If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.
What do you think of people in poverty? Maybe what Jessica Jackley once did: “they” need “our” help, in the form of a few coins in a jar. The co-founder of Kiva.org talks about how her attitude changed — and how her work with microloans has brought new power to people who live on a few dollars a day.
More important for me is what she says about how our stories about ourselves and about other people makes such a difference in how we treat other people, how we feel about treating other people, and how we feel about ourselves. When we want to help, but feel guilt and shame about not helping more than we are, or feel fear to try and to mess up, we distance ourselves from - or even disembody - the people we want to help. We try to ‘buy the right to go on with our day’ and not be bothered by what we see as bad news.
Believing in each other, really being sure that when push comes to shove, that each one of us can do amazing things in the world - that is what can make our stories into love stories.
We Love You documents the Rainbow Family of Living Light. Every summer since 1972 thousands of people co-create a temporary city deep in the wilderness of our national forests to practice anarchy and hippy spirituality. This isn’t a music festival; there is no charge for entry and the main event is an elaborate prayer for peace on July 4th. The Rainbows peaceful ways are challenged when federal agents charged with monitoring them shoot pepper spray projectiles into the children’s’ area of the gathering.
I’ve got very mixed feelings about the rainbow gathering, but no doubt it is an incredible event. I was shocked to recognize a couple people in it, since I’ve only been at a gathering for a total of 24 hours. If you’re interested, this is a well made documentary - dig in.
the good old days · Bend Your Ear · Pattern Pidgin ·
...on the difference between imagining life, and living it. "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe" - Carl Sagan
