Second Chances

 

Human Spirit

I believe in second chances,

third, fourth, or  hundredth.

I believe in hope

for the individual and the whole.

I believe in the capacity of humanity

and its ability to conjure peace

through compassion,

understanding,

and sincerity.

I believe in love

and its strength to heal

hatred,

brokenness,

and fear.

Yes, I believe in second chances,

third, fourth, or hundredth,

because they have been given to me.

If I am deserving of such,

so are you, you, and you.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for a Good Deed: Just Pass it On

 

Passing on kindness is all the thanks you need. (iStock)
Passing on kindness is all the thanks you need. (iStock)
POSTED: Sunday, April 27, 2014, 3:01 AM

DEAR ABBY: It seems strange to write to you, but I’d like to share this story about how small acts of kindness can multiply.

On a dark, miserable afternoon, I was out grocery shopping. The woman in line in front of me had two small children and two full carts of groceries. When all her bags were loaded, she began frantically searching in her purse for her car keys. When she couldn’t find them, she realized that, in her haste, she had locked them inside her car. I asked if I could drive her home to get a spare key and she agreed.

I helped her into her house with her bags of groceries, then drove them all back to the store for her car. “How can I ever thank you?” she asked. My reply was, “No thanks are needed; just pass it on.”

Two weeks later, I was at a party when a couple walked into the living room and the woman excitedly said, “There she is!” It was the woman from the market. She rushed over and proceeded to tell everyone how we met.

Then she said she’d had her chance to “pass it on.” I asked what she told the person who had thanked her, and she said, “I said what you did: ‘No thanks are needed – pass it on!’ “

Small kindnesses bring big rewards. If anyone has been the recipient of an act of kindness, remember to pass it on. It’s the Golden Rule.

Thanks, Dear Abby – you “pass on” kindness with each column you write.

– Living the Golden Rule

DEAR LIVING THE GOLDEN RULE: I am a firm believer in passing it on and have long shared that philosophy with friends. However, regardless of how long you preach, the best sermon is a good example.

 


Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Dear Abby

 

Barefoot Soul

a_footprint_in_the_sand_by_naibca-d3g9eb1Barefoot soul,
naked vulnerability,
revelation of truth
beautiful unclipped wings.

Barefoot soul,
though a storm is brewing,
stand your ground,
with no care or worry.

Barefoot soul,
evolution of being,
be not afraid
to keep ascending.

Barefoot soul,
peace and serenity,
mystery of change
is awaiting me.

Life is full of inspiration — inspiring expressions of words, art, and music.  A serene life isn’t without difficulties.  I, for one, am in a transition of ascending rungs on the ladder of my life, from the person I once was to the person I am now to the evolution of me in the tomorrows. Hence, the birth of the above poem; the soul speaks. What happens when the evolving individual, the “Barefoot soul,” finds him or herself in the middle of a tug of war between those who want to clip the wings pulling back into the past and the truth of the soul pulling forward with change? Dr. Maria Nemeth, author of Managing Life’s Energies explains it so easy. “Sometimes life’s opportunities are difficult.  They require us to focus, to be intentional and to take mindful and meaningful action.  Many of us will step away from difficult situations out of fear.  We run from the risk, the difficulty, and the energy required to fully experience the stretch and growth that comes from participating fully in the dance.   When we are vulnerable, we take the risk to tackle what has been handed to us, opening ourselves up to being wounded or hurt, “allowing the winds of life to blow freely over our soul.”

The journey between who you once were and who you are now becoming, is where the dance of life really takes place. ~ Barbara DeAngelis

It comes down to trust — trusting yourself, your truth. Will life be perfect? Does it have to be perfect? I propose it is about being who we are despite the challenges we all face. Taking the risk to step into our truth provides strength and courage to move freely and gracefully in the flow of life. It does not mean that it may not be difficult, but trust and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable brings about strengths we do not realize we had.
Don’t stifle your thoughts and feelings, your joys and your fears; dare to be who you are at all times. Live your values, even when others make it difficult. Open your heart and your mind. Dare to be you at all times and learn to accept others where they are in the journey in life.

