Tag: germany

Hopeful

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“TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, and kindness.


What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future.

The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” 

— Howard Zinn 

World Humanitarian Day

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World Humanitarian Day

Today, August 19, is World Humanitarian Day!

It is the beginning of a month long, first of its kind project – to TURN WORDS INTO AID.

Sponsor a word and turn your VOICE into funds that will help millions of people worldwide affected by disasters.

“On this day in 2003, 22 aid workers were killed in a bombing at the UN headquarters in Baghdad. It’s a day to commemorate all people who have lost their lives in humanitarian service and to celebrate the spirit of people helping people that motivates this work. This year the World Humanitarian Day project is a month-long campaign of events around the world to raise much-needed funds to continue the effort to help others.”

Please visit http://worldhumanitarianday.org to learn more.

BE A VOICE FOR THOSE WITH NO VOICE. TAKE ACTION.

Be Like The Moon

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“The moon will never lie to anyone. Be like the moon. No one hates the moon or wants to kill it. The moon does not take antidepressants and never gets sent to prison. The moon never shot a guy in the face and ran away. The moon has been around a long time and has never tried to rip anyone off. The moon does not care who you want to touch or what color you are. The moon treats everyone the same. The moon never tries to get in on the guest list or use your name to impress others. Be like the moon. When others insult or belittle in an attempt to elevate themselves, the moon sits passively and watches, never lowering itself to anything that weak. The moon is beautiful and bright. It needs no makeup to look beautiful. The moon never shoves clouds out of its way so it can be seen. The moon needs not fame or money to be powerful. The moon never asks you to go to war to defend it. Be like the moon.”

— Henry Rollins (Solipsist)

Training The Mind

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By thinking of all sentient beings as even better than the wish-granting gem,

for accomplishing the highest aim, may I always consider them precious.

                   Wherever I go, with whomever I go,may I see myself as less than all others, and from the depth of my heart,

may I consider them supremely precious.

May I examine my mind in all actions, and as soon as a negative state occurs,

since it endangers myself and others

,may I firmly face and avert it.

                                                    When I see beings of a negative dispositionor those oppressed by negativity or pain,

 may I, as if finding a treasure, consider them precious, for they are rarely met.

Whenever others, due to their jealousy,

revile and treat me in other unjust ways,

may I accept this defeat myself,

and offer the victory to others.

                           When someone whom I have helped,or in whom I have placed great hope, harms me with great injustice,

may I see him as a sacred friend.

 In short, may I offer both directly and indirectly all joy and benefit to all beings,

my mothers, and may I myself secretly take on all of their hurt and suffering.

May they not be defiled by the concepts of the eight mundane concerns,

and aware that all things are illusory, may they, ungrasping, be free from bondage.

by Kadampa Geshe Langri Tangpa (1054 – 1123)

Love & Light