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Archive for March, 2021

All Cats Are Black

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DailyGood News That Inspires

March 16, 2021

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All Cats Are Black

Don’t allow your wounds to transform you into someone you are not.

– Paulo Coelho –

All Cats Are Black

“My biggest regret is that I wasn’t born beautiful– there, I’ve said it.”Jenny Jackson delivers these words with captivating candor in this poignant, short film by Green Renaissance. Lacking the experience of warmth and kindness in childhood, Jackson grew into a person she barely recognized. In her forties three words on a sandwich board brought a moment of self-reckoning that ripened over slow years. In her mid-sixties she began to deeply explore all the parts of her life that she had not truly dealt with.”If you live long enough, you will experience great hurt. What you make of that is up to you. It can be beautiful or it can be ugly.” Discover the gift of Jackson’s resilient spirit, her wisdom, humor and art here. { read more }

Be The Change

Dig deep and feel your way to the bottom of a hurt. What is something beautiful you can make of it moving forward? For more inspiration from Jenny Jackson, watch this follow-up film with her that was made by popular demand. { more }

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Awakin Weekly: Two Drops Of Oil

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InnerNet Weekly: Inspirations from ServiceSpace.org
Two Drops Of Oil
by Paulo Coelho

[Listen to Audio!]

2483.jpgA merchant sent his son to learn the Secret of Happiness from the wisest of men. The young man wandered through the desert for forty days until he reached a beautiful castle at the top of a mountain. There lived the sage that the young man was looking for.

However, instead of finding a holy man, our hero entered a room and saw a great deal of activity; merchants coming and going, people chatting in the corners, a small orchestra playing sweet melodies, and there was a table laden with the most delectable dishes of that part of the world.

The wise man talked to everybody, and the young man had to wait for two hours until it was time for his audience.

The Sage listened attentively to the reason for the boy’s visit, but told him that at that moment he did not have the time to explain to him the Secret of Happiness.

He suggested that the young man take a stroll around his palace and come back in two hours’ time.

“However, I want to ask you a favor,” he added, handling the boy a teaspoon, in which he poured two drops of oil. “While you walk, carry this spoon and don’t let the oil spill.”Â

The young man began to climb up and down the palace staircases, always keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. At the end of two hours he returned to the presence of the wise man.

“So,” asked the sage, “did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining room? Did you see the garden that the Master of Gardeners took ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?”Â

Embarrassed, the young man confessed that he had seen nothing. His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

“So, go back and see the wonders of my world,” said the wise man. “You can’t trust a man if you don’t know his house.”Â

Now more at ease, the young man took the spoon and strolled again through the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art that hung from the ceiling and walls.

He saw the gardens, the mountains all around the palace, the delicacy of the flowers, the taste with which each work of art was placed in its niche. Returning to the sage, he reported in detail all that he had seen.

“But where are the two drops of oil that I entrusted to you?” asked the sage.

Looking down at the spoon, the young man realized that he had spilled the oil.

“Well, that is the only advice I have to give you,” said the sage of sages.
“The Secret of Happiness lies in looking at all the wonders of the world and never forgetting the two drops of oil in the spoon.”Â

About the Author: From the world-reknowned book The Alchemist.

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Two Drops Of Oil
What do the ‘two drops of oil in the spoon’ mean to you? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to enjoy the world around without forgetting your essence? What helps you appreciate the world without forgetting your essence?
Jagdish P Dave wrote: This short storyTwo Drops of Oilauthored by Paulo Coelhomakes me aware of enjoying the wonders of the world without losing the core of my being, the essence of my being, the Two Drops Oil in my spoon….
David Doane wrote: The two drops of oil in the spoon mean to me having a goal on which your focus is so locked that you miss out on other things. The challenge, sometimes very difficult, is to accomplish the goal withou…
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Awakin Circles:
Many years ago, a couple friends got together to sit in silence for an hour, and share personal aha-moments. That birthed this newsletter, and rippled out as Awakin Circles in 80+ living rooms around the globe. To join in Santa Clara this week, RSVP online.

