“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin – Philosopher (1881 – 1955)
What Is Your Seat 13?
At 5:45 a.m. on Route 12, Hank Carter noticed something that changed everything: wet footprints trailing from seat thirteen.
The 57-year-old bus driver had just returned from winter break when a boy climbed aboard late, hoodie up, backpack sagging. The smell hit Hank immediately—yesterday’s shirt, unwashed. He knew it from his own childhood. When the boy stood at school, his socks had bled snowmelt through broken sneakers, leaving a dark stain on the vinyl.
The next morning, Hank arrived early with a brown paper bag: granola bar, milk box, hand warmers, dollar-store socks. He taped a note to it—”For whoever needs it. No questions”—and left it on seat thirteen.
By the final stop, the bag was gone. Folded neat under the seat.
That January morning became a daily ritual. Some days the bag sat untouched. Other days it vanished by the third stop, replaced with notes pressed so hard the pencil nearly tore through: “You saved my morning.” “These socks hug my feet.”
Then something unexpected happened. A girl with perfect hair left chapstick in the bag. A quiet kid added colored pencils. The depot custodian started bringing Ziplocs of cereal. “I remember being fifteen and hungry enough to eat paper,” he told Hank.
In March, fifth-grader Jayden boarded with red eyes, reached for the bag, then stopped. At the last stop, he grabbed it and tapped a smaller kid wearing a cast and a coat two sizes too thin.
“Here,” Jayden said. “It’s for you.”
Hank’s knuckles went white on the steering wheel.
By April, the offerings multiplied. Hot cocoa packets. A bus pass. One note in cursive read: “My son used this seat last month. He’s sleeping better now. Thank you for seeing him.”
On the last day of school, Hank stood and faced the rowdy bus. “Seat thirteen belongs to all of us,” he said, voice shaking. “In the fall, if you need it, it’s yours. If you don’t, help me keep it full.”
They nodded like they understood the rules.
Every August since, Hank packs that bag before dawn. New faces board. The same seat waits. At 6:12 a.m., small hands pass brown paper bags without words. A seat no one owns becomes a promise everyone keeps.
When asked why he does it, Hank shrugs. “You don’t need a program to change a life. You just need a place, a habit, and courage to leave something behind.”
Seat thirteen stays full. So do the kids who need it.
It’s Your Life- How Will You Use It Well?
In the summer of 1958, a young photographer named Art Kane had an idea that seemed almost impossible: gather the greatest jazz musicians in the world for one picture. Somehow, he did it.
Fifty-seven legends—Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, and so many more—stood together on a Harlem sidewalk. They weren’t posing stiffly. They were laughing, chatting, leaning on each other. It was just a morning, just a photograph. But it became known as A Great Day in Harlem.
Decades later, in 1996, a handful of survivors gathered again on that same block. The brownstone was still there. The spirit was still there. But most of the faces were missing—gone to time, remembered only in music and memory.
When you see those two photographs side by side, it’s more than history. It’s a reminder. Life moves fast. People slip away. But the love we give, the art we create, the joy we share—those echoes last far longer than we do.
Fifty years from now, most of us won’t be here. But today, we are.
So let’s use it well. Let’s forgive. Let’s laugh. Let’s love—before the moment fades.
Being There For Them
Today, I did a little experiment. I sat quietly in the corner while my boys played and kept a tally of how many times they looked at me.
Not for answers. Not for help. Just to see if I was watching.
Twenty-eight times.
Twenty-eight times they looked to see if I saw their cool tricks.
Twenty-eight times they searched my face for approval.
Twenty-eight times they checked to see if I was proud, if I was listening, if I was there.
And I couldn’t help but wonder… what if I had been glued to a screen? What message would I have sent?
That a notification was more important than them?
That the World Wide Web mattered more than their world right in front of me?
Twenty-eight times they would have felt overlooked.
Twenty-eight times they would have questioned their worth.
Twenty-eight times they would have learned that who you are online is what really matters.
But it doesn’t.
In a world obsessed with followers, likes, and filtered versions of reality, our kids need us to show them something different. They need us to show up. To put down the phone. To look them in the eyes and remind them: You matter more than any screen ever will.
Because they’re watching. Always. And the message we send shapes the adults they’ll become.
So tonight, put it down. Be present. Love out loud.
[Brandie Wood]
We Teach Kids…
…and artists and plumbers and sparkies and chippies and… …in fact respecting everyone and valuing each for what they are and do is a good way to change the world.
Loss Of Freedom For The Greater Good
Can You Sleep Through A Storm?
A great reminder of a very good operating basis to have in life.
Click to view the video: https://www.facebook.com/reel/4298388173739608
Don’t Play The System’s Game
I Hope You Are Privileged
This Mom Has a Genius Trick!
“I just had to share this because it works so well for us! I’m sure I’m not the only mom who gets tired of hearing their kids ask for every single thing in the grocery store. I say no a lot, but I think it’s just natural for kids to see things and want them.
So, to distract them, I started letting them pick out one can of food for the food bank every time we shop. Any can they want! And guess what? They love it! They think really hard about which can to choose. They carry it to the checkout, hand it to the cashier, and then put it in the food bank bin themselves.
My daughter even likes to tell people what the food bank is and why it matters! We’ve done this for the last 5 grocery trips, and not once have they asked for toys or treats! And the best part? They’re helping others at the same time.
I know this won’t last forever, but if you have a 2 or 4-year-old like me, I highly recommend trying it! Maybe when they get older, I can turn it into a fun game—like, ‘Find a can that starts with the letter C’ or ‘Find a vegetable!’”
— Candice Bell
Credit: The Inspireist