Maya’S Gossamer: A Gentle Guide on How to Manifest Virtues in Children

By Rachael Blair and Tarmeño

Mayas Gossamer explores the beauty of virtues expressed through the stories, affirmations, and images of a philanthropist and artist. Maya is an all-knowing child fairy who connects everyone with her magical threadher gossamer. She travels to places near and far and knits or weaves virtues into everyones lives. These virtues serve to strengthen the gossamer even more. It is with this strength that Maya helps you to see the truth. Mayas Gossamer takes you on a gentle journey with the children in your life and perhaps even with the child in you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jan 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781452587738

Rachael Blair

Rachael Blair is the founder and executive director of Kindness in Action, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is to promote children’s health and education in impoverished areas of the world. Her unique travel and work experiences have manifested a well-received kindness curriculum, which she has shared with many primary school students. Rachael is a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Oxford. She received a diploma from Paris-Sorbonne University in French civilization and language. She is a social scientist by training and is multilingual (Spanish, Italian, French and English). She worked for the United Nations in Rome, Italy, and for other multinational organizations in London and Tokyo. She also served as a volunteer with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in China, where she taught English at a teachers’ college in the Yunnan province. She currently lives in Severna Park, Maryland, with her husband and is devoted to the advancement and protection of children’s rights.

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Copyright © 2013 . Rachael Blair.

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ISBN: 978-1-4525-8684-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-8773-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013921329

Balboa Press rev. date: 1/17/2014

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Contents

Introduction

Compassion

Kindness

Courage

Respect

Patience

Gratitude

Strength

Dignity

Perseverance

Grace

Loyalty

Altruism

Wisdom

Generosity

Reverence

Modesty

Love

I dedicate this book to the students, teachers and staff at Bodkin Elementary School in Pasadena, Maryland.

Introduction

The birth of Maya’s Gossamer began long ago in the enchanting kingdom of Nepal. I wanted to create a photo book documenting some of my travel experiences from the perspective of a child. As I continued to travel and take photographs, I found my original idea complex due to language barriers and time. Nevertheless, I persevered with the idea of a book, photos and stories until one day the universe conspired to help me create a book about virtues. I am certain these were the ardent wishes of the children I had worked with throughout the years in my role as Founder of Kindness in Action, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization focused primarily on children’s health and education in impoverished areas of the world.

Maya is an ancient word and has multiple meanings. It is the illusion of what we see and the wisdom to recognize what is true. Gossamer is the finest, lightest and most beautiful thread known to man. It is like a spider’s silk used to protect its eggs. In this book, Maya is the all-knowing child fairy that connects everyone with her magical thread, her gossamer. She travels to places near and far and knits or weaves virtues into everyone’s lives. These virtues serve to strengthen the gossamer even more. It is with this strength that Maya helps you to see the truth.

The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, believed that virtues in humans created productive and happy members of society. A virtue for him was the middle point between a deficiency and an excess of a trait. All of the religions of the world base their fundamental teachings on virtues. It is the middle path, the strong foundation and the balanced existence. Creating this book helped me to re-examine my virtues and what they truly mean. Virtues do not exist independently. You can’t have kindness without prudence or generosity without responsibility. How do we learn virtues and when does this process begin? Do virtues make us weak or strong? Are some virtues better than others or are they all equal? What does it really mean to have wisdom or to be kind?

The stunning watercolors in this book come from photographs that were taken mostly by me in my travels during the last 13 years. I met Tarmeño, a Peruvian artist, in Ecuador and asked if he would create watercolors from my photos. He captured the mood and