St. Nicholas Day Kindness

My grandson's first St. Nicholas Day, last year!

Today is St. Nicholas Day. My theme for this week of Advent is "Striving to find unity and peace with all the people of the world". One way I do that is to try to be in harmony with the people I interact with (especially those who irritate me), and one way I do that is to work at being a kinder person. 

Kindness is simple, honest, peaceful, and joyful, and it leads to generosity, patience, integrity, and unity. When I commit to being kind, I give my life greater meaning and depth. This week I intend to-

• Practice holding my tongue (including inside-my-head-talk); less snapping at people!
• Try to follow through with any strong, generous impulse that comes into my heart - if it is mostly reasonable.
• When I am impatient, cruel, or clumsy, just take a breathe, accept myself as I am, apologize, and gather my resolve to begin again.

Agenda Today:
1. Advent Prayer
2. Kindness meditation
3. Random Acts of Kindness
4. Make little scrap birds


1. Advent Prayer:

O Saint of love,

   be a guide for us in our lives, we pray,
   that we may create joy for each other,
   as you have done for so many.

   From St. Nikola an der Donau, Austria

2. Kindness Meditation:
This week I'll try to spend a few minutes each morning in quiet meditation and re-affirm my intention to be kind, to others and to myself. 

I really like this Kindness Guided Meditation for children, by Alessandrina Dorer, at the Epic Self site.

3. Random Acts of Kindness: 

I'm not a spontaneous person, and "random" acts don't come easily for me, so I need to plan and prepare for some kindnesses. Today I will brainstorm ways to be kind to people, and to the earth; when I challenge my creative juices, it becomes a fun exercise.

This page has a good list of Random Acts of Kindness, and I enjoy this Random Acts of Christmas Kindness Advent Calendar.

Because of the pandemic, I need to be even more creative - I'm not able to be out in the world like usual. My plan:

1. Prepare a stack of Christmas bonus cards with cash for delivery people.
2. Put up another hummingbird feeder.
3. Carry some dollars to give musicians on the street.
4. Post some good stuff to the Buy Nothing Facebook group.
5. Be more conscientious about clean dog and duck water.
6. Whenever I check my email, pause to write one short thank-you or complimentary note.

4. Make little scrap birds:

Today is a good day to start to stockpile small gifts to give to neighbors and friends, and to use as stocking stuffers. This year, I want to use up some small fabric scraps (which multiply like rabbits), so I'm going to sew some little birds to hang up as ornaments or to use on gifts as decoration.

I use hand sewing as a way to calm my anxious hands, so I like to do all the ironing and cutting, then pack the supplies into a bag or basket, and sew by hand whenever I need a distraction (zoom meetings are a lovey time to sew).

Supplies: Fabric scraps, sewing thread, needle, scissors, fiberfill

1. Collect a small pile of small scraps, and iron them.

 2. Cut out a supply of bird shapes and wings, using the patterns above. (I traced with a sharpie - make sure that each pair is reversed.)

3. Top stitch wings on 2 bird shapes with a simple running stitch -  no need to hem.

4. Sew the 2 bird shapes together with right sides facing, leaving a hole at the top, where the ribbon will go. You can sew by hand or machine.

5. Turn, using a needle to get the beak turned. Stuff with a little fiberfill, or leave them flat.

6. Insert a ribbon into the hole at the top and top stitch closed.