a question of attributes

i am practically new at everything i do. 

but i have once heard that if we let what we don't know, stop us..

nothing will ever be done. 

& i've got plenty to do. 

Currently I am in the market to search out the most important attributes i think all human beings should have. 

1st world.

2nd world.

3rd world. 

the whole world. 

look in the dictionary, ask your bishop, priest, councilor, your mama, & yourself. There seem to be a thousand plus one attributes to become, or to stay away from. 

Which ones are the important ones? & why are they important? 

which ones will carry us to a new world? 

inspire our hearts?

commit to love? 

What attributes should we see more of in order to be the change? 

I'm making my list. What's yours?

& why? 

i should have doesn't count.

today I saw a man walking in this awful heat.

He was wearing long black pants, and a long sleeved shirt. 

His back was slightly hunched and you could tell that perhaps his day hadn't been the best of one. 

i thought to myself i should turn around and pick him up, take him to his destination.

but i didn't.

i think the choices like that one, are the ones i will regret most. 

tangled

"Where's your humanity?! haven't any of you ever had a dream?!"

i've now watched this movie four times in the last two days.

KONY, Darfur, Haitti, TOMS; does it matter?

KONY, Darfur, Haitti, TOMS; does it matter




When I first heard of the company TOMS, I wasn't sure exactly what it was. I was on YouTube, and saw a video about a bunch of people barefoot. I loved being barefoot, so I figured I’d watch it. The movie was awe inspiring, and I immediately wanted to get involved. Still not sure what TOMS was, I went to their website and signed St. George up for a day without shoes walk. I made posters, and t-shirts, and got my high school involved too. I loved the idea about raising awareness for something that mattered, but i also loved the idea of waking up the people around me. Calling them, and myself, to action. Any kind of action would be better then no action.



Eventually I figured out what TOMS was. A shoe company that made shoes, and for every pair sold, they would give a pair to a child in need. One for one. I checked out their shoe website and fell in love with the simple design, and the opportunity it gave me to help. Perhaps a small opportunity. but it was something. The price ranges for me were a little steep, but i still wished for a pair. Eventually TOMS came out with a navy blue "Carpe Diem" shoe that was irresistible. But this pair also came with a book. Written by the founder, it was a compilation of all the ideas in the world to "start something that mattered." Carpe Diem. As if I didn't love TOMS enough already…



All excited for my book and pair of shoes I started researching what other people were saying about their TOMS. One thing led to another, and I found myself among haters. People who despised the idea of TOMS, and all who wore them. They claimed the company was a fraud, and a selfish monster. Selling horribly expensive shoes that claimed to "help" kids, just to pull in a crowd and pocket money. Negativity and sour thoughts were all around.



When I first started reading these sorts of things I was mad. How could someone, anyone, say such horrible things about such a simple and good idea? There was a man, he saw he could make a difference, and he did it. Where is the harm in that? Where is the harm in making money doing it? Then the more I read... The more it got to me. Perhaps this was all a scam. Perhaps, my shoes didn't make the difference I thought they would make. Perhaps I could be doing more.



For as much as I had invested in TOMS, I was fairly quick to change my thoughts. I wasn't AS excited for my new shoes, I wasn't as hopeful that some little kid somewhere would now have a pair of shoes, and I was sort of flat out bitter; let down. I was filled with disillusionment. Even after I got my book, and loved it, I still couldn't find the simple joy for this company that I had originally.



With all this buzz about Kony, I've got to thinking again. I among, millions of others, had no idea who Kony was, or what was going on. If i would occasionally see pictures of childhood soldiers I would assume it was a thing of the past and move on. Never did I think things like these happened daily, currently. I watched and posted, the 27 minute video that was created, and was filled with a similar itch. The same itch that had me sign STG up for a day without shoes walk, the same itch that held a Dance for a Cure, the same itch that had me running a lemonade stand for Elizabeth Smarts family when i was a kid. It was the itch to make a difference. To be a part of something bigger then myself, to become a part of a movement, a community.



Then I started reading all the 'bad' things about this epic.







"To every new "activist" who is donating money to help the invisible children and stopping Joseph Kony. Only 32% less than 1/3 of your money goes to helping this "cause". The rest is taken by the company "invisible children". Last year alone they spent 8.9 million dollars of money collected. Only 2.8 million went directly to Uganda. 1.7 million in US employee salary, and if that wasn't bad enough over 16,000 in entertainment. I thought they were fighting to rid the world of children being exploited by Joseph Kony not going out and spending money on cheap thrills. So to the sheep heard following the herder lets change the world by throwing a couple of bucks to some strangers because obviously money buys everything."





