In association with hhdlstudycirclemontreal.org
Archive for 2011
You’re receiving this email because you are a DailyGood subscriber.
Trouble Viewing? On a mobile? Just click here. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe. |
|
|
|
|
 |
We must not cease from exploration; the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.
– T. S. Eliot –
|
|
|
A Morning When Everything Fell Into Place
“I finally found a Motel 6 about twenty-five miles east. When I got there around 11pm, from the cars and people I saw — it was still warm outside, maybe 85 degrees — I got the impression I was deep in gang territory. A young couple checking in at the office counter ahead of me added to this impression. I was nervous and felt out of place, but ended up getting a good night’s sleep. In the morning, as I was carrying my bags to the car, there was a young man standing in the parking lot. I glanced at him and after a few more steps looked at him again. ‘Good morning,’ he said. ‘Good morning,’ I responded. And then, continuing to look at me with his smile, he said, ‘Have a blessed day.'” So starts an extraordinary everyday story. { read more }
Be The Change
Explore a situation today with no assumptions, and see what opens up. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You’re receiving this email because you are a DailyGood subscriber.
Trouble Viewing? On a mobile? Just click here. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe. |
|
|
|
|
 |
Your identity is not equivalent to your biography. There is a place in you where you have never been wounded, where there’s a seamlessness in you, and where there is a confidence and tranquility.
– John O’Donohue –
|
|
|
The Inner Landscape of Beauty
For the late Celtic mystic John O’Donohue, the visible world isn’t all there is — it’s “the first shoreline of the invisible world.” The question of what should I do, is secondary to the question of “how should I be?” In short, spirituality isn’t an esoteric notion, but an accessible, natural response to the landscapes of beauty around us, and within us. His unique perspective, captured in this rare interview, is informed by a rich life experience, including a career as a Priest, a PhD scholar of existential philosophy and ancient Celtic wisdom, a corporate business consultant on leadership and creativity, and a modern poet and visionary. { read more }
Be The Change
Explore more of John O’Donohue’s words on beauty and wisdom. { more } |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You’re receiving this email because you are a DailyGood subscriber.
Trouble Viewing? On a mobile? Just click here. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe. |
|
|
|
|
 |
I would define “good” as the daily pursuit of making the world ever so slightly better than you found it.
– Chris Baker –
|
|
|
OneSeed Expeditions: Traveling for Good
When you are 22, the world is your oyster. For Yale University graduate Chris Baker, that oyster contained a pearl, which was the idea for OneSeed Expeditions. OneSeed is now a way to take an amazing trip and give an entrepreneur in Nepal the seed money needed to start a business. As President of the Yale Mountaineering Club, Chris was inclined to start a business that would marry his passion for Nepal and love of climbing. OneSeed Expeditions germinated following his fellowship with Kiva.org, where he worked closely with a microfinance institution in Nepal and learned how he could create trips that could also assist the people of the region. { read more }
Be The Change
The next time you take a trip, look for a small way to give to the local community you are visiting. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You’re receiving this email because you are a DailyGood subscriber.
Trouble Viewing? On a mobile? Just click here. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe. |
|
|
|
|
 |
The only important thing about design is how it relates to people.
– Victor Papanek –
|
|
|
A 21-Year-Old’s Solution to Homelessness
As a design student in Detroit, Veronika Scott was keenly aware of the increasing numbers of homeless people suffering deeply during the relentless winters. At the tender age of 21, she created The Detroit Empowerment Plan to provide much-needed warmth to the city’s 20,000 street dwellers. Scott is the creator of Element S, a coat that is self-heated, waterproof, and transforms into a sleeping bag at night. It is made by a group of homeless women who are paid, fed and housed while creating these coats made for those living on the streets. This Fast Company interview shares more. { read more }
Be The Change
Do something to reach out to someone in need today. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| 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 |
 |
 “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 >> ] |
You can also contribute comments on each story! |
|
|
 |
| “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 |
|
You’re receiving this email because you are a DailyGood subscriber.
Trouble Viewing? On a mobile? Just click here. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe. |
|
|
|
|
 |
[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. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You’re receiving this email because you are a DailyGood subscriber.
Trouble Viewing? On a mobile? Just click here. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe. |
|
|
|
|
 |
In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.
– Albert Camus –
|
|
|
Homeless Kid Wows Korea
At three years old, he was handed off to an orphanage. At five years old, he was living on the streets. At twenty-two years old, he’s persevered and pursued his love for the arts, amazing the world with his heartfelt performance on this video of Korea’s Got Talent. Meet Choi Sung-Bong, a person who embodies the idea of never giving up. { read more }
Be The Change
Write down your dreams and goals and the initial steps to achieve them today, and never give up. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You’re receiving this email because you are a DailyGood subscriber.
Trouble Viewing? On a mobile? Just click here. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe. |
|
|
|
|
 |
The most important thing is insight, that is to be — curious — to wonder, to mull, and to muse why it is that man does what he does.
– William Faulkner –
|
|
|
Whiz Kids: 5 Amazing Young Inventors
15-year old Chester Greenwood wanted to ice skate in the winters of Maine, so he invented ear mufflers. Also at the age of 15, Louis Braille in France invented what became the standard language for blind people all over the world. Philo Farnsworth, a 14-year-old electronics prodigy, came up with the concept of a television, and mentored by his chemistry teacher, developed it some years later. And then, at a mere 12 years old, Margaret Knight developed a safety mechanism for cotton mill power looms that immediately started saving countless workers from injury or death. Here are the stories of four young inventors who have already made their mark on the world, and a bonus one who hopes to in the years to come. { read more }
Be The Change
Invent something. “Creativity is about having the courage to invent our lives,” says author Nina Wise in this short passage. { more } |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Video of the Week
|
Aug 19, 2011 |
|
 |
A Slice of Kindness
|
| A year ago, Dan Rogers was unemployed and faced some real hardships. Today, he’s in a better place and wanted to share the uplift with those who were a bit down on their luck. So he thought up — Random Acts of Pizza. Anyone who could benefit from a pizza can write an explanation on his website and then Dan (or others from the online community) would pay for it and have it delivered to their home. “It’s that spiritual boost that someone’s got my back,” Dan says. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You’re receiving this email because you are a DailyGood subscriber.
Trouble Viewing? On a mobile? Just click here. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe. |
|
|
|
|
 |
If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.
– Mary Engelbreit –
|
|
|
The Age of Social Transformation
The most significant social transformation in the last century is the shift, in dominance, of the industrial to knowledge based worker, according to the father of modern management, the late Peter Drucker. Regardless of numbers or power, knowledge workers will uniquely define the emerging knowledge society. This classic, in-depth Atlantic Monthly article by him is a survey of the epoch that began early last century, and an analysis of its manifestations. Drucker asserts that through the social sector a modern developed society can again create a responsible citizenry where individuals, especially knowledge workers, are given a space in which they can make a difference in society and recreate community. His conclusion: “If the twentieth century was one of social transformations, the twenty-first century needs to be one of social and political innovations.” { read more }
Be The Change
Innovate with how you make a difference in society, with how you help recreate community. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sangha of Auspicious Companions 