A Glass Full of Water

We were given a large new carpet offcut by the company that had put new carpet into our house. It was cut to fit in our small sleep out room. There was a substantial amount left. What to do with it? Val spoke with a local who looks after a pop up pantry in our town and has extensive local knowledge of people in need.  She picked up the carpet and delivered it to a family where both parents work, but are barely able to cover their weekly costs. The family had no lounge floor covering so it suited them perfectly. We also had a mini portable oven that we used during our house renovations. The oven was still in great condition. In short, the oven, along with an electric frypan, was delivered to the same family where they were immediately put to good use rather than gather dust in our storage shed. The above goods could have been sold on Trade Me or another similar site. But, why should we always do that? Perhaps it’s time for a mindset change… POINTS to PONDER Why must eve...

  Kronic is synthetic cannabis. For a time in New Zealand it was legally available in dairies. In my view (and the view of many others) it was a scourge in our society. Dairies were getting robbed for the drug and there was an increase in associated anti-social behaviour.  A number of dairy owners whose only imperative was to make money at the expense of our younger generation would sell the drug. We had two local dairies where we used to live in Hamilton. One owner to his credit displayed a sign showing that he did not sell Kronic. I thanked him for choosing to do this. The other owner did not… So, each Saturday morning for a couple of months I visited his shop, purchased a newspaper and then challenged him with a variety of questions.  “Would you sell this rubbish to your sons?”  “What profit do you make on each sold item?”  “Why are you making this choice?”  Most times his answer was to look at me in stony silence. Eventually, due to public pressure, Kr...

On my regular morning commute to Hamilton (pre Covid times) my ‘driving buddy’ and I used to pick up a guy that had bad body odour. But, what a neat guy to pick up.  He would wait at the side of the road for us or anyone else to take him to his labouring job. He was a good talker and I hope we were good listeners. He gave us many positive insights into his work ethic and his wish not to be a burden on society. We had a few laughs together too. In turn, we recognised his many qualities as a human being. He didn’t want or expect any handouts and was happy to work. Such a pleasure to help him out and our interactions were mutually beneficial.  We don’t see him anymore and I wonder what happened to him. He was good company and we just helped while we could. POINTS to PONDER Try not to judge people by their ‘appearances’. Perhaps they don’t look like us. So what. Be a good listener. You will hear ‘stuff’ that has the potential to make you a better person as you consider what is ...

NEVER SEND A LETTER IN ANGER!!!!!!!!  Such a letter has the power to humiliate, embarrass and hurt the recipient. It’s a form of abuse. Reactionary words will only get a reactionary response. Social and print media is full of vitriol aimed at putting the writer up and the target down. Don’t do it. Let’s be fair and reasonable in our spoken and written words.  Sports stars never try to lose a game, so send a message of loyalty and support. Politicians don’t always get it right, but they don’t deserve hate mail either. Journalists get hammered with lots of incendiary messages, so be open to send calm, reasoned thoughts. Retail businesses are struggling with decreased customer spending but I know they value your encouraging feedback and suggestions.  Help lift morale in these stressful times. Occasionally, you will get a gracious reply as soft words are appreciated.  Build people up rather than knock them down. We are all human. We all have our frailties and we all make...

Driving in Auckland’s traffic is often difficult and occasionally dangerous.  On this particular day I was a passenger in a family car. We slowed down and stopped at a set of traffic lights. Nothing out of the ordinary…then to my horror I noticed a large dog lying still in the middle of the road. The traffic lights were very soon going to turn green on the opposite side.  Long lines of cars and trucks on the opposite side were about to unavoidably smash into the dog. I quickly unclipped my seat belt, bolted out of the car and ran towards it.The dog’s chest was still.  I grabbed the collar and dragged its heavy body towards the safety of a traffic island. We just made it before the lights on the opposite side of the road turned green and traffic began to move. Now our lights had turned green and members of my family were frantically waving at me to get in our slowly moving car. I scrambled in and briefly closed my eyes. Whew. POINTS TO PONDER What was I thinking? I was thi...

A little bit of cash can go a long way to help people in need. In Raglan, we have two retail outlets that use spare cash from customers to help other customers. One has a discreet jar that is used this way.  “Nah. Put my change in the top-up jar please,” a man replied. The check-out woman smiled, thanked him and put the few coins into the jar. This money and other donated cash is used to cover the difference if another customer is a few cents short for their purchase.  Another shop uses kind cash in a slightly different way. Next to the food cabinet is a small bowl with cash in it. Behind the bowl is a pamphlet produced by some locals about helping people with their mental health. The funding of suitable programmes to help people in this regard can be precarious, so every little bit helps.  I’m sure there are other shops doing similar things in your community. They are staffed by people who meet all sorts from all walks of life. They understand that generosity of spirit a...

My younger sister Jenny gave me this story to share with you. She is the Senior Parenting Coach/Presenter at the Parenting Place, Auckland. I’m the fourth child in a family of six children and as you can imagine it was a vey busy and sometimes hectic home.  I was ten years old, obsessed with horses and had a pony of my own. I’d spent the day at pony club, riding and grooming my horse - so enthralled I didn’t even stop to eat. I got home tired and hungry and must have been rude to mum. My rudeness was uncalled for and I felt bad about it, so I slumped off to my room where I sat sulking and sad (and still hungry). A little while later mum knocked on the door and carried in a tray of egg sandwiches. The egg mix had parsley in it and the bread had the crusts cut off. It melted my heart. I dropped my defensiveness and instantly felt reconnected to mum. The sandwiches were made just the way I liked them.The presence of parsley and the absence of crusts told me I was known and seen. ...