The ‘Why wait ‘til Christmas?’ Kindness Project House Assembly 13 November 2017 Miss Wood

What do I do when I don’t know what to do for House Assembly?

says… On this day…. Lady Jane Grey, famous for being Queen of England for 9 days, was accused of high treason in 1553 and later beheaded age just 16

says… On this day…. Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the USA wrote a letter including the famous quote “Nothing in this world is certain but death & taxes”

says… On this day… in 1865 showman PT Barnum opened the New American museum in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which became famous for its strange inhabitants including….

General Tom Thumb a man who was just 25″ tall

A Fijian Mermaid

Josephine Boisdechene a lady famous for her beard which had grown to an impressive 2 inches by the tender age of 8

The famous Siamese twins Chang and Eng … who squabbled bitterly with each other and also with Mr Barnum

But was this good enough for assembly? Was there a message to be found here? On I went, to discover whether this day/week was significant for any other reason an awareness raising campaign perhaps? Anti-Bullying Week World Kindness Day (marked in many countries around the world, started up in 1998)

Prejudice At the moment, I doing some writing about prejudice and I’ve spent a long time thinking about it One theory of prejudice says that it stems from fear, fear that the world is a dangerous and threatening place And ultimately the fear that we are not good enough to be loved unconditionally.

Prejudice cont’d This makes us angry and makes us treat others as though it is they who are not worthy.  For some people the world is a dangerous and threatening place and for others they are in fact the people who are making life dangerous.

Enter my favourite TED talk ever https://www.ted.com/talks/jose_miguel_sokoloff _how_christmas_lights_helped_guerrillas_put_do wn_their_gunshttps://www.ted.com/talks/jose_ miguel_sokoloff_how_christmas_lights_helped_gu errillas_put_down_their_guns

Demobilisation peaked around Xmas time

Before you were a guerilla you were my child, please come home

Jose Miguel Sokoloff he talked to our human nature he welcomes the bullies back by reminding them they are loved by their families and friends he has his colleagues gave them an opportunity to ‘come home’.

Why wait ‘til Christmas? if Christmas is so powerful, why wait, why not try and bring a little bit of Christmas to every day. Back to World Kindness day A while ago I read about a therapy called self-compassion therapy, which is basically about being kinder to yourself Unkind and angry people, may not have not received much kindness themselves. We all feel lonely and like we are on the outside from time to time maybe we need to remember how to welcome ourselves back in like Sokoloff did for the guerillas.

‘Why wait til Christmas?’ So like Jose Miguel Sokoloff I decided to make a small Christmas tree for Latter. The tree is replete with the necessary magical lights But this tree has something to say Every heart has a different QR code that you can scan with your phone and it will take you to a little piece of kindness to see you through til tomorrow Something like an advent calendar I hope the little tree will keep us going until the 15 December….