My last share of the day as I NEED to get my butt in gear for a busy day...I hope you enjoyed them as I did & they make you "think" a bit , because that is what creates CHANGE....Hugs,Laura
NPR Media Player

this post is too funny. i have ALWAYS been a compassionate person...but you know you are a serious compassionate person when you even DREAM that you are helping someone.

i really did... just woke up from a dream where a friend and i were checking out of a grocery store and this little old man was behind me in line with a small bunch of bananas and instead of making him wait for my full cart to be processed i asked if he would like to go first. he did and kinda looked at all my "stuff" and i got this "feeling" that he wished he could buy food like that but all he could afford were these 5 bananas. I end up telling him to sit right there at the bench in front of the store and me and my friend do an olympic sprint thru the store grabbing all sorts of things and tossin them in a cart for this guy to take home.

now, it wasnt that easy of a dream.
i kept having to go back, re-edit the dream so that i would get him the very BEST and most APPROPRIATE items and kept praying while doing the running so that Holy Spirit would let me know things like "they dont like pickles"...."he has ketchup, but no mustard"....

i woke up today wanting to go to the grocery store and look for that little old man with his bananas and do this for real! (i already know he doesnt like pickles and needs mustard)

I'll join you at the store!
Have a great day

How about Bill Phillips and all that he's given out of compassion. The gift of the Jonnae's dream car and his change of plans to leave TX and come to her Celebration of Life will be remembered by and bless my family FOREVER.

Way before Jonnae's illness, when I was pregnant and Johnny and I were out to eat with our 3 little ones, the waitress asked us what we would like for dessert and told us a gentleman had picked up our tab, including dessert for everyone. That was one amazing random act of kindness/compassion.

The night before Jonnae died we could hear some singing. Johnny looked out our bedroom window, opened it and told me to come look. There was a sea of candles marching down the street toward our house. Over 200 hundred community friends and neighbors came to hold a vigil for Jonnae. I went out to join them and I will never forget the breath of the Holy Spirit that blew through the breeze around us. Compassion in it's most divine sense was experienced that night.

When everyone changed their avatars to F.R.O.G's we were blessed with compassion.

Sharen Marten's charitable gift to us when she was named one of Bill's champions.

The balloon release by those that were unable to attend Jonnae's Celebration, that occurred all over the world.

I could go on and on, but my computer is very very sick and won't let me type. Thank goodness someone is coming tomorrow to look at it. It is by compassion of others that I have been able to keep moving forward and LIVE with hope and joy

Here's a little bit of music for y'all - Compassion can be fun too !

YouTube - Compassionate Rap

Denise, the gift you gave all of us sharing your story and sharing Jonnae with us is pretty incredible in itself. You had a huge part in where I am today, pulling myself out of my darkness. MANY times I thought, "What the heck do you have to be depressed about? Your problems are NOTHING in the big picture. Look at what Denise and her family are dealing with!" It was your story that helped to guide me where I needed to go. I will be forever grateful for that kind gift of compassion that you gave!

Carolynn

Denise
I agree totally with Carolynn, your amazing posts and sharing of the journey of your family were such inspiration - I too felt 'who am I to complain '- your words of strength were awesome and I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today without your gift of sharing and compassion.
Thank You
Jaki

I am constantly impressed and delighted by ALL OF YOU that take the time to reach out and support one another with your words and your hearts, whether in forums or one-to-one emails ... THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO :0)

I love all the examples of Compassion..I have had so many in my lifetime that it would be a book not a thread. But EVERY act of kindness & compassion makes my heart SING..it usually tears me up as well. I could add & add & add ...I will add this today.
When I was young and homeless. I was fearful of many things. The night owls or the passing cars or the cold that chilled you to your bones. I had many encounters with strangers as I did my best at 12 to make it thru the night. I caught phneumonia and a freind let me put my medicine in his fridge and after his parents went to work he left the door open so I could go in and take it. I still returned to the cold after but I NEVER forgot the LOVE he shared for me and the help he gave me. Another time I was being attacked and a older kid broke it up and saved me ,he had to put his freindships on the line to do this and he DID just that and helped me. Another time I was very hungry and someone offered me food. I can ADD for many moons additions to this list..But what I took with me thru my life was this KINDNESS and to KNOW that NO ONE did it for FAME or GLORY or MONEY or Gods unending "gifts" later..they did it because they KNEW the LOVE God teaches and they had PURE LOVE in their Hearts...I Pay It Forward everyday so freely without thought or process BECAUSE OF THESE PEOPLE....God willing I will do it to my dying day! I LOVE nothing more in this world than the topic of COMPASSION..it feeds my soul. Hugs,Laura
"Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things,man will not himself find peace"....The Philosophy of Civilation,by Albert Schweitzer

AMAZING !!!!

