In association with hhdlstudycirclemontreal.org

Archive for December 14, 2011

The Gift of Generosity

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
Our bi-monthly eteaching from Phillip Moffitt

Kindness Daily: Being Alive and Well Fed

kindness daily
home smileCards smileGroups
Being Alive and Well Fed December 14, 2011 – Posted by ilonka
This morning I asked myself a question: ‘What does being alive mean to me?’. The question eventually led me to this moment now. Well, isn’t it only to be in the now to be alive, anyways? Well, at this particular moment-right now – being alive means sharing the abundance of kindness in a story.

Two years ago, I was hitchhiking and a friendly man in his mid-sixties pulled over. Curt was brimming over with stories spiced with his joy for living. My journey to the chiropractor didn’t take it’s usual 3 or so rides. Curt altered his route to drop me off directly in front of the office 45 minutes later.

During the ride, I learned that Curt was just dropping off a van-load of free food for people in my small town. He did this weekly just because "It is so fun to bring people food which otherwise would have gone to waste".

Curt and his delightful wife Ruth started a non-profit, Respecting Our Elders, where they divert food that Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s were getting rid of to people who could use it. Their small operation, every week, feeds over 2,000 folks in Marin County, California.

Now comes the part which brings tears to my eyes. For the last two years, every week, rain or shine, Curt would stop by and bring me a week’s worth of food.

In my case, this tremendous gift allowed me to continue with my gift to others. As the creator of a positive newspaper called Positive News US, I was able to keep the newspaper alive, delivering free news to people all over the country. I will always be grateful for Curt’s deicious gifts!

Add/View Comment >>

About Newsletter
Kindness Daily is an email that delivers today’s featured story from HelpOthers.org. If you’d rather not receive this email, you can also unsubscribe.

Similar Stories

My Nurse’s Special Birthday Gift, by kylierose16

Seeing the Joy Spread, by sunny9874

Karma for Me, by kimyouravonlady

Few Bills Under A Paper Napkin, by Shephali

Snow Angel, by Anonymous

Helpful Links

Smile Cards: do an act of kindness and leave a card behind to keep the chain going.

Smile Decks: 52 cards with a kindness idea on each!

Smile Groups: share your own stories, make friends, spread the good.

Smile Ideas: loads of ideas that can support your drive of kindness.

Unsubscribe
If you’d rather not receive these stories by email, you can remove yourself with two easy clicks.

Community
twitterx32.png facebookx32.png

Delivered by HelpOthers.org Click here to unsubscribe

Stepping Out of the “Should” Trap

Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me … Anything can happen, child. Anything can be. — Shel Silverstein

~~~~ Inspiration of the Day: “‘I should make more money. I should lose weight. I should volunteer more often.’ In saying ‘should’ so often, I found myself feeling trapped by a sense of obligation and expectation. I felt this vague pressure to conform to external standards, to be someone or do something. It felt like just being me wasn’t okay. I felt pushed to follow a particular path, behave in specific ways, and believe certain things. In observing my mind and growing towards a more compassionate life, I realized that I had internalized both the messages and the method of the ‘shoulds.’ Breaking free of the “should” trap included five big steps for me: understanding the trap, choosing to change, recognizing the ‘should’ in my thoughts and emotions, releasing the ‘should,’ and looking inward to find my authentic self.” Jo Holsten shares her wonderful reflection. http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169FBE1:C3009629A010612C58AF8A0ADB21E6B0B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~ Be The Change: Observe your ‘should’ tendencies today — and release them.

**Share A Reflection** http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169FBE2:C3009629A010612C58AF8A0ADB21E6B0B4B847859706E37D&

Quote of the Week | Not Too Tight, Not Too Loose

Learn More | Books and Audio | The Pema Chödrön Foundation
December 14, 2011

NOT TOO TIGHT, NOT TOO LOOSE

My middle way and your middle way are not the same middle way. For instance, my style is to be casual and soft-edged and laid-back. For me to do what usually would be called a strict practice is still pretty relaxed, because I do it in a relaxed way. So strict practice is good for me. But perhaps you are much more militant and precise. Maybe you tend toward being tight, so you might need to find out what it means to practice in a relaxed, loose way. Everyone practices in order to find out for him- or herself personally how to be balanced, how to be not too tight and not too loose. No one else can tell you. You just have to find out for yourself.

EXCERPTED FROM

The Wisdom of No Escape

The Wisdom of No Escape: And the Path
of Loving-kindness,
page 43

Read More

Teachings by Pema Chödrön, taken from works published by Shambhala Publications. Photo by ©Andrea Roth. Forwarded from a friend? You can subscribe to this e-mail emailList, and be sure to include both your old and new addresses. If you no longer wish to receive the Heart Advice e-mails, click here. If you can’t see the images, click here. Facebook

Twitter

image576152682889635.gif

image1054654989337163.gif

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started