Posts filed under “Give / Freely”

Run into the bamboo thicket in your jammies

What if it was your job to help everyone else succeed? – David Robinson Tess got a small package in the mail a few weeks ago. Its arrival alone (regardless of the content) was cause for some serious celebration in our house. In fact, mail is such a Big Deal in Our Home that the best five dollars I ever…
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If you were dying, would you hug more freely?

My thanks to Mari Gonzalez who sent this to me. You might remember Emma’s "Free Hugs" experiment. Here it is in a slightly different context. Some things are universal. If you were dying, would you hug more freely? You are dying. You just don’t know when. Hug, hug.

I is for inside looking

Man need only divert his attention from searching for the solution to external questions and pose the one, true inner question of how he should lead his life, and all the external questions will be resolved in the best possible way. – Leo Tolstoy In 2008, I will end each day by inside looking. Naikan (nye-kahn) is a Japanese word…
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Becoming Larger Than Our Skin Allows

And no, that title isn’t a reference to overeating. In the U.S., today is Thanksgiving Day (and my friend Karrie Manson’s birthday, so a shout out to her for being so powerful that the nation stops when she ages). This year, I’m not spending Thanksgiving at a long table full of vegan alternatives to turkey, but hunched over a computer…
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Release a dove for Meta

Dear Friends, Meta’s story touched many people. Her too-young death and the extraordinary leave-taking given to her by her family and friends brought lessons and insights to me, to many. On February 25th at 5pm EST, her family and friends will gather in the mountains to release a dove in memory of Meta and in celebration of her 21st birthday,…
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With gratitude for the ampersand

"I am a part of all that I have met." – Tennyson The end of a year brings closure of many kinds. Some involve owning what didn’t get done that year; others involve thankfulness, still others center on the celebration of things accomplished, friendships deepened, things and people let go of, even. As this second year of 37days ends, I…
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Open your hand

“To receive everything, one must open one’s hands and give.” –Taisen Deshimaru “If my hands are fully occupied in holding on to something, I can neither give nor receive.” -Dorothee Solle One of the wisest people I know is a man named Eliav Zakay from Israel, CEO of a national youth leadership program there and formerly with the Israel Defense…
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