Reaching Out –with Heart
By Sarah Stewart
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” -Aesop
I met Sherry on a Saturday morning at the Makers Market held at MonetMonet in Grayton Beach. On her table was a vast portfolio of intricately crafted mosaics and artful tile installations, some featured in Coastal Living and Architectural Digest. And then there were the hearts. I couldn’t help but pick them up- -feeling their smooth edges and the coolness of the stone in my hands.
“What are these?” I asked with curiosity, soon realizing this conversation was just the tip of the iceberg. Disclaimer: Sherry enjoys giving for the sake of giving. At first we thought her story should remain an anonymous one as “the giver of hearts” but her kids have since convinced her that it would be ok to share her identity. So, we agreed to have a proper chat at her home studio and I left that day with her offering of a single white marble heart which I promptly tucked into my pocket.
When I arrived at Sherry’s place I could tell I was in for a great conversation. The kind that you know will have too many layers to digest immediately or later recount but will leave you inspired and feeling like you’ve just met a kindred spirit. We sat down in her studio workshop where she is most at home and we chatted. The following is a snippet of our conversation.
I saw some freshly cut stone hearts on her work table and asked her how long it takes to make one from start to finish and she replied, “Twenty minutes to cut and then 30 to 40 minutes to sand and hand polish. So about an hour to make.” I was surprised at the amount of time and patience required and she continued:
“When I first started making these hearts I’d give them away periodically but it was usually only to friends. Every five years or so I’d make 5-10 hearts and give them away. But this past January I was finishing a mosaic labyrinth and the Carpenters came on. What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love was the song and it went through my head for a day and a half! (Now, back in the era of the Carpenters I was more interested in the Rolling Stones -so this was weird that it was playing in my head.) But after a day and half -the lightbulb went on. It was like, ‘Ah ha -they’re trying to tell you something!’ It was time to make hearts again because what the world does need right now is love, sweet love. So now I make 2 or 3 hearts in the afternoon and give them away. I think I’ve given away about 388 or so. On a lot of levels it’s more important for me than for the people who get them.”
“…one small stone tossed into a body of water causes a ripple effect with an almost never ending forward motion.” -unkown
Sherry recounted, “A long time ago I made one for my doctor, (who is now deceased), and he started crying right then. He asked, “How did you know I needed this today, Sherry?’
Sherry has also had the privilege to share her small gesture of kindness to help grieving families. Four sisters, who had each received Sherry’s hearts years ago, flew in from all parts of the country to be with their mother in her final days. Before the funeral they decided to go to her house and have coffee together in her kitchen one last time. They saw the heart that their mom had received lying on her window sill and each of the sisters dug into their purses and got out their hearts. They decided to leave their hearts with their mother who was buried with each one.
Every one of her stories is different in its magnitude but are nonetheless wonderful.
Unbeknownst to Sherry, that morning when I met her at the Makers Market, I had recently left a relationship and welcomed the little token of solace that little white heart had been to me. I now related this to Sherry and she replied, “That’s what it’s all about, it’s for healing, it’s for joy, and it’s for little kids too! She then handed me two pale green hearts and a perfectly polished peach heart which she told me were for my three children.
“You’re a gift,” I told her. “I’m an oddball!” she quipped. “But those make the best gifts,” I replied. “I think so,” she said with a wink.
“Sometimes, the most important things you do each day are never even on your ‘to-do’ list.” -Anonymous
Author: SWal Life
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