But this time, instead of changing my mind about the movement at hand, i got angry. It's all about what your focus is on. Yes, they paid their employee's, how horrible. Indeed, they spent money on entertainment to advertise and make their cause known, sue em. But notice that small, tiny, almost insignificant number... the 2.8 million. THAT made an impact. & even if they HADN'T of made an impact with that money.. you know what they did do? They made an impact in the life of one boy. And, I don't know about many of you, but I can not put a price on life. Can you put a price on saving a single child? If you can save but one life, isn't that better then no life?



Unlike these negative posts, and annoying facts Invisible Children wasn't an organization made out of greed. And it wasn't an organization made out of spite or stupidity. It was put together by a vision, and a call to action. This man did something all of us could have done for over twenty years... But didn't. But now that you are aware of his efforts you want to point fingers? I'm sorry, but I'm sure he doesn't care; he has better things on his to-do list.



And for a more personal level,



I don't know if posting videos, making t-shirts, wearing bracelets, holding fundraisers, or going barefoot makes a true difference to the cause at hand. I'm not sure how far my actions reach. But does that mean I shouldn't make them? Should I not repost a video that gets you thinking? Or wear a t-shirt that sparks intelligent conversation?



Very rarely are our lives touched by things that make us truly move. That awakens our senses and our hearts. Most of us walk blindly through our day to day lives concerned with the next task on our to-do lists. We seemingly forget to care about the rest of the world. People are starving, children are dying, buildings are falling apart, and families are becoming almost non existent... yet we pay no attention. So for me, if there is ANYTHING that makes me stop to think about the cruel reality of others, I’m going to re-post it. If there is ANYTHING that can connect me with a group of people who are moving passionately towards a greater good, I’m going to wear it. If there is ANYTHING that represents a world of unity and eventual peace, I am going to fund raise like mad for it. Because personally, for me, it's worth it.



So go ahead, throw a pebble in the water, and make a wave.

Just make sure it's a wave that's worth something.

make him famous

pure frisson.

since the day i heard this, i haven't gotten enough of it. 

i love it. i love it. 

black and white

“There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must of felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life. 

" Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words, 'Wait and Hope.” 
― Alexandre Dumas

One day, things like this will be my works.

what would you say to the world?

If you had the chance to talk to the world, what would you say?
and would people listen?

Makes Me Think.

"Today, I was sitting on the steps of church waiting for a bus when I saw an old Catholic nun being assisted up the steps by a young man wearing a Muslim turban. Once they were at the top, the nun turned to the young man and said, “I can see both of our gods raise beautiful children. Thank you.” The young man smiled and nodded. MMT"

chill after chill after chill

so many beautiful stories.

it makes me think why i spend my time with the other trash on the internet. 

Steve Jobs

Drop out, so you can drop in. 

Dogma: living with the results of other peoples thinking.

Stay hungry, stay foolish. 

empathy

"Empathy is about acknowledging that we are all separate, but also interconnected."

"One of my students, a waitress, has told me how impossible some of her customers can be. She described one customer, a very well dressed business woman who would come to her restaurant for lunch almost every day. she usually dined alone, reading business reports and annoying ohers by chatting loudly on a cell phone. Everyone in the restaurant called her "Mrs. Cranky," because the woman was always returning food, complaining that a draft was blowing on her, and often seemed to take it personally if the restaurant had run out of a particular item. She htought nothing of berating the waitress for things that were clearly not her fault. My student dreaded waiting on her, but the woman kept coming back. 

One day Mrs. Cranky came to the restaurant, accompanied by an ancient woman in a wheelchair who was obviously her mother. On that particular day, the persnickety customer was very quiet. All her usual complaining behavior was being taken over by her even more persnikty mother. the mother was more impossible than the daughter had ever been, and berated the entire wait staff. Her own daughter seemed to becomel ike a shy, insecure five year old, completely powerless to stand up for herself. She hunched over in her chair, almost as though she were cowering from someone who was about to hit her. 

the student saw all thsi, and began to have empathy for Mrs. Cranky. Seeing how she had been treated all her life made it obvious why she felt the need to treat others so abusviely. She decided that she would commit to ending the cycle of abuse. From that day forward, she treated this annoying customer of hers with love, kindness, and understanding. 

the ending of the story is not waht you would expect. The customer did not soften under the constant barrage of kindness that emanated from the student. Instead, she seemed distrustful and annoyed. It as almost as if she felt htat the kindness hse was reeiving was a trick. Mrs. Cranky was putting out hostility and by God, She expected hostility to come right back. That is how she had been raised. As unpleasent a life as it was, it was clearly the only way of being she could understand.

