In challenging times, it’s good to remember we’re all connected - our fates and wellbeing intertwined. Whether friends or strangers, those who think like us or think differently, we all share a home - this small, blue planet. In certain situations we must speak up, to disagree, even loudly sometimes. But no matter what we encounter, these heart pins remind us that we can embody wisdom and kindness in all our actions.

These hearts are meant to be a gift, a thank you for remembering to

“Love First, Speak Honestly & Be Kind.”

This project was born out of a felt need to respond to the growing vitriol and division in our country. My sister-in-law Judy and I had several talks sharing our concern about the growing incivility in our nation as well as acts of disregard and violence that we were seeing. This was not just happening in our own hometowns but across our nation and the entire world. The answer we knew was not to meet violence with violence or incivility with incivility - there needs to be a different response. As we continued to dialogue, our question was "how can we change the direction we are heading?"

We both share admiration for civil rights leaders and teachers around the world who practice  non-violent activism.  This is the way forward but not all people can turn their lives over to service in this way full time. But even so there are small local acts we can take to transform our world one person and one action at a time. That was how I stumbled onto the #heartonmysleeve Love First, Be Kind movement, now called “Love First, Speak Honestly, Be Kind.”

I am an artist and make jewelry among other things. In 2018 I made heart pins for Valentines Day. I thought they would be a fun and easy thing to offer:  red cookie-cutter hearts with pin backs.  The first batch sold out instantly. I made another… and another. I was surprised at how much people liked these simple hearts. After Valentine’s Day, I had a few left over. I thought about putting them away until the next year, but decided to leave them in my collection that I displayed at shows and in the stores and galleries where my work is sold. They continued to sell. I began wearing my heart pins on a regular basis. I realized how many times people smiled when they saw them. I also realized how I smiled each time I pinned a heart on my clothes. These pins seemed to create a simple and easy reminder of joy for myself and a spontaneous connection between myself and those I met each day

As I am also a meditation teacher, this experience reminded me of a basic loving-kindness practice that I teach. It is a prayer of aspiration you can say at anytime out-loud or silently to yourself or others: “May you (I) be well and happy, peaceful and at ease.”  I realized these heart pins were a symbol of this intention. They seemed to spontaneously offer a warm connection between people. And I noticed as I put them on each day they acted as a reminder to me of the loving-kindness prayer. Once I recognized the connection between these hearts and my meditation practice, I began to wear them with intention.  I remembered the old saying “wear your heart on your sleeve.”  I began wearing my hearts on my sleeve as a daily reminder to myself to start with love and kindness wherever I go, whatever I do. Some days I have fun things to do; some days not so much fun. Some conversations are easy; some are harder. 

The card provides a simple checklist as we engage with others. "Am I resting in lovingkindness? Am I speaking honestly? Is it kind?"  I changed the card picture from the original hand & sleeve to 3 lotus flowers blooming in our pond - giving a visual reminder of these three points to consider. The heart pins are another visual reminder we can wear daily. These hearts and cards remind us to choose to consciously engage with each other with love, honesty and kindness.

It costs nothing to engage using these three principles and it offers a foundation that our world really needs right now. A small change that I hope might make a big difference.

To find your own heart pins and pendants, please visit the Kansas Capitol Gift Shop in the statehouse in downtown Topeka, the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan, Jewelry by Julie in Lawrence or Unique Finds in Overland Park. You can also contact Laura directly to visit our gift shop at Prairie Hollow — in person or by Skype. For more information, email lauramead108@gmail.com