Challenge: Do One Thing to Better the World

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I became a fan of random acts of kindness, oh, I would say about five years ago. It enriched my life immensely.. I remember coming in contact with “Secret Agent L” vividly, It was at a time in my life when I started seeing things differently.  I started naturally seeing with my heart “eyes” instead of my face “eyes.”  My awareness started changing about who I was and the world I lived in.  It was the first time in my life that I felt alive, that I felt I had a purpose. I first became acquainted with, Laura, who at the time I knew only as “Agent L” on Facebook and the website, 21 Random Acts of Kindness. It wasn’t long before I became an affiliated agent of “Agent L.” I was “Agent M,” Secret Agent of Kindness. Laura’s project grew enormously and fast. The momentum the project spread across the nation and world validated that humans do crave positivity, that kindness is so powerful it can take a bad day and make it good,, and that there is a Universal heartbeat that is fed through love and compassion.  CNN did a piece on Laura’s endeavor and it can be seen here.  Laura’s endeavor was the match that lit the fire underneath my desire to spread kindness wherever and whenever I could.  I cannot believe the R.A.K. has been going for four years, I will share one of of the missions that I found exciting.:  Hitting the the local library with a R.A.K. (Random Act of Kindness).  You can read it at 21 Random Acts of Kindness’ Affiliated Agent Stories, or below just to give you an idea of how R.A.K. operates.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

You guys all know I love to read.  Two degrees in English wouldn’t suggest otherwise, right?  I think sharing a book (or the opportunity to get a book) with someone is one of the kindest things we can do!  Affiliated Agent M of Hilliard, Ohio, is a girl after my own heart.

DATE:
Monday, 16 August 2010

OPERATIVE:
Affiliated Agent M

LOCATION:
library
Hilliard, Ohio

TIME:
6:00 p.m.

Affiliated Agent M is bursting at the seams!

 

I am just elated and overjoyed … my heart hasn’t stopped dancing.  I completed my first “official” SAL mission on August 16, 2010, 6:00 p.m., Hilliard, Ohio.

My husband and I brainstormed for ideas to do for a RAK mission.  I thought wouldn’t it be awesome if a person going to pick up an item at the library received a random-act-of-kindness.  An unanticipated nicety that enables the “finder” to feel special, to smile, to inspire them to spread kindness to another, to pay it forward.

I placed $5.00 in a card, with an affirmation and personal note from me:  “There is nothing better on a beautiful day then relaxing with a good book on the banks of a river, in a lounge chair, or under a shade tree.  May this Random Act of Kindness make that come true for you, just because!”

The gift was placed inside of a slot where books are waiting to be picked up by those who have reserved items from the library online.

 

I can’t wait to complete my next mission!

Affiliated Agent M

I love it, lady!  A simple act of kindness can make all the difference.  Glad you had fun!

 

Are you ready to accept the challenge?  Is there one thing you can do to “better” the world?  I know there is and below is an article that lists 60 positive things that can do to “better” the world—one day at a time—one person at a time—one heart at a time!

 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Even after all this time,
the sun never says to the earth, “You owe me!”
Look what happens with a love like that,
it lights up the whole sky.
-Hafez

Selflessness is the sincere concern for the well being of others. It’s about love. It’s about compassion. It’s about kindness and faith. It’s about making a difference in the world. Sure, you are only one, but you are one. You cannot do everything, but you can do something. Smile and enjoy the fact that you have the ability to make a difference – one you’ll likely remember forever.

So go ahead and make the words, “How can I help?” part of your everyday vocabulary. Start today; choose one of these 60 selfless ways to pay it forward.

