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Dingo Love: Community

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Love is Community prints are now available through my Fine Art America Store

Love is Community prints are now available through my Fine Art America Store. Click the pic for details.

Love is Community

Once upon a time The Dingo was sorting through his mail and he came across a letter that was delivered to the wrong address. It was meant to go to his neighbor who lived just a few houses down. Her name was Ms. Jade, a kind elderly lady who lived alone.

The Dingo would often pass by her house during his morning walks. He remembered thinking how she had one of the nicest houses on the block. It was always tidy, the lawn and garden were well kept, and she would often be found enjoying the afternoon breeze from her rocking chair on the front porch. Recently though, The Dingo had noticed the sparkle in her house had vanished: the grass was overgrown, the garden looked lifeless, and Ms. Jade didn’t seem to be spending much time outside anymore.

As The Dingo approached the neighbor’s house he looked around and noticed the paint was peeling off the walls and the windows needed a good cleaning. He rang the doorbell and Ms. Jade answered, “It’s so nice to see you Dingo! What brings you by?” The Dingo explained the postal mix up and handed his neighbor the letter. With a smile she thanked him and offered to bring out some sweet tea for them to enjoy on the front porch. The Dingo accepted the invitation graciously.

Concerned for Ms. Jade, he asked her if everything was okay. She explained that all was well, but about 6 months ago she got laid off from her part-time job at the library because of city budget cuts, so times were tight. She used to be able to pay a young man down the street to help her with various chores around the house that were too difficult for her to do alone, like mowing the lawn, cleaning the windows, and other random odds & ends. With some recent health issues that she was just now overcoming, she found herself having to prioritize her savings to go towards the medical costs first. Hopefully, after she found another job, she would be able to pay for some hired help to get her house sparkling again.

The Dingo felt bad for Ms. Jade. He didn’t exactly have a green thumb or any house painting supplies, but he could certainly help her with something. So he offered to clean her windows. She was delighted and thanked him profusely.

As he walked back home to get a change of clothes and some cleaning supplies, he thought about how he could further help Ms. Jade with the many things that needed to be done around her house. If he tried to tackle the various tasks alone it would take forever but, then he remembered a quote that he saw the other day: “Many hands make light work.”*. “THAT’S IT!” The Dingo shouted, “I’ll reach out to my community and ask for help! Together we’ll get Ms. Jade back to her old self in no time!”

But first, he decided to look up the word “community” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary and this is what he found:

  • : a group of people who live in the same area (such as a city, town, or neighborhood)
  • : a group of people who have the same interests, religion, race, etc.
  • : a group of nations

From the definition, he figured out that his community could include anyone and everyone. Well, in this particular situation, anyone and everyone was going to consist of those neighbors, friends & family that were willing to help. He quickly found someone who would help paint Ms. Jade’s house, another who would cut her lawn and get her garden growing again, and he also got little Max to commit to helping her with other random odds and ends. The Dingo even contacted his friend, a local bookstore owner, and found out that they were looking for part-time help.

With a smile on his face, The Dingo went back to Ms. Jade’s and broke the good news to her. He explained how several people were going to help make her house sparkle again in no time; he also informed her how himself & little Max were going to come over once a week to help with random odds & ends; and then he gave her the bookstore owner’s name & phone number and told her that he was expecting her call for a possible job offer.

Ms. Jade was moved with emotion as her eyes welled up with tears thinking of the love that she was witnessing. She knew without the help of many, without The Dingo’s big heart and quick action, and without the kindness and generosity of strangers, she couldn’t of done it herself.

As The Dingo washed the windows, he was thankful that he was in a position to help Ms. Jade. He knew that walking in love was a full time job and if we all stopped for just a moment and looked around us, we could always find opportunities to be a blessing in someone’s life. Today, he was able to be a blessing to Ms. Jade.

 

Walk in Love.
Y.C.Lozano ©2014
*Quote from : John Heywood

The Dingo Walks in Love is a project that teaches lesson in love with the power of art, social media, books, pubic art, & random acts of kindness.

 

Dingo Love: Healthy Choices

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Love is Making Healthy Choices

Love is Making Healthy Choices prints now available through my Fine Art America Store. Click the pic for more details.

Love is Making Healthy Choices

Once upon a time, The Dingo was a very healthy guy. He was active, ate well, got plenty of sleep, planned his days accordingly and knew how to relax & enjoy himself, but one day, he hit a bump in the road and everything changed.

The Dingo was losing sleep, not exercising, eating more junk food, gaining weight and worst of all: he started stressing out big time! The Dingo felt like his life was out of control and he wondered, “How did things get so bad?”

As he reflected on the past few months he remembered the day he decided to skip his usual morning walk and instead headed to the local all-u-can-eat breakfast buffet. He normally treated himself to this fine dining establishment once in a while as a special treat, but that morning he decided he deserved an extra treat. After downing a stack of yummy pancakes smothered in syrup, he proceeded to indulge in a big ol’ heaping serving of biscuits and gravy. It was way more than he would usually eat, but he figured, “What’s the harm in a little extra snack?” Boy was he stuffed! He decided a nap was in order so he went home.

The Dingo had lots of stuff to get done that day and by the time he woke up from his nap, it was already noon! “Where had the time gone?!,” he thought to himself as he ran out the door wishing he had not forgotten to set his alarm clock.  With a dentist appointment in less than 15 minutes and a boatload of errands to run, The Dingo was feeling the stress and big time. He didn’t realize it then, but his early morning decisions, caused a snowball effect of reactions that he did not plan for.

