Hello everybody! I’m back from my hols, and as usual, I’ve got plenty to say. (After all, no self-respecting parrot stays quiet for very long!)
My human family and I have just returned from the Isles of Scilly. They are beautiful islands where life goes on at a gentle pace, and where the sense of community is very strong. Yes, the humans there seem to look out for one another as well as for their fellow creatures, as I witnessed for myself.
On the island of St. Mary’s, a serious crisis had occurred. The local duck pond had become bone dry. It hadn’t rained for ages, and a dozen or so ducks were all left standing miserably on the bare, caked mud. So, as an initial stopgap, a local resident provided them with a bucket full of drinking water, but despite this, the ducks continued to look miserable and sad. So, one day, two large water bowsers appeared by the edge of the pond. One of them was emptied into the pond so that the ducks had some water to paddle in. Then a small, impromptu ‘swimming pool’ was constructed using bits of wood and a pond liner, and this was filled up from the second bowser. And the ducks jumped in and had a wonderful time, all because some kind human had cared about them. But that wasn’t all….
A few days later, the island’s two-man recycling team was going around collecting everybody’s recyclable waste. And we saw them purposefully pull up outside a particular cottage. The driver got out, and then reached back into his cab, and pulled out…… a tortoise! And a good sized one it was too. Yes, this tortoise had escaped and been on the run for some time. The recycling team had spotted it and gone out of their way to return it to its owner.
No single act of kindness is ever wasted. We all have the potential to bring joy in place of despair. And when we do just that, whether we know it or not, we’re letting God work through us to make this world a better place for all.
“How can we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time.”
(Morgan Freeman: [1937-present]: American actor, producer and narrator)
“Length of life should be measured not by the number of years but by the number of right actions.”
(Desiderius Erasmus: [1466-1536]: Dutch Catholic priest and theologian)
“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to another human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” (Henry Drummond: [1851-1897]: Scottish evangelist, biologist, writer and lecturer)
“Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.”
(Acts of the Apostles 28: 1-2)
“Be kind and compassionate to one another…”
(Ephesians 4:32a)
Note: Coco needs to take another break from his blogs so please bear with him, and he’ll be back again at the beginning of October.
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