A Children’s Well-Being Radio Show

By David M. Nelson

“Living your dream, not somebody else’s. Instead of reaching for the stars, be one. We are still growing. Enjoy life because it doesn’t happen twice. The hopes and dreams to be someone, to shine and go somewhere unimaginable – We are stars because we shine bright. After we are born, we keep going and going until we can’t go anymore. Be happy and glad you are alive.” School children’s responses to what it means to be a shooting star.

A couple of weeks before I attended the UC San Diego retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh and the Sangha, I looked up into the clear, dark and expansive high-desert sky of northern Arizona, where I live, and saw a memorable shooting star. In that moment an opportunity to share mindfulness to children flowered in me.

Every year, as a public health and nutrition educator for the U.S. Indian Health Service, I write songs about being healthy, taking care of ourselves and enjoying this life, to bring into local Hopi and Navajo Reservation classrooms. Over the years many schoolchildren have sung my songs about mindful consumption, right speech and effort; with titles such as We’ll be eating lots of Good Food, the Fat Cat and Skinny Little Lizard, and (I Get Up on the) Bright Side of the Bed. Sighting the star watered a creative seed in me for a new song to sing with school children and adults. I shared the song with my San Diego retreat Dharma discussion group.

After the retreat, I assembled a group of children and adults to record the song, which was aired on the Hopi Reservation’s public radio station, KUYI. I am a volunteer at the station, developing life-affirming public service announcements and playing inspirational music. From my work there and the inspiration from this song, a new show emerged, focusing on a children’s well-being, entitled Shooting Stars. Each day on the show we encourage children of all ages to enjoy life’s journey, be happy, flow with inevitable changes, let go of anger, and continually exercise their power to grow – physically, mentally and spiritually. Broadcast from seven to eight am since the first week of October 2001, listener-ship extends across the Hopi and Navajo Reservations and to nearby border cities including Flagstaff and Williams, AZ. The show is underwritten financially by local businesses and the Hopi Foundation.

Each episode includes children’s songs, stories and lessons from both well-known and local contributors. I’ve recorded local singers, authors, educators, elders, parents and Hopi Health Care Center’s staff. Key to the show’s success is having local children and elders share their beauty and wisdom. Listeners are encouraged to mindfully overcome socio-economic disadvantages and high risks of health problems with laughter and finding inner peace and knowledge about what is going on around them. Love and support from family, friends and other indigenous role models is promoted.

With respect and sensitivity to the Hopi’s and Navajo’s distinct religions, which many missionaries have tried to take away since coming to America, reference to the Buddha is minimized. Hopi language & tradition is promoted with lessons from the Cultural Preservation Office and other tribal leaders. Through ancient tales from many tribes including Hopi, Navajo, Cherokee, Apache, Lushootseed, Tulalip and Assiniboin, legends describe why nature, people and animals are they way they are. Life’s pitfalls are learned through the clowns and tricksters, such as coyote and Inktomi.  Children learn indigenous paths, such as how songs and stories are true medicines as important as herbs and prayer. Tales from Occidental culture are also included, such as Aesop’s fables, Mother Goose, Sesame Street, Dr. Seuss, Irish fairy tales, and Italian/Sicilian stories of connecting our known world with the unknown.

Excerpts of Thay’s dharma talks for children are included, as are stories and lessons about the Dharma from many teachers of Engaged Buddhism. Excerpts of Thay’s writings from A Pebble for your Pocket, Under the Rose Apple Tree, Each Breath a Smile, and Peace is Every Step are read by myself and others. Listeners are exposed to the healing practices of positive seed watering, stopping and being in the here and now, and creating and using a breathing space to come back to our true home.

While the show explores and promotes the wonders and joys of this life, sources of pain and suffering are not ignored. Stories told by those with handicaps or physical impairments, children of alcoholics and those who have been abused have been sensitively told on the air. In this way sources of suffering are named, allowing a healing light to shine on them. Children are encouraged to have compassion and find forgiveness for themselves and others through practices such as Beginning Anew. Health issues such as diet, exercise, teeth brushing, hand washing, and wearing seatbelts are shared by doctors, nurses, and other health workers. Shooting Stars’ intention is to shine a positive light on life.

Through Thay’s inspiration and the accessibility of his teachings, I have had an opportunity to share the practice of mindfulness and being peace with children of all ages in my community. These beautiful lessons will continue to live on through the airwaves, up to the stars and beyond.

Shooting Stars

We are shooting stars on a new moon sky, on a real dark sky, we are shooting stars. See us twinkle and shine as we drift by. As we swiftly drift by, see us twinkle and shine. At this moment we are young, but watch us grow into wise elders. Brother, sister you are a shooting star, a shining, shooting star just like me. At this moment I am glad. At this moment nothing is sad. At this moment I’m not mad. At this moment I’m completely glad to be alive. We are shooting stars…

David M. Nelson, Compassionate Guidance of the Heart, shares, “I attend the local Flagstaff, AZ sangha, monthly. I have spent my adult life teaching others to be well and happy.”