A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions and the roots spring up and make new trees.
Emelia Earhart
*****************
'Lo.
-----------------------
This is what kindness can do. It can feed a hungry child, ease the pain of an injured man, help the handicapped, guide the blind, rescue a suffering animal, provide for the poor, care for the elderly, visit the shut-in, educate the ignorant, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless and befriend the lonely stranger. But those things are only the beginning,
A kind act has a huge benefit attached to it that the care giver isn't even aware of at the time. A kind deed thrusts a sharp spear right into the very heart of evil.
There are many ways of being unkind, compassionless and unmerciful and many reasons for it. Self-justification is a popular one. "I'm just taking care of myself and my family. That's difficult enough. Why should I care about anyone else? That's their problem." Ignorance is another one. I'm reminded of the remark a woman made about wanting to give her leftover Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless but she didn't know where they lived. Tucked into one's safe and reasonably happy home it's easy to become benignly unaware of the desperation down the street. Then there are the religious reasons, which are the most insidious. It's alright to be cruel under certain circumstances because the Bible says this and the Koran says that and my guru saya the other thing and traditions must be followed.
Evil relishes the idea of going out into the gladiatorial arena and doing battle with kindness, charity, love and mercy. But in that arena evil has only one weapon. And that weapon is the human mind.
If evil can get you to believe that it's alright to kill, maim, torture, forget, ignore, turn away from, overlook, stay home, and let others take care of things because you can't be bothered, then evil has won the day.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
*********************
May you find unexpected joy today.
__________________________
SPRING QUIZ
THIS IS NOT A CONTEST
What do you think was the most important event of 2008? and
What was the most significant event in your life last year?
You have all Spring to answer if you wish.
15 responses so far.
Leave answers on my email dbdacoba@aol.com or on my journal
http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/. Thank you. DB
Showing posts with label Spring Quiz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spring Quiz. Show all posts
Monday, June 1, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Optimum Outreach 5/16/09
You should never give up on anybody.
David Ortiz
********************
Smile, you're on Candid Camera.
-------------------------
One of my Vagabondisms reads "Don’t give up on people – every road goes somewhere."
Yesterday I had one of those days you never want to have. It started out bad, got worse and ended up drowned in beer. After struggling all morning to install some statistical sites on my journal page, I was dismayed to find I had a lot fewer readers to it than I thought I did. I wanted to toss the whole thing in my local Dumpster as a wasteful, useless example of futility. Hence, you didn't get one of my verbose entries, my meager attempts at purple prose and pink poesy, my staggering, trembling observations about life. I was FED UP with life.
But when I woke up this morning, too early, hungry, hung over and with a bewildering headache, I managed to make myself a cup of coffee and to think about things,
The first step in my reasoning was that I write because I want to. There is almost nothing obligatory about it. I enjoy it and therefore should continue, no matter what. Secondly I do have a few people who enjoy reading my journal and if I can easily stuff them all into the back of a Chevy pick-up, so what? And why should I give up on one neighbor just because the neighborhood is alien, As my quote says, I don't believe in giving up on people. Some good friendships and interesting discussions have come from folks reading and responding to what I write and from my reading and responding to what they write.
But the most surprising and significant arrival of thought into my hung over head was that if I closed the cover on my journal and tossed it on a bottom shelf to gather dust, I would be giving up on myself. (It takes a genius like me to figure that one out.)
One thing a vagabond knows is that the journey continues. There are still adventures to be had, problems to be solved, mysteries to be unraveled, landscapes to be investigated, bridges to be crossed, a magic lamp to be rubbed, a conduit of truth to be opened and a higher self to be discovered, in everyone's life. In my life they appear out of the fog as I write.
There's no point in giving up on myself, or anyone else, because the roads keep going somewhere. One destination leads to another.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
____________________
Practice joy.
************************
SPRING QUIZ
THIS IS NOT A CONTEST
What do you think was the most important event of 2008? and
What was the most significant event in your life last year?
You have all Spring to answer if you wish.
15 responses so far.
Leave answers on my email dbdacoba@aol.com or on my journal
http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/. Thank you. DB
David Ortiz
********************
Smile, you're on Candid Camera.
-------------------------
One of my Vagabondisms reads "Don’t give up on people – every road goes somewhere."
Yesterday I had one of those days you never want to have. It started out bad, got worse and ended up drowned in beer. After struggling all morning to install some statistical sites on my journal page, I was dismayed to find I had a lot fewer readers to it than I thought I did. I wanted to toss the whole thing in my local Dumpster as a wasteful, useless example of futility. Hence, you didn't get one of my verbose entries, my meager attempts at purple prose and pink poesy, my staggering, trembling observations about life. I was FED UP with life.
