Sangha of Auspicious Companions

July 26, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

A Low Electron Diet

Author Shannon Hayes turns her computer off every morning around 9 am, once her workday is complete. Then she tunes out the rest of the world and tunes into her family, home, and farm. Very often the telephone gets turned off, too. So does the radio. “I shut out the wide world to tend to my immediate world.” Hayes continues: “Radical homemakers are not one-person wonders, single-handedly capable of heroic feats of self-reliance. Rather, we have some meta-skills that work the real magic: savvy functioning within a life-serving economy, an ability to self-teach and overcome fears, realistic expectations, an understanding of what gives us deep pleasure, and, most importantly, relationship skills. I don’t do it all. I am in an interdependent relationship with my family and my closest friends, and together, we get stuff done.” { read more }

Be The Change

Try an experiment of turning off your technology for a set period of time each day for a week.

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July 25, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

Why Patience Pays Off

“Consider this powerful quote by Lao Tzu: ‘Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles, and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?’ We might think of “waiting” as taking time, but it’s actually less about clock time and more about inner space. Of course, there are moments when our immediate gut-level response to a situation is a flash of intuition that can be trusted, moments when it’s crystal clear what needs to be done. But at other times, an experience stirs up some of that inner mud, and at those times, patience engages us in the process of becoming still. An unclear mind, one in which right action isn’t obvious, isn’t a “bad” thing. Wisdom, after all, develops at the edges of our understanding.” A deep reflection on why patience pays off: { read more }

Be The Change

Withhold an immediate response to a question. Instead, practice patience and allow the answer to become clearer.

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July 24, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

You Can’t Buy Empathy

“It’s not what you know but who you know,” the saying goes, suggesting that social connections breed success. But it seems there’s at least one way that the well educated are less socially connected: New research finds that those with an economic advantage have more trouble reading others’ emotions. In a series of studies, researchers examined how well participants could judge the emotions that other people were feeling, a skill known as “empathic accuracy.” In one study, they showed 200 adults photos of faces expressing different emotions, finding that people with just a high school education identified the emotions more accurately than people who had a four-year college degree. { read more }

Be The Change

In this short passage, Paul Gorman talks about the listening mind, and how it facilitates a “closer attunement with the empathy and compassion of our heart.” { more }

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July 23, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

Pick Up Artists Across America

When most people see a fast-food bag fluttering on the corner of the highway, they probably shake their heads and keep on driving. The Pick Up Artists aren’t most people. These four young environmentalists are driving across America, conducting roadside cleanups and spreading the word about reducing waste. After just three months on the road, the Pick Up America project has already collected more than 37,000 pounds of garbage. And they’re only 340 miles into their 2-year, cross-country trip. { read more }

Submitted by: Arathi R.

Be The Change

See something that needs fixing? Take a small step to help serve the situation.

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Millionaire Janitor

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July 22, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

5 Manifestos for Art, Life & Business

Manifestos are a powerful catalyst. Famous architect Frank Loyd Wright said that “an eye to see nature, a heart to feel nature and a courage to follow nature” were three of his top 10 manifestos. By publicly stating our views and intentions, manifestos create a pact for taking action. If we want to change the world, in ways large or small, developing a set of principles that we believe in and constantly strive to stand by is an invaluable tool. Here is some inspiration based on powerful manifestos from the likes of Seth Godin, Leo Tolstoy and Apple Inc. { read more }

Be The Change

Articulate your own manifesto, and put it somewhere you will regularly run into it.

DailyGood is a volunteer-run initiative that delivers “good news” to 106,941 subscribers. There are many ways to help. To unsubscribe, click here.

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July 21, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

The Intellect in Insights

At first glance, insights seem to come out of nowhere. But in hindsight they make perfect, logical sense. What happens is that we (sometimes unconsciously) recognize patterns that enable us to see things in a new way. Albert Einstein put it succinctly when he said insight “comes suddenly and in a rather intuitive way. But intuition is nothing but the outcome of earlier intellectual experience.” This article explores how to think like a designer: not just observing the world, but drawing upon what we know, interpret what we find, and looking for unmet needs. { read more }

Be The Change

Think back to a recent insight and ask “Why is this a pattern?” “Why is this unexpected?” and “Why is this meaningful?”

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July 20, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

From Vacant Lots to Urban Gardens

A berry garden now sits at the center of Richmond, CA, an area known for its high crime rate. Once a month, Latino and African American families — often people who live just a few blocks from each other but rarely had a chance to meet in the past — gather at the garden and have a barbecue. The garden is the work of Urban Tilth, one of the dozen or so groups at the center of Richmond’s urban garden movement. Built by community members, often young people, it’s tended in part by students and teachers from a nearby elementary school. But there’s more than food and land at stake here: it has become a community gathering space. “What’s really important is the food we grow and the time we spend investing in people,” says Doria Robinson, Urban Tilth’s executive director. { read more }

Be The Change

Here are 8 ways to join the local food movement, including turning a lawn into lunch and swapping preserves. { more }

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July 19, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

How He Crossed the Finish Line

In 1992, Derek Redmond was running the race of his life — the 400-meter dash at the Summer Olympics. In the previous Olympics, he was forced to withdraw 10 minutes before the race due to an Achilles injury but now he was he was ready and heavily favored to medal. His father was in the stands cheering. The race began and 175 meters into it, he pulled his hamstring muscle and collapsed on the ground. As the stretchers rolled out, he refused to get on. And he started hobbling towards the finish line. The rest of the story is best seen in this uplifting video. { read more }

Be The Change

The Greek word for encouragement is “paraklesis,” literally meaning “to be called to one’s side.” Stand by someone today.

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