Sangha of Auspicious Companions

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.

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Kindness Daily: Fierce Love

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Fierce Love December 10, 2011 – Posted by Sajha Sometimes kindness has a ferocious beginning. My dear friend Michael stood in line at a grocery store. In the next line a mother had lost her temper with her screaming three year old sitting in the cart seat. To everyone’s shock the woman began slapping the little boy’s face. Michael (a therapist) turned to her and commanded, "Stop!" The woman jerked, as if from a trance and buried her face in her hands as she began to sob. Michael took her in his arms and held her as she cried. Then he comforted the little boy. The woman thanked him and tearfully told him about the tremendous stress she was experiencing in her life. Michael encouraged her and gave her a card to an excellent family therapist that he knew. Through her tears the mother apologized to to her little boy and hugged him and promised that she would make an appointment with the therapist. I think most of us, at our worst, would benefit from someone stepping in to help us regain our bearings. Michael is gone now, but the Love that he shared so generously in life continues on, rippling from those he touched to others. 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 Most Prized Possession, by Anon An Unforgettable Birthday Gift, by Laksmi A Day At Bell Mobility, by Christina Penpa Tanging with Neha, by singlestep Fight Club and the Passerby, by guin 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

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What a 10-Year-Old Did for the Tar Sands

No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. — Emma Goldman

~~~~ Good News of the Day: 10-yr-old Ta’Kaiya Blaney stood outside Enbridge Northern Gateway’s office on July 6, waiting for officials to grant her access to the building. She thought she could hand deliver an envelope containing an important message about the company’s pipeline construction. But the doors remained locked. “I don’t know what they find so scary about me,” she said, as she was ushered off the property by security guards. “I just want them to hear what I have to say.” The Sliammon First Nation youth put in a great effort learning about environmental issues and the pipeline in particular, and hoped to share her knowledge and carefully crafted words. Enbridge officials said they were unable to provide Ta’Kaiya space or time and failed to comment. So Ta’Kaiya stood outside, accompanied by three members of Greenpeace, her mother, and a number of reporters and sang her hauntingly beautiful song, “Shallow Waters.”
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~~~~ Be The Change: Watch this short music video of Ta’Kaiya’s touching song, “Shallow Waters.” http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169F5F8:C3009629A010612C49ABA829774BA7FEB4B847859706E37D&

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Dalai Lama Quote from Snow Lion Publications

Kindness Daily: Who’s Packing Your Parachute?

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Who’s Packing Your Parachute? December 9, 2011 – Posted by arthurhen Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, who was a jet pilot during the Vietnam War. After seventy-five combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb safely ejected and parachuted into enemy territory. He was captured and spent six years in a Communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on the lessons he learned from that experience. One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" Somewhat surprised, Plumb asked, "How in the world did you know that? The man replied, "I packed your parachute." Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked." "It sure did. If the chute you packed hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today!" Plumb responded. Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man. He says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said good morning, how are you, or anything else, because, you see, I was a fighter pilot, and he was just a sailor." Today when Plumb speaks professionally, he asks audiences, "Who’s packing your parachute?" 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 No similar stories found. 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

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Video of the Week: Change for a Dollar

You’re receiving this newsletter because you are a KarmaTube subscriber. Having trouble reading this mail? View it in your browser. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe Video of the Week Dec 09, 2011 Change for a Dollar This award-winning short film follows the journey of a homeless man looking for change, but not the kind of change you might think. The film gives expression to the idea that empathy and awareness of the needs of others are more important aspects of philanthropy than financial resources. It also celebrates the notion that even the most powerless among us have the capacity to be agents of goodness in the world. Could you be the change in somebody’s life today? Share: Related KarmaTube Videos Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir Sound of Music Train Station Strongest Dad In the World Amo La Vida About KarmaTube: KarmaTube is a collection of inspiring videos accompanied by simple actions every viewer can take. We invite you to get involved. Other CharityFocus Projects: DailyGood // Conversations // iJourney // HelpOthers MovedByLove // CF Sites // Karma Kitchen // More Thank you for helping us spread the good. This newsletter now reaches 39,856 subscribers.

The Journey of a Basketball Player Turned Poet

A poem should not mean. But be. — Archibald MacLeish

~~~~ Inspiration of the Day: “I started writing this terrible, I call it an awesomely bad, novel. I was going out with this French woman and I told her about it. I told her ‘This book is just juvenile. I don’t know how to do this.’ She said, I have a friend of the family, a writer, and maybe he can help you with it. I agreed with that. So the next thing I know, I meet this little French guy with the glasses. He says to me, ‘I don’t want to read your manuscript, but from what you’ve been telling me, it seems to me you need to get control over the language. So it might be good for you to read poets. Read poets and try to get control over the language.’ That person, I didn’t know who he was at the time, turned out to be Jean Paul Sartre.” Basketball player turned renowned poet, Quincy Troupe, eloquently describes his one-of-a-kind journey. http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169F375:C3009629A010612CFDF08E5DD39FCD8BB4B847859706E37D&

~~~~ Be The Change: Write about some moment that touched you. Try to find just the exactly right words to express it.

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Dharma Quote from Snow Lion Publications

An Old Japanese Love Warrior

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

~~~~ Inspiration of the Day: “This so enraged the drunk that he grabbed the metal pole at the center of the car and tried to wrench it out of its stanchion. I could see that one of his hands was cut and bleeding. The train lurched ahead, the passengers frozen with fear. I stood tip. I was young and in pretty good shape. I stood six feet, weighed 225. I’d been putting in a solid eight hours of aikido training every day for the past three years. [… But] my teacher taught us each morning that the art was devoted to peace. ‘Aikido’ he said again and again,’ is the art of reconciliation. Whoever has the mind to fight has broken his connection with the universe. If you try to dominate other people, you are already defeated. We study how to resolve conflict, not how to start it.’ I listened to his words. I tried hard.” Author Terry Dobson shares a riveting story. http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169F073:C3009629A010612C4783CAAF62985788B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~ Be The Change: Got conflict? Resolve it skillfully, by first connecting with your “adversary’s” suffering.

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Embrace: A Solution That’s Saving Infant Lives

Love … It surrounds every being and extends slowly to embrace all that shall be. — Kahlil Gibran

~~~~ Good News of the Day: Millions of children under the age of five die from hypothermia — their body temperature is too low because they don’t have enough fat to maintain a healthy weight. In 2008 business student Jean Chen and a small band of classmates put their heads together to prevent such tragic losses. Their work led to the founding of Embrace, a nonprofit organization that created an innovative baby wrap that could save thousands of babies’ lives in developing countries. Embrace’s original team members met in a social innovation class at Stanford. http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169EF9A:C3009629A010612C04752BEE617020D9B4B847859706E37D&

~~~~ Be The Change: Consider donating warm clothes or blankets to a homeless shelter this winter. And learn more about Embrace’s inspiring work here. http://premiere.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=169EF9B:C3009629A010612C04752BEE617020D9B4B847859706E37D&

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