Hopeful Little Things People Do

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
~ Martin Luther King

Last Spring I sorely needed a creative antidote to the enormous despair around me.

At the time, I was immersed in a yearlong commitment to write a daily poem via the Stafford Challenge. I found poetry to be helpful in These Times. I was reading more poetry than ever (easy, since I’d read close to zero) and marveled at the delicious hopeful poems that came my way. I’d make Alan listen to them, send them to friends, or incorporate them into my blog. I wanted more. I thought maybe poetry could save the world.

Then writer Amy Stewart suggested that anyone could declare a self-appointed Artist Residency of whatever they wanted. Oh joy! No need to apply for a residency; you can DIY it immediately, and for free! A “PoetTree” would be my new mission, spreading delight to others.

My grandkid designed a frame, and I hung a poem on the Deodar cedar in my front yard. This old tree towers over the neighborhood, offering a spot of shade or rain shelter for the many people who walk by. Now a poem would also greet them with a thoughtful pause, a bit of comfort, lift them up, or ease their day.

I placed brightly painted rocks around the roots where daffodils popped up. In June I added a Pride Day flag, and a U.S. flag from October’s “No Kings” protest. I was as excited as I had been despairing.

My kitchen window looks over flower beds where juncos and sparrows scratch in the dirt, and trees stretching to the far horizon. Now I also watch as people stop to read—dog walkers, stroller pushers, parents of bigger kids, solo wanderers. Sometimes they photograph the poem or read it aloud.

The nation is shattered
Mountains and rivers remain…
~ Du Fu (mid-Tang Dynasty)

Here’s a LINK to all the uplifting poems I’ve posted so far.

“The world is violent and mercurial— it will have its way with you. We are saved only by love— love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share: being a parent; being a writer; being a painter; being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.” ~ Tennessee Williams

I wondered about and then gathered a collection of other Hopeful Little Things people do to spread joy, satisfy a quirky itch, or surprise people with something unexpected.

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Last May, we drove through Redding, California and walked over the beautiful Sundial Bridge onto a footpath that skirts the river. Hundreds of beautiful caterpillars swarmed over the vines that grew along a fence. There were also several who tried and failed to cross the footpath, and were squashed by errant footsteps or speedy bicycles. Then we came upon a young woman pulling a baby and pre-schooler in a wagon. She stopped every few feet along her way, picking up still living caterpillars from the asphalt path, and placed them back onto the vines. She told us all about the California Pipevine Caterpillar, how they hatch every spring, and only eat the leaves of this Pipevine plant. This was just her thing, walking with her kids, saving the planet one caterpillar at a time.

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Poet Devin Kelly tells the story of his Leaf Game that he and a group of friends play every fall. Simply, as they are out and about, they try to catch a falling leaf while it’s still mid-air, before it hits the ground. He describes the leaping and twisting, the awkward clambering and tripping, and also the falling and crashing. The group shares photos via a chat thread to document each successfully caught leaf, and he keeps a weekly score to track who has caught the most leaves. What a joyous thing to do while out amidst fall colors! Shall we try it? Let me know.

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Martin Smith makes unique little zines with his poems inside, and leaves them in public places to be found by strangers. Inside each zine are instructions to Take This With You & Leave It Somewhere Else. He leaves his contact info to tell him where you found it and where you left it. He has stashed them among bookstore shelves, on buses, in cafes, art galleries, and so on. He made a map to track the wanderings of his 49 zines (so far). Some haven’t been found (yet), and the farthest one traveled was from Manchester, UK (where he lives) to Scotland and then to Maine! I may have to travel to Manchester so I can find one.

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In 2020 we spent a lot of grandkid time outdoors. One delightful spot nearby was Woods Memorial Nature Area, a small forest perfect for racing along trails amongst ferns and firs. One day we stumbled across a colorful mandala of flower petals and leaves, arranged on a sewer cover. Enchanted, we found other signs of fairies in the woods (and from then on, Rosa called various woods “Fairy Woods” or “Witchy Woods” depending on their feel).

Years later I learned about this mysterious local flower fairy. Portlander Donna Zerner has been creating these mandalas with flowers from her yard since 2016. An antidote to a stress-filled life, the sewer cover became the perfect canvas to create new beauty. It has become a joyful venture amidst creeks and owls, and delights lucky wanderers. Its impermanence made them “like the Tibetan sand paintings, but with slugs” who demolish the mandala in the following days.

“Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves… and to reflect it toward others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world.” — Etty Hillesum (murdered at age 29 in Auschwitz).”

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Comedian Troy Hawke stands around in public places making very specific cheery compliments for passersby in his delightful British accent: “Your dog has a delightful trot.” “I adore your walk, so forthright!” “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you tying your eye color to your t-shirt perfectly.” “You’re sporting top threads.” “I adore the way you laughed at that pigeon.” He explains, “Sincerely appreciating something someone has made an effort on will make their day…. Get it right it’s like a natural high for the pair of you.” Shall we all try this?

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My friend Gretchen invited folks to come to a local coffee shop to write, to help deal with the stress of the times. Her sign said: “Writing together in chaotic times. You bring the anxiety, we’ll provide the tools!” Community and writing; what could be better?

***Writing group by Gretchen Staebler***

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Another friend, Bonnie Rae, has an open air practice of inviting people to join her for “Blue Sky Church” at her local wildlife refuge. “Stretch out your legs and your mind. Open your heart. It’s impossible to be grateful and hateful in the same moment.” And her bird photography is divine.