Today, I did a small thing of hopefully great kindness.
I took three unique gifts and toys to a young boy with ADD who had to leave public school because he was terrified to go there. A family member who loves him dearly is home-schooling him. She could use some help. I bought him two puzzles, an electronic fidget toy, a shape-shifting box, and two wooden blocks puzzle brain tears, a ” jigsaw intelligence toy.”
I’ll call the boy Daniel, not his real name; he is one of 7 million aged 3-7 years with the emotional disorder called ADD. Like many thousands of other home-schooled children (3.1 million), most schools were overwhelming for him. His family chose to home-school him.
Almost every one of these children could use any one of the toys I am giving Daniel. They are inexpensive and designed to ease anxiety, provide stimulating activity, and amuse children who are often isolated. I got them from Amazon.
I am learning that it is a great gift to help those in need get food, to help farmer workers with sciatica, and to help ADD Children with toys to play with and be comforted by.
This is an easy one.
St. John Of The Cross wrote that every quality or virtue the Christian spirit produces in the souls of men and women has three distinguishing qualities – Tranquility, gentleness, and Strength. I read that often. I’m working on them all, and I’m not a Christian.
That faith, always of interest to me, seems to have evolved—three current characteristics of some Christians are greed, power, and cruelty. That’s an oversimplification, but reading Evelyn Underhill’s excellent writing about Christianity, I was struck by her description of St. Catherine of Siena, who said to sinners who came to her, “Have no fear; I will take the burden of your sins.” That spirit of selflessness is struggling in modern times, in Christianity and politics.
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who want to help those in need and those who don’t. We all have choices to make.
The Divine passion for saving love possessed St. Catherine, so she took her place in the grand army of rescuing souls and or helping those in distress.
When Christianity came into being, I was much inspired by Christ’s beliefs and disciplines. Underhill writes that Jesus only had one purpose in life—to advocate for divinity and to urge people in troubled work to care for those who needed help. In many ways, our world—often cruel and greedy—resembles that one. Love and empathy need some help. It feels as if our society has hardened and embraced anger and cruelty.
I am embracing Underhill’s idea that a moral person’s responsibility – especially one of faith – is to rescue love and souls.
I hope I’ve done some of that with Danny and the Cambridge Food Pantry and by getting crackers for hungry children in Albany.
I’m told autistic children like Danny love those puzzles and shapeshifters. There are kids like Danny everywhere, just around the corner.
