
Apr 12, 2024 'Planting A Tree Is Hope In Action': The People Regenerating Urban Habitats And Growing Community In Australian cities, re-wilding projects are cultivating camaraderie and community. They're also helping to restore local ecosystems. “People want to be custodians for their local environment. Friends groups can help facilitate and encourage that desire; that need. In fact, more than ever we need opportunities to connect with our planet and each other,” said environmental advocate Stephen Northey. Read the full story here.
Apr 6, 2024 He Biked From Spain To Singapore. The Kindness Of Strangers Kept Him Going. In 2020, Andrew Mortenson accepted a voluntary exit package and left his job with a large airline. He began his journey across 37 countries and, fueled by curiosity and kindness, completed it early in 2024. Of the big-hearted people he encountered, Andrew says, “it feels so wildly different from the world we see in the news right now. Their continued grace towards this complete stranger is a powerful reminder of that common refrain — there's a lot more that connects us, than divides us.” Read the full story here.
Apr 4, 2024 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 ...]
Apr 2, 2024 Touching stories from our KindSpring community ... Mindyjourney: Catch Up 🕊️ Hello, kind friends! We are back from our winter Texas recharge. Grateful for every moment and memory. Attended the Whooping Crane Fest and saw over a dozen of the highly endangered birds! Enjoyed a lecture by George Archibald, co-founder of the International Crane Foundation [Read more here...] Tulikaruchi: Moving From Deficiency to Offerings Spoke to my cousin for 3 hours. He is going through a difficult breakup and his anxiety was acting up. Through the conversation, helped him feel things he was not allowing himself to feel but also shift [Read more here...] Rajni: Three Days Of Kindness ... Three days of Kindness (March 19-21, 2024) Gave some quote cards , Sri Ram’s photos to Utthan. Gave some quote cards, Shri Ram Photos and positive thinking books to my Divine sister. Again, made and gave shiro for sick old lady At the bank, kept door open for customers [Read more here...]
Mar 31, 2024 Works & Conversations: What Means Ontology? Recently, a new edition of Works & Conversations was published. This gift economy project features "a series of deeply thoughtful interviews with a wide range of artists". The latest issue explores a range of topics -- from a touching tale of mana and mystery to a conversation with a Theosophist to a waymaking adventure to the philosophical inquiries of an artist. Check out the full issue here.
Mar 27, 2024 The Danish City Reimagining Reuse Every day in Aarhus (Denmark), two metric tons of items receive a new lease on life. The idea, adapted from a book rescue project, is that items like sofas, dishes, lamps, furniture, and electronics can be taken to a recycling station where they are freely available for another to take home. Read the full story of this innovative reuse project here.
Mar 25, 2024 Grace In The Classroom I want to demonstrate to my students that their worthiness does NOT depend on the grades they earn in my class. Of course, I want to give my C students the same attention that my A students get. But if I am really honest with myself, I have to admit I like talking to A students, because they “get it”... they already speak the same language. But what credit is it to me as a teacher, if I only affirm the students who already “get it”? It’s easy to affirm the student who asks great questions in class, but I must be thoughtful about how can I affirm the questions from a struggling student. Or the one who comes from a different cultural background. Or the one whose educational system didn’t provide them with the tools they need. How can I affirm these students? I like to tell them the struggle ... [Read more of this Awakin Reading...] Seed questions for reflection: How do you relate to the notion that grace is what makes hard conversations possible and productive between people? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to affirm the dignity of someone who wasn't succeeding in their endeavor? What helps you honor the dignity of those who aren't doing well?
Mar 23, 2024 In a Bomb Shelter Under Kyiv, a Professor Taught Peace Professor David Dowling, from Pepperdine University in California, traveled to war-torn Kyiv to teach a class conflict and dispute resolution last fall. Dowling recalled, "Five minutes into class, the air raid sirens started." The class evacuated to an underground bomb shelter, where Professor Dowling continued teaching. Read this inspiring and powerful story here.
Mar 21, 2024 A Special Pay-It-Forward Drive in Fukushima Miki, an 11th grade student in Japan, started a giftivism club with her friends. Earlier this month, Miki went to Fukushima to hand out heart pins made by women in the slums of India. She shared the sweet story behind the pins and encouraged each recipient to gift the pin forward as a token of gratitude. Click the image below to watch this brief, heart-warming video from Miki!
Mar 19, 2024 This week's Awakin reading is by adrienne maree brown titled 'Organizing With Love': My favorite life forms right now are dandelions and mushrooms—the resilience in these structures, which we think of as weeds and fungi, the incomprehensible scale, the clarity of identity, excites me. I love to see the way mushrooms can take substances we think of as toxic, and process them as food, or that dandelions spread not only themselves but their community structure, manifesting their essential qualities (which include healing and detoxifying the human body) to proliferate and thrive in a new environment. The resilience of these life forms is that they evolve while maintaining core practices that ensure their survival. A mushroom is a toxin-transformer, a dandelion is a community of healers waiting to spread… What are we as humans, what is our function in the universe? One thing I have observed: When we are engaged in acts of love, we humans are at our best and most resilient. The love in ... [Read more] Seed questions for reflection: What does organizing with love mean to you? Can you share a personal story of a time when the goal of your work was to increase the love instead of winning or dominating an opponent? What helps you go deeper in your relationships?