seemed so full of hard things. I needed to "lift my eyes unto the hills" and find some higher ground, some inspiration, some sights and sounds and blogs that made me feel uplifted, encouraged.

The father of a friend of mine died recently.  Here’s how it happened:   She was driving home from a board meeting thinking about the finishing touches that she needed to put on a grant.  Her cell phone rang.  It was her brother telling her that her father wasn’t feeling well.  He’d been a bit under the weather.  She rushed to his home.  He was talkative and joking.  A couple of hours later, he had a heart-attack and died surrounded by his children and other family members. 

Over the past few days, a Biblical verse has reportedly topped the google trends charts. It is also turning up in bumper stickers and tee shirts across the country. It reads: “Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8” But what do you see when you look up that Psalm? “May his days be few; may another take his office.”

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." "Beauty is only skin deep." "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." Bartlett's Quotations is full of quotes about beauty. Great words by great poets.This week we'd like to introduce you to another great poet talking about beauty: Stephanie from The NieNie Dialogues is our BlogHer of the Week with her post Do You Still See Me?

The often-dreaded moment arrives. It is Thanksgiving and the family has assembled. Just before the eating begins there is a silence. Grace. Do you say it? Do you not say it? It is Thanksgiving after all, time to give thanks. But who says it, and what do they say? Oh, and whom do they thank? First, if you are a believer, obviously your grace will most likely be said to God. But there may also be others to thank. If you are not a deist, there is still room for gratitude and taking time to say it out loud. It is a soulful gesture, regardless of ones tradition. And it feels good.

I didn't want to write about the Holocaust again. It hurts too much. Surely with so many other things happening in the world, I could just let mention of the 71st anniversary of Kristallnacht pass by unspoken, couldn't I? Just once? Then I read this, reported in the Sacramento Bee about events this week:

Ma Li has only one arm. Zhai Xiaowei has one leg. And below is a video of them dancing. They dance into the holes in people's lives. In the wordlessness of their dance, libraries of the soul open and volumes of unutterable wisdom fly off the shelves. A knowing comes forward. We all know this. We recognize the feeling of brokenness. We know what we do not have, will never have. We know that all the pieces in the world are not whole, not complete. We know that we needed, and that we need.

It's a Saturday Night Live skit waiting to happen, right? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets: A service that promises to care for your pet after you have ascended to heaven to join The Almighty. Like the company's co-founder, Bart Centre, I laughed at first. Surely, this can't be for real. But after speaking with Bart, and a few close friends who believe in the Rapture, I stopped laughing and started thinking.

I was thinking about miracles today -- not the big mamma-jamma miracles of the world, but the little ones. I spent some time appreciating the sweet surprises of meaning, the shock of good news, the offer of help when none is expected, the sympathy or kindness of a stranger. These are all the ordinary miracles of a day, moments when the soul is warmed, when the eyes of the heart open wide. I got an email today from a friend I had not heard from for a long time. Oh, yes, a miracle! So I decided to wander about and see what everyone was saying about life miracles.

The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos ) is a celebration of the deceased which occurs on November 1 and November 2, mostly in Mexico and among Mexican Americans, coinciding with the Roman Catholic celebrations of All Hallows Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. The origins of this celebration can be traced back to the Aztecs and Mayans as long as 3,000 years ago. Then along came the colonizers.