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Jogging for a Smile
 Lots of people jog for exercise. And as long as you’re going for a run, why not run an errand for someone who needs the help at the same time? That’s the idea behind The Good Gym, an organization that matches runners with elderly and less mobile people in their neighborhood who need groceries, errands, or just some friendly human connection. On top of runner’s high, The Good Gym volunteers finish their runs with the extra boost of making someone smile. Read More >>
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Pilot Holds Plane for a Dying Child
 Time was running out, and Mark Dickinson wasn’t sure whether he’d get to see his dying 2-year-old grandson one last time. A long line in security had kept him from getting to his gate on time. In a desperate last attempt, Dickinson’s wife called the airline to ask them to hold the plane for him. That’s when the pilot stepped up and held the flight at the gate until Dickinson arrived, running in socks, so rushed that he just grabbed his shoes at security and ran through the terminal. While most airlines punish any staff member who holds up a flight, this remarkable display of empathy and discernment had this one celebrating. Read More >>
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The Wisdom of Old Ted
 “I placed Ted’s ashes in the ocean and watched as they made a rainbow before dissolving into the sea.” So begins the story of an unlikely friendship between Jimpa, a monk, and Ted, a hobo in his 80s who lives in freedom and dignity in a homeless camp. The friendship started when Ted saw Jimpa and said: “I’m hungry can you feed me?” It was to become a sweet refrain from a dear friend. Jimpa fed Ted, and listened to him tell stories of his life. When Ted died, Jimpa’s name and phone number were on a piece of paper in his pocket. The last chapter was to become as simple and meaningful as the first. Read More >>
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Kitchen Teachings: An Interview with Cherri Farrell
 Cherri Farrell teaches Consumer and Family Science, a subject that used to be called Home Economics. Talking with Farrell, it’s as if a window opens into the hidden worlds that exist in between the requirements of standard curricula, and to how important these hidden realms really are. These insights come out in her stories, “One time I had a child from Afghanistan whose parents were killed. He came to America and lived with his extended family. I found a student for him to talk with, too. I’d bring him to my computer and we would look up holy spots, mosques. He showed me all these beautiful places in his country and we’d just talk. And I had another child who came from Mongolia. We would talk about Mongolia and what it was like. He came from a very prominent Tibetan Buddhist family. In the summer he lived in the old way- in yurts in the middle of the Steppe. He rode horseback and used a bow and arrow just like Genghis Khan! Today, he’s in a pre-med program.” Read More >>
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Out of Ice, Comes Music
 Terje Isungset is a composer and percussionist who crafts stunning pieces of music from ice. “It is very inspiring to be able to make music out of the world’s most important resource: water. Pure, clean water from a lake or river. I seek for new sounds in music, new colors; I try to find a new flower somehow – and to me the ice opens up a new landscape. A landscape of beauty and silence,” he remarks. Among his inventions are instruments like the ice horn and iceophone! Read More >>
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Dance Class Helps Parkinson’s Patients
 An unusual dance class takes place in Kirkland: one taught by professional dancers and offered free of charge for people with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers. It’s one of a small but growing number of such classes worldwide. At this dance class, the students walk in slowly, some rigidly or with a bit of a tremor. They take their places, not at a ballet barre or on the dance floor, but sitting in chairs. As the live music starts, they flutter their fingers like hummingbird wings, point their toes along the ground. Limbs loosen and start to flow. And perhaps something even more important happens: Smiles emerge and laughter erupts. Read More >>
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Lessons From Caring For Strangers
 In 1973, Charles Garfield discovered a lost civilization in San Francisco: the occupants of cancer wards in hospitals, hordes of anxious people facing a limited life span, whose social and psychological needs were going unmet by their well-meaning, but largely ignorant caregivers. Turning to volunteers, Garfield trained over 15,000 to provide sophisticated emotional support to the seriously and terminally ill. Read More >>
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In This Issue
Also This Week
Wisdom Reading
iJourney.org excerpts of wise words: Worms Are, Therefore I Am, by Satish Kumar
Inspiring Video
KarmaTube.org video with be-the-change actions: Aliza Hava – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Kindness Story
HelpOthers.org story submitted by readers: Kindness Returned After 35 Years
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“I have just done something out of the ordinary, and it felt fantastic. I found myself with a couple of hours free and nothing to do so I decided to go to a low cost supermarket and made up three bags of food costing about 10 pounds each. I then proceeded to drive to a very deprived part of my town. I knocked on the three most shabby looking doors and waited. Once the door was answered, I simply said: “I know things can be hard sometimes and we all need a little help, I hope this comes in handy.” I handed over the shopping, smiled, turned around and walked away. The look on the people’s faces was priceless. The food fed the people and the gesture fed my soul.” — etseth
“2010 is finally over, so why not make the resolution to pay-it-foward? Some one dear to me is very inspired after watching the movie ‘Pay-it-Foward’, and we both want to make it a goal to spread the seeds of loving kindness in 2011. We would love for you to join us and help spread the ripples! If you’re reading this let this be your new years resolution – to “do one kind act to three people, and have those three people do one kind act to another three people” and have it become a chain reaction. If we can do this in enough sequences we can cover the city! Three sequences reaches 81 people (3×3=9×3=27×3=81) and fourtheen reaches 14,348,907 people – a little more than Manhattan! So it’s simple, do one kind thing to three people, and lets make a change! 🙂 Remeber that there are always flowers for those who want to see them, so let us all sow seeds of loving kindness! Happy new year everyone!! ” — flowerpower
Sangha of Auspicious Companions 