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Some Good News

• Oh For Crying Out Loud
• Eldering in the Age of Consumption
• Joining Our Wildernesses

Video of the Week

• All Cats Are Black

Kindness Stories

Global call with Patrick Meier!
547.jpgJoin us for a conference call this Saturday, with a global group of ServiceSpace friends and our insightful guest speaker. Join the Forest Call >>

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Back in 1997, one person started sending this simple “meditation reminder” to a few friends. Soon after, “Wednesdays” started, ServiceSpace blossomed, and the humble experiments of service took a life of its own. If you’d like to start an Awakin gathering in your area, we’d be happy to help you get started.

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On our website, you can view 17+ year archive of these readings. For broader context, visit our umbrella organization: ServiceSpace.org.

The Defiant Tenderness of Surrender

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DailyGood News That Inspires

March 15, 2021

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The Defiant Tenderness of Surrender

Surrender is to give oneself up to the original cause of one’s being.

– Ramana Maharishi –

The Defiant Tenderness of Surrender

“There are so many courageous people just making breakfast in the morning, going to work, taking care of their families, trying to do online teaching. Holy God. I mean, I just wish there was a cosmic scorekeeper for all of the billions of people doing their everyday acts of courage. I suspect that what we’re looking at in the sky at night aren’t stars, they are evidence and markers of all those courageous acts that happened earlier in the day.” In this insightful and delightfully human conversation, artist Pat Benincasa, and tech leader Sonesh Surana discuss how the era of COVID has dramatically changed our context, necessitated shape-shifting, and spurred us to embrace the power of small acts, and embody the defiant tenderness of surrender. { read more }

Be The Change

Join an intimate circle this Wednesday, with Pat Benincasa on,”The Art of Life in Transition.” More details and RSVP info here. { more }

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Blowing Open the Dusty Windows of Perception

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DailyGood News That Inspires

March 14, 2021

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Blowing Open the Dusty Windows of Perception

not so much looking for the shape
as being available
to any shape that may be
summoning itself
through me
from the self not mine but ours.

– A.R. Ammons –

Blowing Open the Dusty Windows of Perception

“Certain places — like where springwater falls over a slickrock ledge, sculpting the land of canyons, or where steam bubbles from dark cauldrons in Yellowstone while bison hunker nearby –have a power to radically alter my state of consciousness, such that suddenly my bodymind re-members the most expansive thoughts, ecstatic feelings, deepest mysteries, or the biggest cosmic questions of my life. It’s almost as if I get something like a ‘contact high’ from the land.” { read more }

Be The Change

Consider the questions the author poses at the end of her piece, “Maybe your windows (or doors) of perception are never dusty or closed, but if they are, how do you open them? What do you see or feel, remember or imagine?”

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Spotlight In Kindness: What Makes A Compassionate Man?

My husband and I live on the fourth floor. A while back, we noticed that someone always brings up our mail deliveries and leaves them right at our doorstep. After many months, we realized that it was a man that we least expected to do this, who lives across from us. Although many cultures associate compassion and empathy with women, so many inspiring men also amplify kindness every day. How can we foster more compassionate men? The thoughtful article at the end provides a great perspective. –Guri

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Editor’s Note: My husband and I live on the fourth floor. A while back, we noticed that someone always brings up our mail deliveries and leaves them right at our doorstep. After many months, we realized that it was a man that we least expected to do this, who lives across from us. Although many cultures associate compassion and empathy with women, so many inspiring men also amplify kindness every day. How can we foster more compassionate men? The thoughtful article at the end provides a great perspective. –Guri
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Debra entered panic mode when she reached the cash register at Walmart and realized her wallet was missing. Only to find out later on that a good Samaritan drove all the way to her house to return it.
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When her freshman son was severely sick in his new dorm room, a worried mom miles away called the convenience store near his school. These three men not only delivered basic food but warmed her heart.
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Hugs Billy Tosch, 63, and his dog Sadie lost their RV home to a fire. Billy’s story of loss took a heartwarming turn when he received a life-altering gift from the community.
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In other news …
In this deeply personal piece, Kozo Hattori asks what it takes to foster compassion in men? He speaks to experts in the field to find out what makes for a compassionate man. Here are five things that he learned.
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Oh For Crying Out Loud

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DailyGood News That Inspires

March 13, 2021

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Oh For Crying Out Loud

Weeping, then laughing. The power of love came into me, and I became fierce like a lion, then tender like the evening star.

