For the Man Who Hated Christmas

It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past ten years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas--oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it--overspending... the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma---the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.

Read the full post here...
http://www.helpothers.org/story.php?sid=7893

Back on my feet

Street Art: Joshua Allen Harris' Inflatable Bag Monsters

The Surprising Truth of Sufficiency

We each have the choice in any setting to step back and let go of the mind-set of scarcity. Once we let go of scarcity, we discover the surprising truth of sufficiency. By sufficiency, I don’t mean a quantity of anything. Sufficiency isn’t two steps up from poverty or one step short of abundance. It isn’t a measure of barely enough or more than enough. Sufficiency isn’t an amount at all. It is an experience, a context we generate, a declaration, a knowing that there is enough, and that we are enough.

Read the full post here...
http://www.ijourney.org/index.php?tid=673

Tell Me Why

Consciousness: An Awareness of Self

This morning, over breakfast, I was listening to an NPR story about the Prague Spring with my son 8-year-old son, Tasman. We got into a conversation about the former Soviet Union, a bit of world history, the Cold War, and Stalin. I decided to advance the notion of deep ecology to him using Stalin’s horrific genocidal killings as a prybar.

Read the full post here... http://www.basilandspice.com/mind-and-body/consciousness-an-awareness-of-self.html

Inner Power and Protection

Everything, everyone is my teacher. No matter how difficult, how unexpected, how unwanted, since it has come into my life, I ask myself, "What do I learn now?"


http://www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk

Charter for Compassion

One Day by Matisyahu

The Story of Stuff

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Watch the video here... http://www.storyofstuff.com/