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April 11, 2024

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Selfless Athlete Surrenders Spotlight

Chase O’Brien, a 17-year-old athlete from the Yukon, handed over a golden opportunity to his friend. Having qualified for the Arctic Winter Games for the second time, Chase decided to let his friend, Gallagher D’Abramo, compete in his place. Not only had D’Abramo previously missed out on the games, but this was also his last chance to participate due to age restrictions. Chase notes, “I felt like our friendship was more important than the race, so I decided to just let it go.” His compassionate gesture not only brightened his friend’s life, but also reinforced the value of camaraderie over competition. { read more }

Be The Change

Prioritize a friendship over personal gain by giving up something for a friend this week. It could be as simple as giving them your place in line, or as significant as surrendering an opportunity to them.

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April 10, 2024

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Knowing Our Power in Tumultuous Times

Even after dealing with extremely challenging pandemic and climate disasters over the past few years, Kelly O’Shanassy, CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation, is optimistic. “The future is not a linear extension of the past,” she says, and sets about to help shape an exciting new future. A few things that give her hope include moving from focusing on symptoms to recognizing sources, and tapping into the power of interconnectedness while honoring the “infinite ways to be an incredible co-author of our collective future” by being fully you. { read more }

Be The Change

Explore what you may need to unlearn that could be standing in the way of new ideas for our planet. What advice might you need to question and reject in order to activate new possibilities for the future?

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April 9, 2024

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Feeling Anxious? A Good Deed Could Snap You Out Of It

Ever been incredibly overwhelmed by stress? Clinical psychologist, Jenny Taitz, shares a simple yet effective technique called a ‘stress reset’. A stress reset involves three types – mind, body and behavior resets and offers quick ways to soothe our thoughts, body and actions allowing us space to solve problems rather than exacerbating them. Mind resets include naming your emotions, singing your thoughts, and making a pie chart of your life; body resets could be to do jumping jacks, expand your gaze, or exhale deeply; and behavior resets involve building a hope kit, doing a good deed, or taking one small step toward a goal. These resets can counteract worst-case scenario thoughts, physical signs of overwhelming stress, and unhealthy behaviors. Not only are they easily adaptable, but they can also serve as powerful building blocks to improve mental health. { read more }

Be The Change

Implement a ‘stress reset’ in your day. Take a deep breath, put your screen away and expand your gaze, send a surprise card to a friend, or strike up a conversation with a stranger on the street. { more }

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Inspiring Links of the Week

April 8, 2024

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Inner Worlds

“Each of us lives in many different worlds. There’s the world of work, the world of our family, and our inner worlds. These worlds inside are the ones we’re most responsible for, because no one else can take care of them. So we have to learn how to make them nourishing. If they’re starved, if all we can talk to ourselves about is how miserable we are, how impoverished we are, how much we’re in danger, it spills out to our other worlds as well,” American Buddhist monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu shares. “We’ve seen this with hummingbirds. On the days when the feeders are empty, they don’t come and attack the human beings who forgot to fill the feeders. They attack one another. ‘It’s your fault,’ they say, ‘that I’m hungry.’ That’s because they’ve forgotten the flowers and other places where they can go for their food. In the same way, we take things out on one another because we’ve forgotten where our real nourishment should lie: inside. … No one else can do this work for us.” Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s words from March 2020 remind us that the way we see the world around us is inextricably tied to the way we engage our inner worlds. { read more }

Be The Change

For related inspiration, tune into an Awakin Call this weekend with Ajaan Geoff, discussing “Mastering our Inner World”. RSVP and details here: { more }

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April 7, 2024

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John Toki: Earning It

“There’s always a lot one won’t learn about someone, especially those not asking you to focus on them — and John Toki is one of those people. … It must have been twenty-five years ago and I was purchasing some clay … The little store had been around for decades and it seemed that every potter and clay artist in the [area] knew the place and felt at home there. … As no one was waiting for service, I started asking him about himself. Within ten minutes, and without fanfare, I learned that the quiet man at the sales counter was essentially conducting five careers,” recounts Richard Whittaker on his first encounter with a memorable artist. In a rare and intimate conversation, much-loved San Francisco Bay Area artist, mentor, and polymath, John Toki unearths portraits of wisdom steeped through his life: “I visualize the process of making art as going on a long walk for miles and miles and miles and miles, and you get up over the hill — maybe the hill symbolizes the artwork — then you see the beautiful ocean, and this sunset. But you have to earn it.” { read more }

Be The Change

Carve out space to create art in some way today. Draw a doodle, arrange flowers, watercolor, lay out a meal in an artful way. However you do it, allow your art to guide you to a new perspective.

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April 5, 2024

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Friend or FOMO?

Ever felt like something was missing in your life while mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds filled with seemingly perfect connections and adventures? Well, you’re not alone. A fresh look reveals the often overlooked social pressures and one-sided portrayals of social media that can cause one to question their own friendships. Understanding that meticulously curated posts might be glossing over complex realities can help combat the feelings of isolation when we’re seemingly on the outside looking in. YES! Magazine reminds us that the trick lies in remembering everyone grapples with ups and downs in their friendships, and less-than-perfect moments aren’t shared with a click or swipe. It takes time and commitment, care and shared experiences, mistakes and forgiveness, to cultivate a deeper context of genuine friendships. { read more }

Be The Change

Take a moment to reflect on your friendships. Send a heartfelt message or call a friend with whom you’d like to reconnect or deepen your relationship. Build on genuine connections rather than comparing yourself to the images portrayed on social media.

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April 3, 2024

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How to Reboot After Disappointment at Work

“You might experience disappointment at work in many ways: a long-term project does not come to fruition, a new position opens up and you don’t get it, or your hard work does not pay off. Faced with a sense of loss and disappointment, we have no choice but to respond.” Greater Good Magazine outlines three practices with relevant research that can personally alchemize a setback into possibility. Through paying attention to our internal dialogue and applying positive affirmations, exploring uncharted territories within our mindsets, and asking big questions, our responses to unmet expectations can be doorways into moments of grace, learning, resilience and transformation. { read more }

Be The Change

Reflect on a recent disappointment in your life. Observe your reactions and emotions as data that mirrors your stance of the situation, and give yourself the grace to be in a process of learning. { more }

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Inspiring Links of the Week