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My Story
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Check the box” relationships compromise our humanity.
Ironically, though we’ve never had so much technology to help us
connect, we find it increasingly hard to stay connected. Phone calls get dropped
into voice mail. Emails pile up. Texting and twittering and…it’s all good for
quick, touch-base communication. But a physical reminder becomes something to
hold, when you can’t be present in person.
When a recipient first recognizes they’re receiving a string of compassion with
Heartpings, they start anticipating the next envelope. Each card’s message
reinforces the one before it, linking quotes from the world’s wisest sages,
beautifully phrased sentiments and personal messages into something uniquely
“theirs.”
When we receive a commitment to the relationship, we recognize integrity, an
investment of time and compassion from the sender. Though technology is good, we
need to use it for good, not to compromise our ability to be more honest and
connected in our relationships. |
Words matter.
Our lives these days are fragile. Jobs are ending or uncertain.
Heartbreaking diseases continue to devastate. Marriages shatter. Death takes
those we love. Too many are depressed; too many depressions lead to addictions.
We want to help where we can, but can’t always find the words.
Sending cards help. Yet one card received one day it isn't enough. Sending a
series of cards creates an abiding presence. When routine is turned upside down,
when life is most uncertain we need to show up and stay connected. By sending a
card every few days we reinforce “You matter to me.”
What happened to grace?
My mother is retired. She lives graciously with time to visit friends, write
notes and be available when needed. My mother and her friends compose
handwritten cards of support.
Yet, my mother has the time. Most of us do not. Though we say we’ll visit, do
we? And though sending a card of support is nice, stopping by the card store to
pick up a card takes time - to find just the right card with just the right
sentiment. And to pick up a few? Harder still.
We live our lives within a reality of busy schedules. When we shop for cards
we’re hurried. Then to send it we have to dig around for a stamp and remember to
drop it in the mail box.
We don’t live the gracious lives of our mothers. Yet we ache to be more present
in the circumstances of those we care about. As we dash through our days, we are
increasingly aware of our slipping connections to each other. Heartpings help us
reconnect to a sincerity we yearn for.
How it started.
When my daughter had her first daughter she was in Florida, I was in Kansas
City. As gentle as my daughter lived in the world, her daughter lived with zest
and tenacity. For the first four months, she cried. It was colic. My daughter’s
ideal of sitting quietly caring for a cooing infant was not the reality she
struggled daily to live with. She was a good mother and tried mightily to
comfort her daughter’s cries. Not much helped. It broke my heart.
I wanted to hold, to comfort, to assure that these days would pass, that life
would rearrange itself into the joys of motherhood. Yet those future days were
not the days she was living through. And I was half way across the country.
My daughter has always been serene. She was born with a gentle nature and life
treated her kindly. I asked one time, “What do you do when you run up against
something that knocks you down?” She pondered, somewhat puzzled by the question,
and then answered, “I just wait, it always passes.”
What my daughter needed was a heartping, a gentle touch, a soft whisper that
lightly reminded her “I’m with you,” “I’ll stay with you,” “I care.” So I told
her we were going to start a campaign – I called it a “Just get through it
campaign.” The intent was to get through the colic. I assured her it would pass
in a few months. She just had to walk through the days until it did.
So every day I searched for a quote, a missive, an anecdote to share in a brief
note. I was working in corporate marketing at the time and was… stretched. My
intentions were good. It was hard to follow through. Yet somehow I found the
time. As we began our campaign I told my daughter, there’s no need to respond,
just accept what I offer. Consider them my gift of grace to you.
I sent notes every few days, thinking of her constantly. I wanted to be with
her, but couldn’t. My hope was, my thoughts helped in some small way.
They did. After about three weeks my daughter called. Her life as a mother was
still unsettled, but her voice was even and soft. She shared she was, “getting
through it.” And she said, “Thank you mom.”
YOUR THOUGHTS?
Have you sent Heartpings or received them? What are your impressions of our
website? We’d appreciate your perspective of Heartpings vision for connecting
ourselves to the best in ourselves – women and men who honor our intentions.
Respond to
info@heartpings.com
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