But when I woke up this morning, too early, hungry, hung over and with a bewildering headache, I managed to make myself a cup of coffee and to think about things,
The first step in my reasoning was that I write because I want to. There is almost nothing obligatory about it. I enjoy it and therefore should continue, no matter what. Secondly I do have a few people who enjoy reading my journal and if I can easily stuff them all into the back of a Chevy pick-up, so what? And why should I give up on one neighbor just because the neighborhood is alien, As my quote says, I don't believe in giving up on people. Some good friendships and interesting discussions have come from folks reading and responding to what I write and from my reading and responding to what they write.
But the most surprising and significant arrival of thought into my hung over head was that if I closed the cover on my journal and tossed it on a bottom shelf to gather dust, I would be giving up on myself. (It takes a genius like me to figure that one out.)
One thing a vagabond knows is that the journey continues. There are still adventures to be had, problems to be solved, mysteries to be unraveled, landscapes to be investigated, bridges to be crossed, a magic lamp to be rubbed, a conduit of truth to be opened and a higher self to be discovered, in everyone's life. In my life they appear out of the fog as I write.
There's no point in giving up on myself, or anyone else, because the roads keep going somewhere. One destination leads to another.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
____________________
Practice joy.
************************
SPRING QUIZ
THIS IS NOT A CONTEST
What do you think was the most important event of 2008? and
What was the most significant event in your life last year?
You have all Spring to answer if you wish.
15 responses so far.
Leave answers on my email dbdacoba@aol.com or on my journal
http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/. Thank you. DB
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Inspiring Introductions 5/09/09
There are so many dawns that have not begun to shine.
Indian proverb
*****************
Hello again.
---------------------
The first spot in the United States to get the sunlight is the summit of Mount Katahdin in Maine. I know people who have hiked up there, spent the night on the summit and been the first people in the country to see the sunrise.
Imagine standing there as the sun slowly gleams its way up out of the Atlantic Ocean to touch your face knowing that all the rest of the country is still in the dark.
Or imagine being a mariner aloft in the summit of your ship, the crows nest, past all known waters of that same Atlantic, peering through a telescope and seeing land. Land where no one knows there is land.
Or imagine being an early man trudging alone through an unknown stretch of desert, coming to a cliff edge and peering down into the vast space of the Grand Canyon.
Or imagine being Neil Armstrong making his one small step and peering around onto a totally alien place that humanity has only dreamed of..
Or imagine the philosopher who peering down into the barbaric threats upon human survival from the chaos of ungoverned tribes saw the sunlight of democracy.
Or imagine the first person to discover farming, trade, community, therapeutics. economics, printing, masonry, harmonics, mining, subconsciousness, the list goes on.
We have all been on those summits. In our own ways, large and small, discoveries have been made as life presents it's problems, adventures, trials and triumphs. The great realization is that things will not always be the same and with each new discovery the world changes and with each personal dawn of light our lives will change. The great joy is the process of leaving the darkness behind and readjusting our lives to fit the new day.
There are still discoveries to be made, great and small, in everyone's life.
"Here comes the sun."
Vagabond Journeys
_______________
Why not do some spring cleaning of your moods.
*****************
Spring Quiz
SPRING QUIZ
THIS IS NOT A CONTEST
What do you think was the most important event of 2008? and
What was the most significant event in your life last year?
You have all Spring to answer if you wish.
15 responses so far.
Leave answers on my email dbdacoba@aol.com or on my journalhttp://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/.
Thank you. DB
Indian proverb
*****************
Hello again.
---------------------
The first spot in the United States to get the sunlight is the summit of Mount Katahdin in Maine. I know people who have hiked up there, spent the night on the summit and been the first people in the country to see the sunrise.
Imagine standing there as the sun slowly gleams its way up out of the Atlantic Ocean to touch your face knowing that all the rest of the country is still in the dark.
Or imagine being a mariner aloft in the summit of your ship, the crows nest, past all known waters of that same Atlantic, peering through a telescope and seeing land. Land where no one knows there is land.
Or imagine being an early man trudging alone through an unknown stretch of desert, coming to a cliff edge and peering down into the vast space of the Grand Canyon.
Or imagine being Neil Armstrong making his one small step and peering around onto a totally alien place that humanity has only dreamed of..
Or imagine the philosopher who peering down into the barbaric threats upon human survival from the chaos of ungoverned tribes saw the sunlight of democracy.
Or imagine the first person to discover farming, trade, community, therapeutics. economics, printing, masonry, harmonics, mining, subconsciousness, the list goes on.
We have all been on those summits. In our own ways, large and small, discoveries have been made as life presents it's problems, adventures, trials and triumphs. The great realization is that things will not always be the same and with each new discovery the world changes and with each personal dawn of light our lives will change. The great joy is the process of leaving the darkness behind and readjusting our lives to fit the new day.