The Dingo’s usual routine was disrupted for several days, which turned into several weeks and eventually months. During this time he ended up eating lots of junk food because he didn’t have time to prepare his own meals. He also spent more money than usual because he was eating out more often and as a result, The Dingo couldn’t seem to save money or pay his bills on time. His bad diet affected his energy level, which in turn affected his sleep. Exercise & physical activity just about went out the window. All this stress kept him up at night, he always seemed to be running late and he found himself getting sick more often than usual! Sometimes it was stomach aches, sometimes it was colds, and sometimes it was just plain old sadness from feeling like his life was out of control. His mind, body and spirit felt unhealthy.

After spending some time reflecting, The Dingo figured out exactly what happened: because of a bump in the road that threw him off his normal routine, his usual good habits turned into bad habits. The bad habits were left unchecked for too long creating a domino effect of even more bad habits which eventually led to some pretty bad repercussions. But now, with some good planning and diligent effort, The Dingo is on his way to making healthy choices and getting back on the right track.

First, he looked up the word “healthy” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary and this is what he found:

  • 1:  enjoying health and vigor of body, mind, or spirit :  well
  • 2:  evincing health <a healthy complexion>
  • 3:  conducive to health <walk three miles every day … a beastly bore, but healthy — G. S. Patton>
  • 4: a)  prosperous, flourishing b) not small or feeble :  considerable

After reading this definition, The Dingo decided right then and there that he wanted to enjoy being healthy in every area of his life again and this started by making conscious decisions regarding everything from his food choices & portions to his spending habits and anything in between. He was ready to be prosperous & flourishing again and to take control of his life once more. Not only was this good for him, but it was also good for his loved ones, who cared for him. The Dingo wanted to be a good example to others and he also wanted to be in a position that if someone else needed help, he was going to be in a healthy position where he could be that help.

With a smile on his face and a new healthy direction in life, The Dingo took out a pen and paper and made a plan.

Walk in Love.
Y.C.Lozano ©2014

The Dingo Walks in Love is a project that teaches lesson in love with the power of art, social media, books, pubic art, & random acts of kindness.

 

Dingo Love: Polite

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Love is Polite

Love is Polite: click the image to purchase a print

Love is Polite

Once upon a time, The Dingo was walking down the street. He was enjoying the beautiful weather, stopping to smell the flowers, and reflecting on all that was good in the world when all of a sudden he got bumped off the sidewalk by a kid riding his bike. He didn’t hear the young rider say “Excuse me,” as he approached nor did he hear an “I’m sorry,” after he was obviously bumped. The Dingo was very shaken up and surprised at the lack of manners he just experienced. Not only could he have gotten very physically hurt from this encounter, but it seemed the young man could of cared less about the repercussions of his actions. He wanted to angrily yell at him, but decided to simply call out “Be careful!” hoping the young guy would heed his warning not only for someone else’s safety but also for his own. After The Dingo regained his composure, he brushed off the encounter and continued on his day.

He proceeded to the corner store to get a refreshing juice drink. As he walked in, he greeted the clerk behind the counter, “Hello, sir.” The clerk barely looked up from his magazine to even acknowledge The Dingo’s presence. He shrugged it off and headed to the refrigerated section for his favorite fruit drink but couldn’t find it. He decided to request some assistance from the clerk: “Excuse me, I don’t see my usual mango juice on the shelf, are you sold out or is there more in the back?” The clerk was very obviously annoyed and snapped back at The Dingo, “If you don’t see it, we don’t have it!” He was surprised at the lack of manners from the clerk, it made him feel unwelcome and like he was being a bother. The Dingo decided once again to brush off the encounter and politely responded with a smile, “Thank you for your time,” and continued on his day.

As The Dingo made his way back home, he realized how easy it was to forget our basic manners when going through our day. When we get so absorbed in our own world, whether it’s riding a bike or reading a magazine, we have to make it a purpose to always think of others around us and how our interactions make them feel. Today, it seemed like the world forgot how to be polite.

In his usual fashion, The Dingo decided to look up the word “polite” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary and this is what he found:

  •  having or showing good manners or respect for other people
  •  socially correct or proper

Being polite, is about respect and when you choose to respect the people around you then you purpose yourself to respect everything about them. This includes respecting their personal space, their feelings, and even respecting their differences.

It’s important to choose to be polite to others, but it’s equally as important to remind ourselves that we have a choice to be polite even in unlikely circumstances. The Dingo chose not to yell out in anger at the young bicyclist after he was bumped off the sidewalk and he chose not to be as equally rude to the clerk in the store. He chose to rise above. After all, sometimes people have bad days, and all it takes is a warm smile and respectful encounter from someone else to help brighten a rather gloomy day.

Walk in Love.
Y.C.Lozano ©2014

The Dingo Walks in Love is a project that teaches lesson in love with the power of art, social media, books, pubic art, & random acts of kindness.

The Dingo Conquers the Moon with Love

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In celebration of the Apollo moon landing 45 years ago, here is a re-post of: The Dingo Conquers the Moon with Love. In his usual fashion, The Dingo chooses to spread the love where ever he goes.

The Dingo Conquers the Moon with Love. Click the pic to purchase a print.

The Dingo Conquers the Moon with Love. Click the pic to purchase a print or inquire about purchasing the original.

Walk in Love.

Y.C.Lozano ©2013

The Dingo Walks in Love is a project that spreads lessons in love with the power of art and random acts of free art kindness.

Prints are available in various sizes through my Fine Art America store.