Darrell Fusaro
Stay connected.
  • Home
  • Podcast
  • Art
  • Workshops
  • Workshop Photos
  • Other Books
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • What's New
  • One Word Prayer
  • Ärgerverschlinger
  • Free For Kids

The Positive Side Effects of HOPE

6/25/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Ärgerverschlinger by Fusaro at home in first grade.
GOOD NEWS: A wonderful series of coincidences have occurred following a first grade class' field trip to the HOPE exhibition and ArtLab at ESMoA, the El Segundo Museum of Art, El Segundo, CA, this past October 2017.  As part of this trip the students participated in the ArtLab by decorating their own Hope Boxes. 
 
A Hope Box is any container with an opening.  You write your present problem, desire, goal, or hard-to-make decision on a small piece of paper.  Then fold it up and put it in your Hope box. In essence, turning it over to a Higher Power.
 
When this class’ teacher Mrs. Jan Glusac of El Rincon Elementary School, Culver City, CA, shared the students’ Hope Boxes with Los Angeles artist Darrell Fusaro, he was blown away. Ironically, he had just written an article for Daily Word magazine titled, "What is a God Box?"  His article coincided perfectly with the Hope Boxes that the first graders had made.
 
Since Fusaro regularly volunteers to do art activities with this class he and Mrs. Glusac decided to create the "Our Hope Can" with the kids; a classroom Hope Can that the students may use during school days.   To decorate the outside of the can each student contributed an image they drew that made them feel good.  They did this to reinforce Fusaro’s emphasis that Joy is the activating power that attracts better than expected results.  It’s obviously true.  The students rely upon “Our Hope Can” regularly.  It ignites a joyous expectancy in students towards their hopes, wishes, desires, and goals.

Picture
"Our hope can" in the classroom
But wait–that’s not all!  What about all of the students' unfriendly thoughts, i.e. frustration, worry, envy, self-pity, self-doubt, etc.?  Fusaro came up with a solution; the "Argerverschlinger" (pronounced, “Air-ver-ger-schling-er”, it’s a compound German word he made up meaning "problem devourer").  The students write down their unfriendly thoughts on a piece of paper and feed them to this creature contraption he created.  They insert their current unfriendly thought into the Ärgerverschlinger’s mouth, turn the crank on its side and they can see their unfriendly thought get shredded and end up in its belly.
Fusaro wrote this rhyme on the back of the Ärgerverschlinger:

I’m Ärgerverschlinger and here to say,
Some thoughts are unfriendly and get in your way
If you have a fear, anger, or worry,
Then give them to me right away in a hurry
Write it down, I will gobble them up.
And once again you will have good luck

 
The Ärgerverschlinger and Our Hope Can have their home side by side atop of their own shelf at the front of the classroom.  Between them is a little basket of blank notepaper and pens available for students to use whenever they feel the need to let go of an unfriendly thought and fuel their desires.  It’s been a thrill for them to discover that letting go of limiting thoughts and beliefs propels them forward to new avenues of fulfillment.
 
Artist Darrell Fusaro is the author of “What If Godzilla Just Wanted a Hug?” and his interactive piece, “Love Yourselfie Camera,” was included in the “This is Awkward” exhibit at ESMoA. 

0 Comments

What's a God Box?

6/9/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
The God box, although effective at solving any problem you may have, may seem silly or at best too simple to be for real.  But for those of us who have tried it we are unanimous: it works!
 
A God box is any container with a slot or opening on top.  You write your present problem, worry, desire, or hard-to-make decision on a small piece of paper.  Then fold it up and put it in your God box. In essence, turning it over to a Higher Power.
 
Personally, I include the date and end all my requests with the statement, "This or something better." I believe it to be the intention of "If it be Thy will." This keeps my request in the affirmative and puts my mind in a state of expectancy.
 
If your request is for guidance I suggest you include, “Make it obvious!”  Ask for a definite lead and you will receive one.  When my wife Lori and I were deciding whether or not to move with our two cats from New York City to Southern California a friend from California suggested we live in either Marina Del Rey or Santa Monica.  Never having been to either and still in New York I put a request for guidance in my God box, ending it with, “and make it obvious.” 
 
The next day while Lori was at work in general conversation she mentioned us contemplating moving to Southern California.  One of her co-workers enthusiastically exclaimed, “The best place my husband and I ever lived was this apartment complex in Marina Del Rey.  You must live there!”  She gave Lori the number.  We called and funniest thing, they had a one bedroom coming available in thirty days, it matched our budget and they accepted pets.  We made the move.
 
Writing down my request and putting it in my God box enables me to feel like I've done my part in turning it over.  This physical activity gives me a concrete sense that I've actually turned it over to a Higher Power. It also gives me a positive reference for when I catch myself getting concerned again.  I simply remind myself that I put that concern in my God box and everything will transpire in divine order, with perfect timing, effortlessness and ease. 
 
Feeling reassured, I become relaxed and confident. I am free to follow hunches and I find myself hyper-aware of coincidences conspiring in my favor.  What was at first a dilemma is now an adventure in faith – looking forward to a better-than-expected outcome. The Daily Word Magazine’s meditation, “Faith”, from September 4, 2016, describes this condition perfectly; “Having faith is having joyous expectation.”
 
In this state of joyous expectation, by the law of attraction, solutions are revealed and our circumstances improve. Don't stress out about what you should use as your God box, any container will do.  It doesn't have to be a fancy container. The God box that works best is the one you use.
 
Some examples of what my friends and I have used as God boxes are, a favorite cereal box, coffee can, oatmeal container, jewelry box, cigar box, a hamper, shoe box, and even a garbage can.  One friend chose a can so she could delight in referring to it as, “My God can!”  Whatever you choose to use as your God box it will work, since the activating power is in your releasing whatever it is to God.
 
Whenever I clean out the old requests from my God box I get the added benefit of strengthening my faith by recalling in awe how even forgotten requests were resolved in wonderful ways.  And by the date of each request I can see how all solutions came with divine timing as well. 
 
I hope this not only clarified what a God box is but also inspired you to experiment with one for yourself.  It doesn’t matter the size of your request.  Nothing is too big or too small to put in your God box.  Whenever worried or indecisive use it to cast the burden on God so that you may begin to anticipate the unexpected way in which your answer will come.


As published in Recovery Today Magazine, Daily Word Online, and Keys to Recovery Newspaper.
–Darrell Fusaro

Artist Darrell Fusaro is a Decorated U.S. Coast Guard veteran, author of What If Godzilla Just Wanted a Hug? and co-host of the Funniest Thing! with Darrell and Ed podcast.

Picture
Picture
God Jar by artist Leebs
0 Comments
    Picture

    Darrell Fusaro

    All the fun without the struggle.

    Archives

    March 2021
    January 2021
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    March 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    November 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.