There are still discoveries to be made, great and small, in everyone's life.
"Here comes the sun."
Vagabond Journeys
_______________
Why not do some spring cleaning of your moods.
*****************
Spring Quiz
SPRING QUIZ
THIS IS NOT A CONTEST
What do you think was the most important event of 2008? and
What was the most significant event in your life last year?
You have all Spring to answer if you wish.
15 responses so far.
Leave answers on my email dbdacoba@aol.com or on my journalhttp://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/.
Thank you. DB
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Becoming Breakthrough 5/02/09
The best way to outlive your past is to start living your future.
DB - The Vagabond
*******************
Hail. Some people, including myself, have had trouble getting into my journal. It seems to come and go, like phases of the moon. "Try again later" as AOL is fond of saying. It's apparently working right now. I don't know what made it work but I suspect it was because I marinated the modem in some high class Japanese saki.
---------------------------------------
Outliving the past. Yes. This is a topic I've been pondering for some time now. The memories keep stacking up. Mine come to me randomly, like a shuffled deck of cards; my loves, my successes, my failures, my regrets. It's very easy, if you are a crotchety old curmudgeon like me, to say "Well, most of my life has been lived." When, in fact, a lot of time has been spent either living your life or not living it. That's all.
That one cannot predict the future is no reason not to live in the present and look forward.to it. I simply want to do the things that my meager income and my physical infirmaries allow me to do and I don't care how much time I have left to do them. In writing this journal I often cite things in my past, but I think and I hope it is a healthy exercise, for a couple of related reasons. One is that it enables me to think back at those events and draw the values from them. And the other is that I can use the lessons learned and the observations made to illustrate some important point (or, at least, one that I consider important) for me and others. But, at the same time, writing is an act of pure futurism. It is something that I give out to the world to see tomorrow, or a year from tomorrow, or whenever, if ever.
Circumstance don't allow me to be a performer any more, unless miracles take place, but that doesn't mean life is over. You took a journey to someplace, and when you got there it wasn't where you thought you'd be? So what? Look around and see what there is to do and enjoy it.
As Yogi Berra so eloquently put it "The future ain't what it used to be." So toss out the "used to bes" and live it up, boys and girls. There are still a lot of mistakes to be made and successes to be achieved.
Yours truly.
____________________________
Sudsy blessings to you.
*********************************
SPRING QUIZ
THIS IS NOT A CONTEST
What do you think was the most important event of 2008? and
What was the most significant event in your life last year?
You have all Spring to answer if you wish.
15 responses so far.
Leave answers on my email dbdacoba@aol.com or on my journal
http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/. Thank you. DB
DB - The Vagabond
*******************
Hail. Some people, including myself, have had trouble getting into my journal. It seems to come and go, like phases of the moon. "Try again later" as AOL is fond of saying. It's apparently working right now. I don't know what made it work but I suspect it was because I marinated the modem in some high class Japanese saki.
---------------------------------------
Outliving the past. Yes. This is a topic I've been pondering for some time now. The memories keep stacking up. Mine come to me randomly, like a shuffled deck of cards; my loves, my successes, my failures, my regrets. It's very easy, if you are a crotchety old curmudgeon like me, to say "Well, most of my life has been lived." When, in fact, a lot of time has been spent either living your life or not living it. That's all.
That one cannot predict the future is no reason not to live in the present and look forward.to it. I simply want to do the things that my meager income and my physical infirmaries allow me to do and I don't care how much time I have left to do them. In writing this journal I often cite things in my past, but I think and I hope it is a healthy exercise, for a couple of related reasons. One is that it enables me to think back at those events and draw the values from them. And the other is that I can use the lessons learned and the observations made to illustrate some important point (or, at least, one that I consider important) for me and others. But, at the same time, writing is an act of pure futurism. It is something that I give out to the world to see tomorrow, or a year from tomorrow, or whenever, if ever.
Circumstance don't allow me to be a performer any more, unless miracles take place, but that doesn't mean life is over. You took a journey to someplace, and when you got there it wasn't where you thought you'd be? So what? Look around and see what there is to do and enjoy it.
As Yogi Berra so eloquently put it "The future ain't what it used to be." So toss out the "used to bes" and live it up, boys and girls. There are still a lot of mistakes to be made and successes to be achieved.
Yours truly.
____________________________
Sudsy blessings to you.
*********************************
SPRING QUIZ
THIS IS NOT A CONTEST
What do you think was the most important event of 2008? and
What was the most significant event in your life last year?
You have all Spring to answer if you wish.
15 responses so far.
Leave answers on my email dbdacoba@aol.com or on my journal
http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/. Thank you. DB
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