We had a lovely Kindful Kids service event this Sunday graciously hosted by Kinjal in her home in Cupertino. It was our first time holding such an event locally and we were delighted to have eight energetic kids and their parents share their time and creative inspiration to craft homemade valentines for folks they didn't know.

We started the afternoon with a storytime, reading aloud "The Day It Rained Hearts" (author Felicia Bond)--a story about sharing and friendship, and the uniqueness of each heart. We then had a quiet circle of closing our eyes and thinking of someone we love and how that makes us feel, and then it was on to pouring all that love into the action of making homemade valentines!

What a joyous and creative bunch of kids---they made bead bracelets and necklaces thanks to Kojo's kind gift of yarn and beads and they worked tirelessly for almost two hours making beautiful cards with animal stickers, hearts, and heartfelt messages like "You are loved"
"Surprise! Happy Valentine's Day from me to you", "Be yourself and no one else!", "Feel the LOVE!" There were paper airplanes "The love plane", and pop-up cards, beautiful drawings, and a LOT of love and care put into each and every gift.

After they finished we "rained" the hearts down on them, and you can see the results in the photos, with some of the kids holding up their favorite valentine.Tomorrow Kinjal will take some of the kids to deliver 100 valentines to a senior center nearby, and I dropped off another big batch to the children's hospital here today.

I was amazed at the energy transformations witnessed---from sitting in complete silence for at least a minute (doing our version of a loving kindness meditation), to pouring their hearts and spirits into creating something beautiful and meaningful for someone else they don't know---these kids and their parents transformed a living room into a JOY factory!!

I'm not even mentioning the wonderful parents here--but obviously the apples didn't fall far from these trees, and it was a blessing to meet them all. We are eagerly planning the next local Kindful Kids event in the bay area and look forward to having more "cubs" and their folks join us. Thanks to all who have given us their enthusiastic support!

Big hugs to you all,
Brinda