I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo by Andrew Martin, Pixabay
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo by Andrew Martin, Pixabay
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Yesterday I learned that Netflix has one of my favorite movies available, I Am Legend. I hadn’t seen it in a very long time, and it was just as powerful this viewing. If you know the movie, you know that Will Smith is a virologist trying to solve a world pandemic in New York City, ground zero. It is an incredible, terrifying movie, and Smith is, as always, masterful.
As he said these words later in the movie, I felt something shift in me.
He (Bob Marley) had this idea, it was kind of a virologist idea, he believed he could cure racism and hate, literally cure it by injecting music and love into people’s lives.
One day he was scheduled to perform at a peace concert, gunmen came to his house and shot him down.
Two days later he walked out on the stage and sang. Somebody asked him why. He said the people who were trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off. How can I?
Light up the darkness.
This site, under1000skies, started as a place to store my photos. Then it became the answer to a challenge to “do something about (homelessness)” from an author on Twitter. It was a small thing, but I envisioned a place to spotlight the beautiful creations of homeless creatives. I had hoped to bring homeless artists together from all over the world. In the five years since we began, we have had two contributors, Johnny O., and Cord X. Happily, both now have homes. I’m very grateful for their photos and poetry contributions.
But lately, I felt as if I had failed. I hadn’t found more creatives, so for the past year or so, I was finding photos on Pixabay or sharing my own and combining these with quotes I loved. It just seemed like I was propping up something that was winding down. But I was wrong.
When I made it my life aspiration to create 10,000 graphics, it was for exactly this reason. I wanted to pour love into the world, one beautiful tiny gem at a time. These are small things but done with great love. Even a candle can be a brilliant light in the darkness. Somewhere along the way, I forgot that.
So now, under1000skies has changed again. It’s about pouring love, one day, one little quote at a time, into the world. Forgive me for losing my way and forgetting. I’m back.
Light up the darkness.

4/3
Gave a $25 Kiva loan to Las Rosas de Chipaj Group, Guatemala
4/4
Gifted 25 Simbis (30 minutes or about 15 pages) worth of transcription to a new client.
4/5
Created an inspiring graphic.
4/6
Gifted the library with a box of books.
4/7
Sent a poem to a friend I miss.
4/8
Created an elder-buddy card.
4/9
Gave away household items.

Photo by Pezibear, Pixabay
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6

3/27
Transcribed part of another Awakin Call
3/28
Created a gift for a friend.
3/29
Sent a funny joke to a friend.
3/30
Told someone “I love you.”
3/31
Created a funny birthday card for a loved one.
4/1
Sent an electronic birthday card to a loved one.
4/2
Sent healing vibes and prayers to someone who lost a pet.


Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5


3/20
Created a Happy Spring card for my friend.
3/21
Created a card for sick kids to send out with the next batch.
3/22
Sent an e-card to a friend.
3/23
Healing meditation for a sick friend.
3/24
Forgave. Began again.
3/25
Called a sick friend.
3/26
Transcribed part of an Awakin Call.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Day 1/365: The Wish
Day 2/365: The Day
Day 3/365: The List
Day 4/365: The Name
Day 5/365: The Meaning
Day 6/365: The Alphabet
Day 7/365: The Date
Day 8/365: The Rock
Day 9/365: The Note
Day 10/365: The Letter
Day 11/365: The Card
Day 12/365: The Marathon
Day 13/365: The Loan
14/365: 3/6 The Memoriam
15/365: 3/7 The Mirror
16/365: 3/8 The Share
17/365: 3/9 The Buddy
18/365: 3/10 The Postcard
19/365: 3/11 The Kiss
20/365: 3/12 The Text
21/365: 3/13 The Song
Recorded a song for my sons and uploaded it.
22/365: 3/14 The Pie
Sent pie jokes to my daughter and granddaughters (email) for Pi(e) Day (3.14).
23/365: 3/15 The Email.
Sent a letter of encouragement to a friend.
24/365: 3/16 The Call
Called Mom for a chat.
25/365: 3/17 The Hug
Hugged me. Needed it.
26/365: 3/18 The Decision
Took a step back from a longterm project to re-evaluate everything.
27/365: 3/19 The Frame
Created a frame for an old pic of my dad and his siblings for my mom

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo by Lisa Runnels, Pixabay
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo by Hannibal Height, Pixabay
“Set a goal each week for your writing and work to reach it. Wake up every morning and treat it like a job. It’s all about regularity. Read back what you’ve written and ask yourself, ‘Do I enjoy this? Does it work?’ If you’re stumbling over something as you read it, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite!” – Sharon Grenham-Thompson, author of Jail Bird
If you know any homeless artists who would like their poems, photos or art featured on under1000skies, on our social media accounts and through our email list, please pass on our information. Thank you!
We’re also always gratefully accepting photos, art, poems or quotes or any Gems anyone might want to share. Special thanks today and always to everyone who has shared these so generously over the years since we began.
Have a great weekend.
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo “Hamlet and Yorick” by Chris Reading, Pixabay
“As for your use of language: Remember that two great masters of language, William Shakespeare and James Joyce, wrote sentences which were almost childlike when their subjects were most profound. ‘To be or not to be?’ asks Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The longest word is three letters long.” —Kurt Vonnegut
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo by Jonny Linder, Pixabay
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.