Hello friends!

Starting on this gorgeous summer day, I have invited a young friend to join me here. Arianna is thirteen and is becoming quite the young lady. She has some questions, though, about our world and the way we operate in it. We’ve been having some lovely discussions and she agreed that sharing them here would be a fun thing to do!

Me: “How’s things today Arianna?”

Arianna: “I’m good, I guess. It’s ok to let everyone know you call me Ari.”

Me: “Ok Ari, you guess you’re ok?”

Ari: “Well, sometimes I feel kinda sad. I hear my parents and teachers talking about some really awful stuff that’s happening in the world.”

Me: “Yeah. Me too.”

Ari: “Is it all true?”

Me: “Some of it is true and some of it is misinterpreted and some might not be true.”

Ari: “My teachers say we should pay attention to the news so we know what’s going on, but everything is such a downer.”

Me: “It’s ok to know what’s going on, but it doesn’t all need to be bad news.”

Ari: “Where do I find good news?”

Me: “You have to look for it Ari. You can start by finding it at school. Good news might be at the bus stop, the grocery store, or on your way to your dentist’s appointment!”

Ari: “Hmmm. Is it like last night when I saw a lady get out of a car to carry a kitten safely away from the road?”

Me: “That’s a great start! It’s called finding beauty.”

Ari: “One of my friends gave another girl money for lunch the other day. I thought that was beautiful.  Her mom sometimes forgets or doesn’t have enough because her husband died and she does everything herself. It made me want to do something nice too!”

Me: “Yes! That’s what it’s all about! We can find or make beauty any time, any place and it grows!”

Ari: “What about all the bad news? Is there anything I can do about it?”

Me: “Ari, you have a big heart and yes, there are things you can do. We can talk more about that later but for now, remember you are only one person and you can’t change everything. Too much focus on what’s bad will make you so tired that there is no energy left to do ANYTHING. Keep looking for beauty and make it happen where you can. Beauty and goodness are the vitamins that will give you strength when it comes time to choose a cause to support. In the meantime, will you watch a video with me?”

Ari: “YES! I love watching videos!"

 

Me: “Ok! Here we go and get ready to dance!”

 

 

 

Thanks for dancing with us everyone! Stay tuned for more conversation with Ari and I!