– Rumi –

Oh For Crying Out Loud

“Death has been visiting my life a lot in this past year. During those times, I have frequently heard Mary Elizabeth Frye’s well-known poem, ‘Do No Stand At My Grave and Weep.’ This morning as I was lolling abed, I began naming my departed-beloveds in my mind, calling their sweet faces to mind and silently speaking their names one by one. This is one of the ways I honor them and deal with their absence. In the midst of that familiar ritual, I ‘heard’ a distinct voice speaking into my mind. This is what it said…” Barbara Mcafee shares more in this heartfelt piece, that includes her song, “Oh For Crying Out Loud.” { read more }

Be The Change

How open do you feel to your own experiences of sorrow? For more inspiration, check out “Grief as Deep Activism,” by Francis Weller. { more }

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The Nature of Plastics

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DailyGood News That Inspires

March 12, 2021

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The Nature of Plastics

No water, no life. No blue, no green.

– Sylvia Earle –

The Nature of Plastics

“All plastic begins in a factory. That much we know. But where it goes next remains poorly understood. Only 1 percent of the plastic released into the marine environment is accounted for, found on the surface and in the intestines of aquatic animals. The rest is a little harder to measure. Some presumably washes back ashore. An untold amount settles, sunk by the weight of its new passengers. (One study found four times more plastic fibers in the sediment of the deep-sea floor than on the surface of the ocean.)” Meera Subramaniam has spent three decades focused on environmental issues. The following essay is part of a series exploring the effects of the petrochemical industry on life, economics, and democracy. { read more }

Be The Change

Learn more from this short film, “Filtering a Plastic Ocean.” { more }

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All Cats Are Black

This week’s inspiring video: All Cats Are Black
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KarmaTube.org

Video of the Week

Mar 11, 2021
All Cats Are Black

All Cats Are Black

If you live long enough, you will experience great hurt. What you make of that is up to you. It can be beautiful or it can be ugly. "The important thing is not how one looks, but how you are able to connect to the people and the world around you." – Jenny Jackson.
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A Conversation with Americ Azavedo: The Truth Demands to Be Live

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DailyGood News That Inspires

March 11, 2021

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A Conversation with Americ Azavedo: The Truth Demands to Be Live

Socrates showed us that thinking the truth is not enough. Truth demands to be lived.

– Americ Azavedo –

A Conversation with Americ Azavedo: The Truth Demands to Be Live

For ten semesters, Americ Azevedo’s seminar, ‘Time, Money, and Love in the Age of Technology,’ cultivated in students an awareness of the larger issues that form a context for their lives. He was well qualified. Earlier in his life he was reading a passage from Krishnamurti, “Live the Truth.” That same day he stood in front of a room full of trainees, uneasy with his job and its values. He turned to the trainees and said, “I can no longer do this work. We’re not real with each other in this place. I quit.” Back at his desk, he saw everything in a new light. A spiritual fog had lifted. In some ways, it all began when he was bullied and called stupid as a child, and found a way to relate to his bullies and rid himself of the epithet. Read his story here. { read more }

Be The Change

Think twice before you apply labels to yourself or other people even in your mind. Give them and yourself the benefit of the doubt. For more inspiration read this piece by Azeveda, “How to Realize True Wealth.” { more }

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Joining Our Wildernesses

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DailyGood News That Inspires

March 10, 2021

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Joining Our Wildernesses

What if we joined our sorrows, I’m saying. I’m saying: What if that is joy?

– Ross Gay –

Joining Our Wildernesses

Liz Tichenor was ordained as a priest at 27. Just a few months before her ordination, Tichenor lost her mother to suicide. A year and a half later, her infant son, just 40 days old, died from a likely curable but misdiagnosed medical condition. Her stunning memoir, “Night Lake: A Young Priest Maps the Topography of Grief,” shares a story of finding a way forward through searing tragedies, and slowly learning how to live again. In this moving, personal essay, she speaks to the power of ‘joining our wildernesses.” { read more }

Be The Change

Join this Saturday’s Awakin Call with Rev Liz Tichenor. More details and RSVP info here. { more }

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