Ruth Kueny / Abundance Jar

RUTH KUENY, AGE 13

While some may fill their jars to the brim

With fleeting joys

Like walking in the city late at night

Or biting into a melty and rich freshly-baked cookie

Or rereading a favorite book

The flicker of light brought by these is not dependable

What happens when there is no city to walk in

Not a freshly-baked cookie to bite into

Nor a book to reread?

Like fireflies, they flash bright and then disappear

Their sparkle of joy seemingly vanished.

My jar occasionally gathers dust from neglect

The lid loosens with yelling and fighting.

The light seems to leak with insecurity.

The body cracks with stress.

And then I remember what I keep in my jar

I like to fill my jar with the moon, the weather, the stars, the clouds.

The sky.

When the moon shines bright and illuminates everything with an ethereal glow

When the beautiful spattering of the Milky Way is thrown across the night sky

When the clouds form animals and bound across the sky, dancing with the wind

When the thunder rocks you to sleep, humming its deep lullaby

When the sprinkling of rain decides to pour until your clothes are sodden and your spirits light

When you take a moment to appreciate the sky

To appreciate the filled canvas that the earth paints every day

To appreciate that as the atmosphere reflects blue, we can reflect on the sky too

To appreciate that not every day is perfect and sunny, and sometimes the most beautiful moments are in the rain.

That is my jar

And any time the light dims and the dust collects,

I look to the sky

And the dim light brightens

Radiating its warmth and light

Showering everything with warmth

And I have my own star

Ruth Kueny

Ruth (Kueny) is an 8th-grade Decorah Middle School student who enjoys many activities, such as running, playing guitar, playing basketball, drawing, and reading.

Editor’s Note: We created Future Focused, a new Inspire(d) column written by pre-teens and teens, to help give the next generation an opportunity to share their voices. Partnering with Dana Hogan, the Extended Learning Program teacher at Decorah Middle School, we offered prompts around the idea of abundance for this issue (and Dana had the genius idea of a metaphorical “Abundance Jar”). Students submitted some really great work, and five were chosen for this Inspire(d). Check out the rest of them, and all the Future Focused submissions published so far! Here’s to Listening to the Next Generation!

– Inspire(d) Editor-in-Chief Aryn Henning Nichols

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