"To hell with facts!  We need stories!"

--Ken Kesey

It's one thing to know how many other

Mindful Pranksters Clubs there are

and who's starting them.

But what really inspires us to get out there

and play with mindfulness? 

Well, it's not the facts.  It's the stories. 

We want to know what other people are DOING.

We want to learn about the fun things

they are coming up with to inspire mindfulness

in themselves and others.

We want to laugh about the silly ideas

they're giggling about and the secret stuff

they're leaving in strategic places

so others will notice.

And we want to hear about

how others are responding.

And so, this page is for Mindful Pranksters Club stories.

I hope you will find them as inspiring as I do!

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Our newest Mindful Prankster story comes from Joan Bourque.

I'll let her tell it.....

Serendipity, Sun and Substance

I’ve been taking a “girls' dive trip” for the last 4 summers with my good friend, Tamara. Tamara was my daughter’s high school math teacher so this is all their fault. I’m an artist who loves to paint murals with kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tamara asked Alyssa if I could help her classes paint a mural in the classroom, an image of Pascal’s Triangle , a pattern of numbers.

Tamara, whowas all ears about our scuba diving life in the Caribbean, asked Alyssa one day,“If I learned to scuba dive, would your mother take me on one of her trips?” A new friendship--and Mindful Prankster vacation possibility--began.

Last year, we went to the islands of Dominica and St. Vincent in the eastern Caribbean. On Dominica we met Margaret, from England and Spain, a stylish, bright and charming woman with whom we kept in touch following our summer trip. As Tamara and I made the decision to spend a few weeks this summer in Roatan, Honduras, I mentioned it to Margaret. I sensed a willingness to join us. Margaret was a certified diver, too. “Sign me up,” she said.

Roatan is a large island off the north coast of Honduras, known for fabulous reefs and large rays, even a whale shark or two. My husband and I have been there several times and met Cam, who owned Bay Island Beach Resort. Cam has adopted a small local school on the beach and has weekly “crab races” to raise money for the school. One email confirmed her delight in my offer to help the kids at the school paint a mural.

A prankster vacation was born! But wait, there’s more....

Tamara told a few friends and I told a few friends of our plans. “Can we join you?” Soon we were 7 women (2 teachers, 2 artists, a designer, business owner, and dental hygienist) packing our bags.

We shared a huge house on the beach a 5 minute walk from the Resort and Diveshop. We met a handful of  other Americans embedded in the volunteer worlds of medicine, nursing and education. Our Spanish teacher, Carol, brought her son by one day and we became fast friends. Derald, 21, an artist and life learner joined our team of painters. He was great with the kids and he helped us translate and learn more Spanish.

We were all fascinated by the sparkle in the eyes of these primary school children as they carefully handled the brush and calmly focused on their masterpiece. We tried to set up a schedule but it was impossible--the children took over and a mural was born.

The most difficult part of the trip was choosing between diving in the cool blue waters enjoying the peace I find watching fish while I hope to spot an eagle ray passing by or showing a willing student how to paint a shadow on an octopus he has just painted on his school wall. All that plus sharing laughter and stories with 6 awesome women of substance.

For more pictures  and stories see our webpage:

http://web.mac.com/joanlou/iWeb/Roatan/Roatan%20Remembered.html

Note: Of course there is so much more to any story. I saw as much poverty as I saw gaiety amongst the people of Roatan. They have a lot of need in terms of health care and education. Yet they are surrounded by beautiful resorts and lavish homes owned by foreigners. Many of these foreigners offer help but I often wonder about the blending of two different cultures. It leaves the door open for misunderstanding and intolerance.

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Thanks so much for sharing this story, Joan!  I love the way you blended your vacation with an opportunity to do something wonderful for and WITH others.  --Maya ;-)