This story touched me, reminding me once again how a small act can brighten one person’s day and set off a chain reaction that affects many others. Someone put a $5 bill into a book, along with an encouraging note for the person who buys the book. It was the note-writer’s way of making their bad day better. Read about the reaction of this group of friends and the 27-year old recipient of this small act.
I never did like the nursery rhyme “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” As a child growing up with a physical disability, I quickly learned this is a lie.
It’s a lie that affects many people we know–those with schizophrenia, depression, and addictions, for example. And those we label “OCD” or say “committed suicide.” What difference does the language we use make and what can we do about it? Read this short article from Our Health, “Say it or Swap It?” It’s a bit of an eye-opener.
Here’s a bit of American trivia, this time about one of our Presidents.
Did you know that Thomas Jefferson was a lover of everything French? Possibly. Did you know how laid-back he was? Probably not. For example, he preferred a leisurely life and engaged in it whenever possible. For example, when people visited the White House, he would greet them in his slippers and robe. And he further de-formalized meeting with visitors by shaking hands instead of bowing, which was the norm established by George Washington because G.W. didn’t like physical contact.
Not the image we have of this man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, established the U.S. Military Academy, abolished the slave trade, and accomplished many other important tasks for our country.
My mother had three kids, kept a spotless house, worked in the family business, dealt with laundry down steep cement steps in a dank, unfinished basement using a ringer washer and depending on a clothesline and sunshine, lived through the death of her youngest as an infant, managed questionable activities of her son, and taught independence to her physically disabled daughter. She has been gone for many, many years, but she lives on in the hearts of the kids who survive her. On Mother’s Day, I reflect on her love for us.
Today’s Thursday Thought goes back hundreds of years, to Socrates, but is possibly even more relevant in today’s social-media-sharing environment.
Well,” concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?”
You know what PayPal is, but how about Kiva? It’s an organization that gives micro-loans to people all over the world, loans that educate children, start or grow small businesses, advance health–all sorts of things. But all loans contribute to the well being of families and whole towns or villages. You choose which of the hundreds of people to use your money for a little while.
Yes, you get your money back! This is a real loan.
Right now, for a limited time, your $25 loan to Kiva, paid through PayPal, gives you an additional $25 to invest in another person or family. PayPay kicks in $25 for every $25 you loan through Kiva.
Try it. Go to www.Kiva.org and lend. Then wait for notices from Kiva about the person or group you selected and watch as your money is repaid.
As we greet the new royal child, let’s think about how we can protect ALL the children of the world. This little Royal will never face hunger, homelessness, exploitation, or death by diseases that are virtually unknown in most of the world. They won’t have to work long hours in the field before even their tenth birthday to help support their families. For a certainty, they will have the opportunity for a first-rate education and be able to pass on their good fortune to their own children.
Not all babies are born into that world. Many, many face abject poverty, malnutrition, and illiteracy. Those who do survive to have families of their own will pass those conditions on to their children as their only possible legacy.
Those of us who are in a position to do something about the futures of these children must actually do something. If we have the means, we can donate funds to organizations, here and abroad, that fight poverty, feed the hungry, and educate all the children. We can volunteer as baby-rockers in at-risk hospital nurseries; aides for teachers of limited-English-speaking classes; tutors for underachieving students or those locked away at Juvenile Hall. We can visit a museum, art gallery, zoo, tech museum, or the like, taking with us a child of parents struggling to find jobs or working several jobs to meet the bills. We can invite a latch-key child to help make a double batch of cookies or casserole, and send it home with the young cook to show off to the family. We can do…a million little things that will make a difference in a young life, things that will make a lasting impression, build his or her self-esteem, teach a concept or a skill, and, therefore, provide a step toward a better life than the child might have had.
After all, isn’t each child a royal child?
Happy Mother’s Day to your mom or someone who has been a mom to you. Give her a beautiful indoor or outdoor flowering plant she can enjoy for many more years than the bouquet enclosed in a plastic tube. Both she and the Earth will appreciate it.
[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings Write caption…
Right after April 15’s stressful tax day, I offered a way to avoid paying income tax. Today’s cartoon gives you another suggestion for doing that. Not that either is a good idea…..
During this month of May, which is Mental Health Awareness month, I think about people struggling with depression or who are bipolar or have other conditions–friends with mental illnesses they try to hide, and friends with a mental illness that is very apparent. You probably do, too, since one in four people experience it within any given year. Sometimes, dealing with them isn’t easy. Because I care for them, I want to support them; I want to make their lives more livable. But I’m not a professional, and I don’t want to do or say something that would be harmful to them.
I’d like to share with you a short yet helpful article. I’ll give you its five recommendations here. For an explanation of each, read “How to Help a Friend with Mental Illness.“
I’m trying to apply these steps to my friends. I hope others will apply them to me when I need them.