For December's Children's Program we explored the theme of generosity, with a bit of a twist.
We first shared our observations about things we've noticed in nature, such as the drastic changes in weather, the increasing hours of darkness, birds visiting our bird feeders, and the ice and snow to play in.
We then read and acted out the book The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell, based on the Mutts comic strip. In the story Mooch, a cat, and Earl, a dog, are dear friends. It is a special day, and Mooch wants to give Earl a gift. But Mooch is not sure what to give Earl, since Earl has pretty much everything he needs. So Mooch realizes the perfect gift to give Earl: nothing. Mooch searches all over to find nothing, but everywhere he goes, there seems to be something. Finally Mooch sits down on his pillow, and not looking for it, finds nothing ("Purrrrr"). He then shares his gift of nothing with Earl, and while initially surprised, the two friends end up sitting quietly together enjoying nothing... and everything. After the story Kenzan led us in a beautiful meditation exploring how sometimes an experience that initially seems like nothing can end up being quite rich and interesting.
