In association with hhdlstudycirclemontreal.org

Archive for August 22, 2011

Smile Newsletter: Help Knocks on the Front Door, Kindness Remembered after 41 Years, Finding a Solution to a Stolen Bicycle

HelpOthers.org
Aug 22, 2011
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” –Margaret Mead
Idea of the Week
139.jpg“A retired gentleman who lives a few doors away from me can occasionally be seen picking up trash. He does it cheerfully and never complains. This morning, I was out walking my dog when I saw another neighbour picking up trash with his kids! When I commented on what a good job they were doing he said, “Well, there’s an older fellow in our street who does this. And my friend and I thought it wasn’t fair that he had to do it all the time, so now we take a turn.” The older gentleman had inspired others to pick up trash by doing it himself! It just goes to show we should be the change we want to see in this world.” — Wayfarer

[ share your story >> ]

Stories of the Week
You can also contribute comments on each story!
Kindness Knocks on the Front Door >>
Remembering Kindness 41 Years Later >>
A Stolen Bike and Help from Strangers >>
More Stories >>
Comment of the Week
“I went to a caregiver’s retreat this past weekend and encountered a lot of wonderful people doing fabulous work caring for their loved ones. Because of my recent physical problems I had to go in a wheelchair. After the retreat was over, I was pushing myself across the large campus. It was hot and I was exhausted from the effort. A lady came up to me and said, “Can I push you somewhere?” It was the kindest thing imaginable. She pushed me all the way to my car! When we got to the car I thanked her so much. I told her what a blessing she was and how much I really needed that random act of kindness at the end of a long tiring day. She said it was her joy – and I really believed her because she was all smiles and wishing me a happy day. I realized in that singular moment that there is no kindness too small to make the difference in the life of someone else. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. In fact, the little ones are often the sweetest.” – wooka85257
What is a “smile card”? It’s a game of kindness — do something nice for someone and leave a card behind asking them to pay it forward. To date, 957,034 cards have been shipped without any charge.

The ‘Smiles’ newsletter is emailed to 83,402 subscribers with the intent of spreading more smiles in the world. You can unsubscribe anytime.

get smile cards | donate | write to us

t?c=906412&r=1395&l=35820&t=10&e=A2F402742563B09AF8777FFF1298D0F8B4B847859706E37D

Attention as an Art Form

You’re receiving this email because you are a DailyGood subscriber.
Trouble Viewing? On a mobile? Just click here. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe.
DailyGood News That Inspires

August 22, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

Attention as an Art Form

[Learning how to think] means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to, and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.

– David Foster Wallace –

Attention as an Art Form

185 billion bits of information. In an average lifetime, this is what the human brain is capable of processing. With any limited resource, the fact that it’s in short supply can quickly create a feeling of scarcity. But it can also motivate wiser use of our attention, one of the fundamental building blocks of human experience. This article breaks attention down into four key aspects: Awareness, the ability to notice all that is happening around and within us more and more consciously; Choice, extending beyond just the domain of our actions, into what and how we think; Engagement, which is a progression from a passive interest to an active curiosity, and finally to enchantment; and Flow, the continuity of attention that allows us to more deeply experience and value what is already in front of us. { read more }

Be The Change

Make a conscious effort to use your attention in an artful way today.

COMMENT | RATE Email Twitter FaceBook

Related Good News

Smile Big
Love Freely
Meditate
Give Back

The Most Vital Lessons for Starting Over

7 Practices to Cultivate Compassion

Secrets to Longevity

Sleep Helps Us Remember What We Need To

DailyGood is a volunteer-run initiative that delivers “good news” to 108,230 subscribers. There are many ways to help. To unsubscribe, click here.

Other CharityFocus projects include:

HelpOthers // CF Sites // KarmaTube // Conversations // More

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started