Sangha of Auspicious Companions

Smile Newsletter: Who’s Packing Your Parachute?

Dec 11, 2011 “You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.” –Ziggy “It all started when my Sunday School teacher told me to take a look at the Help Others site. I decided to follow her advice and after reading more than 10 touching stories on the site that day, I thought “Wow here I am living my own life without even doing something for someone anonymously.” Immediately, I asked for a parcel of Smile Cards to be sent here in South Africa and I brought them to my Sunday School Class. The first thing they said was “DUDE FOR REAL?” Then we started putting our heads together to see how we can help the society. We’ve already decided to collect a 1000 small bread lockers to donate to people in need. We already see that small things can help others greatly. Thank you so much. You have opened our eyes and hearts for the best!” –drqwabes [ share your story >> ] You can also contribute comments on each story! Who’s Packing Your Parachute? >> A New Family I Never Expected >> 11 Years Without a Single Complaint >> More Stories >> “Sometimes life can seem so difficult that it is easy to get caught up in the “Why me” syndrome. It is usually in my most difficult times in my life, when I feel like I am just at my wits end that I realize if I do just something for someone else I will feel good. To me the most selfless thing to do is to do something to help someone feel better anonymously. In that way, you are giving purely to brighten someone else’s day.” –Katja 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, 986,339 cards have been shipped without any charge. The ‘Smiles’ newsletter is emailed to 86,294 subscribers with the intent of spreading more smiles in the world. You can unsubscribe anytime. get smile cards | donate | write to us

The Library Rethought

A library, to modify the famous metaphor of Socrates, should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas — a place where history comes to life. — Norman Cousins

~~~~ Good News of the Day: Libraries have a special place in history as a hearth of culture that kindled the greatest feats of science and the grandest works of art. Yet today, they’re in danger of being left precisely there — in history. As our collective use of libraries dwindles in the digital age, five brave efforts are innovating the concept of “the library” in ways that make it as culturally relevant today as it ever was. http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169F6E6:C3009629A010612CDEBF466A3C43AF07B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~ Be The Change: This week, visit the library, or a reimagined version of it.

**Share A Reflection** http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169F6E7:C3009629A010612CDEBF466A3C43AF07B4B847859706E37D&