  • Hold the door open for the person behind you.
  • Introduce yourself. Make new colleagues, classmates, etc. feel welcome.
  • Clean out all your old clothes and donate them to someone in need. Your old is someone else’s new.
  • Write a positive Yelp review about a local business you like.
  • Listen intently to people’s stories without trying to fix everything.
  • Donate blood. One pint of blood can save up to three lives. Locate your nearest blood drive.
  • Volunteer at a hospital, homeless shelter, nursing home, etc. Get outside of yourself and help others. Check out Volunteer Match.
  • Buy house warming gifts for new neighbors.
  • Inspire others online.
  • Share your umbrella with a stranger on a rainy day.
  • Check up on someone who looks lonely.
  • Let someone with only a few items cut you in line at the grocery store.
  • Spread good news.
  • Replace what you’ve used. For example, fill up the copier or printer with paper after you’re done using it or start a fresh batch of coffee.
  • Give words of encouragement to someone about their dreams, no matter how big or small they are.
  • Stop and buy a drink from a kid’s lemonade stand.
  • Help someone get your parking space in a crowded parking lot when you’re leaving.
  • Babysit for couples or single parents who don’t get out much so they can have some alone time.
  • Look for ways to save a few extra bucks a month and then donate it to a good cause or charity.
  • Shop at your local charity thrift store. The money you spend there helps others.
  • Help someone get active. There’s a coworker or acquaintance in your life who wants to get healthy, but needs a helping hand. Offer to go walking or running together or join a gym together. Check out your local Active activities.
  • If someone you love really likes something (a meal, a favor, etc.) give it to them when they least expect it.
  • Make a difference in the life of a child. Give them your time and undivided attention.
  • Pay for the person in line behind you.
  • Drop off your old eye glasses at your local LensCrafters as a donation to the OneSight program.
  • Create a care package and send it to an active duty military unit.
  • Redirect gifts. Instead of having people give you birthday and holiday gifts, ask them to donate gifts or money to a good cause.
  • The next time you see someone pulled over with a flat tire, or in need of assistance, stop and ask how you can help. Read How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist.
  • Become a mentor or tutor to someone in need.
  • Help the weary shopper in front of you who needs that extra two or three cents to avoid breaking a 20-dollar bill.
  • Come to the rescue. If you realize someone is sick, bring them some hot tea, soup, etc.
  • Be a courteous driver. Let people merge in front of you.
  • Put some change in an expired parking meter (where it’s legal).
  • Offer your seat to someone when there aren’t any left.
  • Listen to someone’s pain and help them find a path through it.
  • Hug a friend. Let them know how important they are.
  • Think twice before you throw something away. As Jack Johnson once said, “Reduce, reuse, and recycle.”
  • Help an entrepreneur with a Kiva donation.
  • Bake cookies or brownies and share with a neighbor or colleagues.
  • If you have a good book you’ve read that’s just sitting around on a book shelf, give it away to a friend.
  • Become a member of Freecycle, and participate.
  • Clean up litter in a park or open space nearby.
  • Look into co-housing.
  • Borrow and lend things in your neighborhood by using Share Some Sugar.
  • Send a nice email or handwritten card to someone you know, unexpectedly.
  • Leave encouraging post-it notes in library books and other random places.
  • If you see a couple taking a self-pic, offer to take the picture for them.
  • Setup a donation box at your school, work or place of worship and ask others to make canned/dried food contributions. Then deliver the donations accordingly.
  • Join efforts to preserve and protect the environment.
  • Donate cat and dog food to an animal shelter. Call and ask what is needed.
  • Compliment someone with sincerity.
  • If there’s been an accident or a potentially hazardous situation presents itself on the road, report it to the local authorities. Your phone call could save a life.
  • Collect and donate prom dresses for underprivileged youth. Check out the Princess Project.
  • When you’re getting fast food, buy an extra meal for a homeless person.
  • Stand up for someone. Lend your voice. Often the powerless, the homeless, the neglected in our world need someone to speak up for them.
  • Take the time to teach someone a skill you know.
  • Teach others how to make a difference in this world by setting a good example every day. Read 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life.
  • When someone wants to repay you for something, ask them to pay it forward.

