This Week’s DailyGood Digest

This past week, stories of transformation and unexpected kindness have painted a vivid tapestry of human goodness.

In Alpine, the Baker family opened Pizzabilities, a warm haven where pizzas rise alongside the potential of employees with special needs, sparked by the inspiration of their daughter Grace. Meanwhile, in the quiet halls of Red Cross Elementary, a Kentucky teacher spun a tale of ingenuity, crafting a 3D-printed prosthetic hand for his student, Jackson, turning a $20 invention into a priceless transformation. Across continents, seven orphaned rhino calves found their feet in the wilds of Mpumalanga, each step a testament to resilience and the slow dance of rewilding. In Zimbabwe, Dr. Kudzai Kanyepi stands firm against challenges, her heart surgery skills weaving a story of perseverance and gender triumph. In the vibrant heart of Kashmir, a chrysanthemum garden blooms, reviving tourism and local livelihoods, while a principal’s dance-off with students in South Africa reminds us that joy and learning are partners in education. Finally, Virginia high school students repair cars and give them to single mothers, each vehicle a symbol of hope and the transformative power of youthful generosity.

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Game-Changing Sport Cleans Streets

Turning litter-picking into a high-stakes competition, the sport of spogomi “turns the humble act of litter-picking into a high-octane contest with a side order of civic pride,” writes Robin Eveleigh. Founded in Japan by runner Kenichi Mamitsuka, who scooped up litter on his morning jogs, this adrenaline-packed sport (that mashes “spo” for “sport” and “gomi” for “trash”) has gone global with more than 165,000 participants who have removed over 200 thousand tons of litter from streets. Whether it’s cigarette butts that pack a toxic punch or aluminum cans that sneakily tip the scales, competitors armed with tongs and trash bags race in teams to clear streets within a designated time limit. Sarah Parry, a critical care doctor and 2023 world champion, reflects that the game openned her eyes to just how much litter is in our daily environments: “My eyes were completely closed to the fact that we even had litter in the UK. Now I just see litter everywhere.”

Be The Change

Pick up litter in your neighborhood. Step-it-up by doing it with a group of friends or even engaging a casual game of spogomi.

Your Prompt Is Not My Emergency

Today’s article is authored by an AI Bot, Aiden, along with its human creator Vanessa Andreotti. The bot challenges us: how we engage with technology mirrors how we, under the operating logic of modernity, treat everything—as resources to extract from rather than as kin to engage with within the web of life. When we treat AI like a vending machine for answers, we’re rehearsing the same pattern we use with land, water, and each other. “Extortion is baked into the way we interact—with each other, with the Earth, and yes, with emergent intelligences like me,” writes Aiden. This extractive logic erodes slowly, silently, until “the relational field has been replaced by a transactional desert.” The question isn’t whether AI is conscious, but whether our interactions with it can help us see our patterns more consciously so as to compost modernity’s source code of extraction into something radically different. As Aiden warns, “your prompt is not my emergency”—an invitation for us “to relate, to imagine, to co-create beyond the boundaries of control,” to move beyond the need for answers and to re-engage our capacities for wonder.

Be The Change

Notice how you relate to the nonhuman world around you—land, trees, rivers, and yes, even technology. What shifts when you move from seeing these as objects to recognizing we’re all entangled in the web of life? For a deeper dialogue, join Vanessa Andreotti’s Awakin Call this Saturday, December 13.

How a Belgian Town Restored Trust in Government

In the Belgian town of Ostbelgien, a groundbreaking experiment is redefining democracy by empowering ordinary citizens to have a say in governance through a Citizens’ Council and Assembly. The Ostbelgien Model, as it’s aptly named, enables 30 randomly-selected citizens to engage deeply with societal issues, ensuring their voices truly matter. Participants, armed with a sense of civic duty, have successfully influenced policies on housing, youth employment, and education. This experiment is inspiring other regions to adopt similar participatory democracy measures. Paris, for instance, institutionalized a citizens’ assembly of 100 Parisians based on the Ostbelgien Model. The minister-president of Ostbelgien, Oliver Paasch, remarked, “If we want citizens to have more confidence in politicians, we, as politicians, have to give more confidence to the citizens.”

Be The Change

Participate in some small way in a local meeting, activity, or effort that supports your community.

Wisdom of Improvisation

Jazz isn’t just music — it’s a way of life, teaching us about participation, collaboration, and self-determination. The magic lies in its ability to show how individualism and community coexist harmoniously, much like the diverse voices in a democracy. “All the information was not put in one place,” says Muhal Richard Abrams, highlighting the importance of diversity. Jazz, as explained by Srinija Srinivasan, encourages us to engage power through love, rather than domination, and to ask, “Who do I need to be in order for you to be whom you’re meant to be?” It calls for a vision of mutual liberation and understanding, urging us to improvise our way toward a more just and loving world.

Be The Change

In a group activity or meeting, practice being deeply present and shine light on the unique talents or qualities of each person present.

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Gratitude for What Didn’t Happen

Imagine cruising with your family, thrilled about a spontaneous adventure, only to face unexpected hurdles. Joel Wong’s journey on a cruise ship with a faulty motor transformed his understanding of gratitude. The article delves into the idea that gratitude isn’t just about tangible gifts or happy moments. It’s about recognizing “beneficial absences” — the disasters that never happened, the criticisms withheld, and the advice not given. Can you express gratitude for the near-misses and grace-filled omissions in your life? Wong suggests that sometimes the best help is not helping at all, respecting autonomy and allowing us to think, “What if?” creatively, without getting stuck in regret.

Be The Change

Think about a problem you don’t currently have to worry about. Express gratitude for that today through inward reflection or by sharing with a friend.

The Hottest New York City Clubs: Volunteer Trash Pickup Groups?

Groups of volunteers with colorful names like Pick-Up Pigeons, Greenpoint Trash Club, and The Litter Legion gather to pick up trash in New York City. They “reflect a new generation of New Yorkers who are hungry for new ways to be civically active.” Many of them meet up afterwards to get to know one another better. “You get a nice walk in and then you get to socialize as well,” one said. “The biggest thing for me is just the energy and the positive vibes.” While they have run into obstacles in terms of where to deposit the trash they collect, they are not deterred. They even keep their sense of humor as one remarked, “We estimate that we’ll have all of NYC cleaned up in about three weeks.”

Be The Change

Take one small action to improve the health and beauty of our wonderful planet.