Sangha of Auspicious Companions

Smile Newsletter: Paid in Full with One Glass of Milk

Dec 4, 2011 “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” — Albert Einstein “I work with a lady from India. Sometimes, its hard for her to socialize with the others at work because of her strong accent. Last week, she was sitting all alone in the Living Room, while the others were involved in a Christmas activity. I asked her if she would like to join the others and she said no. I asked her why, she said “I can’t do what they are doing.” I told her sure you can. So I took her over – they were putting Christmas stickers on clothes pins. I gave her some clothes pins and stickers and we began doing what the others were doing. When she did just one, I gave her praise after praise. All she could do was smile. And the most amazing thing to me was what she said that melted my heart. She said, “Thank you dear. You make me feel like a little kid, in school again, God bless you.” At that point she took my hand and kissed it. I was over joyed!!! I left her to finish and when I walk ed away, I could feel the calmness all around me. I made a difference in her life that day.” — PassionateM3 [ share your story >> ] You can also contribute comments on each story! A Guide Dog for the Blind >> Pocket Money in Tanzania >> Paid In Full With One Glass of Milk >> More Stories >> “We are all connected and one act of kindness ripples across the world. I have always believed that we can all make a positive difference and change the world!”– TonyB 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, 984,149 cards have been shipped without any charge. The ‘Smiles’ newsletter is emailed to 86,094 subscribers with the intent of spreading more smiles in the world. You can unsubscribe anytime. get smile cards | donate | write to us

Do Trees Talk to Each Other?

There is always music amongst the trees in the garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. — Minnie Aumonier

~~~~ Fact of the Day: Don’t trees only talk to each other in the movies? Professor Suzanne Simard of the University of British Columbia shares her latest research regarding forest ecosystems: amazingly, trees in a forest coexist in a synergistic web of interconnections, with the largest, oldest, “mother trees” serving as hubs. Because of the old trees linked into the network, the underground exchange of nutrients increases the survival of younger trees — becoming a fascinating, real-life model of forest resilience and regeneration. This short video shares the intriguing science behind forest inter-connectivity. http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169E8B7:C3009629A010612C00B8AA772B3E078EB4B847859706E37D&

~~~~ Be The Change: Given your own inter-connections, consider where you get your nourishment and resilience from — and thank one of the sources.

**Share A Reflection** http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169E8B8:C3009629A010612C00B8AA772B3E078EB4B847859706E37D&