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Of Anonymous Artistry & Change @Karma Kitchen
Dear Friends,
Last Sunday at Karma Kitchen the volunteer orientation was momentarily interrupted by a woman who peered around the door. "We open at 11 am," offered one volunteer helpfully, and she shook her head, "Oh I can't stay to eat today, I just came to drop these off". And she held out a series of miniature cards. Each one hand-drawn in vivid colors -- like small stained glass windows. Each intricately covered with beautiful words of blessing and carefully concealed within, 'a singularly small gift' (in the artist's own words) -- of a folded up dollar bill. For many, many months Karma Kitchen has received these cards with no idea where they came from. We found them on our Kindness Table week after week, but the quiet giver remained anonymous until a recent week when she was "caught" :-) Since then she has only continued to give more in this utterly humble and joyous way expecting nothing in return -- except this week we weren't going to let her leave empty-handed...
We had something from her -- not from us -- but from a faraway grandmother who roughly a year ago, hearing of Karma Kitchen had carefully crocheted the edges of two white handkerchiefs and promptly paid-them-forward to the restaurant -- to be gifted away at the appropriate moment. That moment had arrived :) Here is a collage of the anonymous cards that continue to amaze and delight Karma Kitchen guests and volunteers alike, and of the equally artistic and anonymous gift that found the perfect recipient this Sunday.
That early-on moment set the tone for the rest of the afternoon -- as the trickle of guests in the initial part of the day grew to a steady stream each of the crew brought their own unique artistry to the day. The theme was Change and guests were invited to reflect on the process of change in their own lives. Their thoughts fluttered in on colored scraps of paper, here is a glimpse of some of them...
"I am getting married! Everything in my life is changing"/ "I am learning not to use the word 'No'."/ "I think a big change has been learning how to love.'/ "Change is the growth of our family"/"I'm going to walk more and drive less! Pick up some garbage today and start a conversation with one person I don't know./ "I just returned from a 10-day meditation retreat all of which was a gift, with no expectation of compensation. I had never heard of Karma Kitchen before but suddenly I am faced with the gift of a warm nutritious meal. THANK YOU for bringing change and helping me remember that the gifts are all around us."
In celebration of all the gifts that surround us in each moment,
Pavi & Viral
Karma Kitchen Coordinators
www.karmakitchen.org--Pavi on Nov 2, 2009
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