Here's something that I think you will ALL love ... The 1 Million Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Campaign !

1,000,000 Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Campaign What is RAKing?

Quote:

Originally Posted by gloomraider This is a subject that I intend to write more on, over the coming weeks ... but I'm going to start with a quote from John Wesley to provoke some comment ... "Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the places you can, At all times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can" I want to ask you to shift your focus ... this thread isn't one where we look at where we fall short of our own expectations ... it's where we look at what we get right, in this particular regard. I'd like to encourage you to highlight ONE instance where you have either heard of, read about or witnessed first-hand someone practicing "compassion in action" - where someone has done something for someone else with no thought of reward ... It's about time we celebrated putting love into action in the world - a kind of positive news thread (just the opposite of the news programmes we've become so accustomed to !) It could be as simple as smiling at a stranger, stopping to talk to someone, offering a kind word or genuine compliment ... or something like volunteering with some group or individual ... the choice is yours. It doesn't matter who does it - whether it's you or somebody else; you could be aware of something someone else has done and you'd like to celebrate it (NO NAMES NECESSARY !) In fact, some of you may be more comfortable pretending it was someone else !! Look for the good in every day - then share it with the rest of us !! .

That is a very positive thing to read. I think I will print it out and put it on my fridge. I need all the encouragement I can get.

Beth, if it's encouragement you need - you've come to the right place !!

Drop me a line anytime :0)

Drop me 1 too anytime! Paul..I LOVE that campaign ! AWESOME ADD!!!!!! ~Hugs,Laura (also AWESOME insight & intuitiveness on my blog..I think you are a smart cookie ! LOL Hugs to Niahm as well please..you can administer them for me..lol
1,000,000 Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Campaign What is RAKing?

I read a story earlier today that got me thinking ...

It is often easier to choose love and compassion over hate, fear, anger and condemnation when it involves someone we don't know (i.e. a stranger seen on tv).
However if we seek to impart those same feelings towards some person or past event that hurt us personally, it becomes a lot harder. In fact it is equivalent to asking a complete beginner to play Rachmaninov on the piano ... blindfolded ... with only one hand !

You learn to play the piano by practicing scales -and to become a virtuoso, you need to practice daily. Likewise, you learn to choose love by practicing compassionate understanding (sometimes referred to as "Loving-Kindness") - this is done by recognising the us in "them" and the "them" in us ... to become accomplished, you need to practice it daily and subjugate your ego.

Take the story of Margaret Knuuti, a nurse and teacher who decided to volunteer to work in Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying in Calcutta.

After many hours spent on old train tracks and bumpy roads in the heat of the Indian summer, she arrived exhausted, wanting nothing more than a cold shower and to collapse into a cool bed.

Instead she was greeted by the scene of dozens of people queuing up outside in the hope of being given the right to die with dignity and compassion. Her tiredness fell away and she reached out to a man whose legs had been crushed in the street and whose life was clearly ebbing away. As she looked into his eyes brimming with love and compassion, he repeatedly said to her the word "NAMASTE"

Many hours later, she asked one of the volunteers what the word "Namaste" meant. She was told it was a Sanskrit word meaning:

"I honour the place in you where the Universe resides.
I honour the place in you of love, of truth, of peace and of light.
And when you are in that place in you,
and I am in that place in me,
there is only one of us"

I believe that this is the essence of the "Unity Consciousness" Bill talks about, and that this is the place where we can make the transformation of heart - the move from "me to we", from "I to us".

LUKE 6:

Love for Enemies

27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Judging Others

37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

39He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
41"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. A Tree and Its Fruit

43"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

Also, Paul...what I originally was going to respond (in response to sharing compassion/love/forgiveness to those who are closest to us, who see us every day) before I went sideways there a little is this...

We're all good at being ONLINE'rs. We say great things, just doing our thing online.

The question is...are we bringing it HOME with us?? Bringing it to our individual communities? To our wives?? Husbands?? To our kids?? Are we bringing it to the kitchen table for good fun and good food with our loved ones?? ARE WE BRINGING IT HOME??

It's easy to be Superman here. Folks...it works best when you are SUPERMAN or SUPERWOMAN at HOME, first!

Food for thought...

James 1: 22


"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
:0)

I'm a special education teacher with autistic students. They are my highlight. They brighten my life. Have you seen last month's Reader's Digest. An article on a man who's son is autistic was failing everything until PE and he was the best in his class at jump roping. He turned to his wife and said, our son is gifted. Humor is the best! kennie