POST WRITTEN BY: ANGEL CHERNOFF, “60 Selfless Ways to Share With the World”

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

SmiledSoul Wrist Whispers is my current “mission.”  It is my endeavor to spread positive energy, positive words, positive vibes all around the world.  

Indigo Life: From One Empath to Another

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Have you be labeled as “too emotional” or overly sensitive?
If your friend is distraught, do you feel distraught, too?
Are your feelings easily hurt?
Do you get emotionally drained by crowds and require alone time to revive?
Do you over-compensate (eat, drink, sleep, shop, etc.) to cope with emotional stress?
Are you often identified or suspected of having ADD or ADHD (but you find you can focus when you want)?
Are you a talented daydreamer and visionary?
Do you feel you are part of something vastly larger and bigger out “there” but do not quite fit in “here”?
Are you attracted to all that is contained in the Universe?

Continue reading

How a Smile Saved a Life

How a Smile Saved Antoine de Saint-Exupér’s Life: A Soul-Lifting Meditation on Our Shared Humanity
by Maria Popova

Care granted to the sick, welcome offered to the banished, forgiveness itself are worth nothing without a smile enlightening the deed.

Though researchers since Darwin may have spent considerable effort on the science of smiles, at the heart of that simple human expression remains a metaphysical art — one captured nowhere more beautifully and grippingly than in a short account by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, found in Letter to a Hostage — the same exquisite short memoir he began writing in December of 1940, a little more than two years before he created The Little Prince on American soil, which also gave us his poignant reflection on what the Sahara desert teaches us about the meaning of life.http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1906548013/braipick-20

In a creative sandbox for what would become Saint-Exupéry’s most famous line in The Little Prince — “What is essential is invisible to the eye.” — he writes:

“How does life construct those lines of force which make us alive?

[…]

Real miracles make little noise! Essential events are so simple!”
Continue reading

Be Inspired, Be L♥ve

Everyone has a purpose and everyone has something to give, even if it is a smile to someone in need of one.

Starbucks Global Month of Service: Washington Middle School & William Booth Center Projects

by MELODY on APRIL 20, 2014

Every April, Starbucks coordinates lots of volunteering projects in communities all across the United States, and internationally as well. Anyone can join in. Last year, I signed up for a tree planting project in Cle Elum. This year I picked two projects that looked interesting and that I could work around my work week. The first was Friday, April 18, 2014, and was a meal program at the William Booth Center (a shelter and meal program for homeless men). The second project was a middle school beautification project on Saturday the 19th. I had such a great time at both! If you haven’t signed up for a community service project, there’s still time. Continue reading

Spirituality and Materialism

by Lama Thubten Yeshe

from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archives

Lama YeshePeople often talk about spirituality and materialism, but what do these terms really mean? You’ll find that, as individuals, each of us has a different view.Some think they’re opposites, two irreconcilable extremes. Others think you can’t lead a spiritual life while living in a materialistic society, that to do so you have to abandon all enjoyment of material things. Then there are those who think spiritual seekers are rejects from society who couldn’t succeed in the material world. Yet others think, “I’m a rationalist, I don’t believe anything,” considering religious people blindly ignorant believers.

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Perspective

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Right before the eyes close at night

I reflect on the sum total of the day,

retracing the crumbs I left behind,

and they places they remain .

What were the crumbs I left behind?

Love?

Fear?

Kindness?

Malice?

Did they bring a smile to someone’s face?

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Life Mosaic


held breath
primal wail
opened eyes
not from here
yet here a long time
an old soul
maybe,
and maybe more than that,
don’t know
human standing alone
forced smile
spontaneous dance
assigned roles
expectations
met,
not met,
giving all
still becoming
crashes and bleeds
soul heals
only human?
Continue reading