Eventually, Mrs. Cranky stopped coming to the restaurant altogether. The student says that although the customer didn't respond to her kindness, she herself got an enormous benefit from altering her behavior. She said, "I just felt lighter. I have always dreaded waiting on that customer, and suddenly i found myself looking forward to it. It made me feel so good about myself that it didn't really matter what the response was. I didn't care if she liked me. I liked me" that was the real gift that came from putting compassion into action. 

the waitress saw another human being as the frightened and confused child she once was. When you find yourself reacting to someone's behavior, the first hting you can do is to imagine that person as  a seven-year old. the man waving his fists at you in traffic is really nothing more than a little boy whose father doesn't have time for him anymore. The rude clerk at the DMV is really nothing more than an ashamed little girl who's been told over and over again that she is ugly and stupid. If you the time to see the hurt and sorrow, it becomes easier to have compassion and move on with the rest of your day."

- Gurmukh { 8 Human Talents}

" to live without compassion is to take on a physical burden. Poison seeps into every cell of your body."

Love is it

"A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life l saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth--that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way--an honorable way--in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment. For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words, 'The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory.'"

Kindness in giving creates love

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Secret Santa II hit the streets Tuesday in a long-standing Kansas City tradition of handing out $100 bills — sometimes several at a time — to unsuspecting strangers in thrift stores, food pantries and shelters.

Some people gasped in surprise. Some wanted to know if the $100 bill the tall man in the red cap offered was fake. Others wept.

Secret Santa II has seen a lot of reactions since taking over where his mentor, Kansas City's original Secret Santa, Larry Stewart, left off when he died in 2007 at age 58. Like Stewart, who gave away more than $1 million to strangers each December in mostly $100 bills, this Secret Santa prefers to stay anonymous.

A fake white beard taped to his face, Secret Santa II handed out about $10,000 in total Tuesday. Recipients included a police officer with terminal cancer, a homeless man pushing a rickety old shopping cart, an 81-year-old woman who had recently told her 27 grandchildren she wouldn't be able to afford any Christmas gifts, and Bernadette Turner, a 32-year-old unemployed mother of two.

"It's hard to come by," Turner said looking in disbelief at the $200 Secret Santa had given her.

Then one of Santa's "elves" — another tall man in a red cap — sidled up to next to Turner, asked a few questions, and handed her an additional $100. Turner, whose children are 3 and 8, was overcome.

"I can only afford one gift for each child. But now ...." she said, wiping tears from her cheeks and reaching out for a hug.

"Do you believe in Santa Claus?" Capt. Ray Wynn of the Kansas City, Mo., Fire Department, asked from a few feet away. Wynn had followed Stewart on many "sleigh rides" around the country and now follows this Secret Santa, providing stories, memories and amusing sound effects.

"I do now," Turner said. "I do now."

Secret Santa II took over from Stewart about the time the recession hit and the economy went into a tailspin. Like Stewart, this Secret Santa doesn't talk about his own finances, where those $100 bills come from and if — like for so many people now — they've been harder to come by.

Come December, he just fills his pockets with money, dons his red cap and heads out looking for people to make really happy.

He will likely hand out about $40,000 this December. He says he'll go "till the money runs out."

"The recession, unemployment. This is the time you don't want to stop. You don't want to back off," he said.

He walked up to Peggy Potter, 59, of Kansas City, Kan., who was looking at some framed prints at a thrift store. He made some small talk, put his arm around her and within minutes she was crying. Her son died about a year and a half ago. Her husband died in July and her daughter died soon after that.

"I'm just ... today's been a rough day for me, just thinking about my loved ones," she said. "I've been having a hard time paying for all the funerals."

Santa gave her $200, listened more, hugged her, and told her the poster she was holding had special meaning. It was a photo of two hands, one large, one small. Words printed at the bottom could have been written by Secret Santa, the original or the current one.

It said: "Kindness in giving creates love."

this story was found HERE.

dumpster diving

talk about a happy day, check out this awesome idea!!

i seriously just love people with genius ideas! 

i love even more, the kids that actually complete their genius ideas.

this world is going places. :)

I pledge allegiance.

 What does the Pledge mean to you?

From a speech made by Capt. John S. McCain, US, (Ret) who represents Arizona in the U.S. Senate:

"As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.

One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian. Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama. He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School. Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country-and our military-provide for people who want to work and want to succeed. As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a bamboo needle.

Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt. Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours.

Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could. The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room. As said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag.

He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.

So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world.

You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country."

When I first heard this story I absolutely fell in love with it. The courage and patriotism this young man showed was so inspiring, and so full of truth. It made me think back to saying the Pledge at school every morning. Something that DIDN'T fill me with inspiration and truth. Actually, the feelings were more like disgust and anger. ...or something along those lines. Not because of the words we were saying, but by the LACK of words some of us were saying. The lack of respect. 

Most times when it would be time to recite the Pledge, half of the students in my classes wouldn't stand up, wouldn't put their hand over their hearts, wouldn't even look at the flag. Most of this wasn't because they were against the Pledge, but rather they were just too LAZY to do so. This thought makes me sick. Above is the story about a young man who risked his LIFE to say the Pledge. EVERY DAY. And now half of the students can't muster up the respect to stand? In a safe and even expecting environment? Its crazy. And it needs to change. We ought to be proud of our country, and view the opportunity of saying the Pledge everyday, as just that. AN OPPORTUNITY. a blessing. 

Last Sunday, a man gave a talk about patriotism in sacrament, and he quoted something from Red Skelton that I loved; it reminds us of the TRUE meaning behind the words we should speak everyday. 

     (this is him recalling what one of his teachers taught him in school.)

"I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester. And it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word?

I - an individual, a committee of one. pledge - dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self pity. Allegiance - my love and my devotion. to the flag - our standard, Old Glory, our symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves, there's respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job! United - that means that we all come together. States - individual communities that have you united into 48 great states. Fourty Eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose. and that's love for a country. and to the republic - a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people, and its from the people to the leaders, not the leaders to the people. For which it stands, one nation - one nation meaning "so blessed by God". indivisible - incapable of being divided. with liberty - Which is freedom -- the right of power to live ones own life without threat, fear or some sort of retaliation. and justice- the principal or quality of dealing fairly with others. For all - which means, boys and girls, that its as much your country as it is mine."

Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance...Under God - Wouldn't that be a pity if someone said that is a prayer, and eliminated it from schools too?..." 

So, I ask again. What does the Pledge mean to YOU? 

To me? It means I am proud to be a part of something so great. I am proud of my country, of its people, of its progress, of its beauty, of its freedom, and of its Glory. And I will stand for the rest of my life, with my hand over my heart, for the respect of this great nation.

 

how blessed are we? :)

and now a little classic American tunage for ya. One of my all time favourites. :)

pesonality categories.

yesterday I was privileged to have a rreeaaalllyyy good conversation with one of my good friends about people, and why we are the way we are. ish.

He started telling me about categories and where each of us fall. check it out. 

Though there are hundreds of different emotions we can feel, there are only five basic emotions. And these five emotions are the source of other emotions. The five main ones are happy, sad, angry, want, and fear. And as humans, we tend to carry one basic emotion as our character. Thus you may know people who are generally fearful of everything, or someone who is happy 99% of the time. This emotion is where they chose to place their comfort. 

along with this category though, we have also the "aggressive and passive" states. Meaning, there are some people who generate energies, and some who suck up energies. Those who generate energies are those who walk into a room, and everyone seems to notice their presence, whether it be good, or bad. They just have a strong awareness. And those who are passive, generally don't really shower rooms with their presence, but rather, they pick up on others. They are the type of people, other people like to talk to because they feel they are being understood.

There is also the aspect of being either a Teacher, Learner, or Feeler. A teacher is someone who gains knowledge to share it. They tend to be abrupt in their speech, and often times its hard for them to except different ideas. Learners devour everything. They want to know all sides of everything. They just soak up constant knowledge, information, and spirit. Feelers are those who touch down here and there, but never really get too excited or passionate about one thing or the other. They are content, and sometimes naive.

Lastly, there is either a Taker, Giver, or sharer. A Taker is a person that generally takes from others. They can easily accept gifts and such from others, but hardly return the favour. Not because they are rude, they just don't think to. A Giver is someone who constantly seems to be giving. But they don't accept. And a sharer is a person who can easily Take and Give. Someone who is open to themselves, and others. 

so these are the four categories we broke personalities or characters, into. And the more we talked about it, we realized that though one trait may seem better than another, it wasn't so. This is because its important to have balance in all things. Like God. God is equally all of these traits. That is how he can understand us, and know good from evil in all things. He is all things, so He can see all things.

Needless to say, the conversation was a beautiful purge of all the thoughts that I've been culminating within my mind lately. And I was able to see a lot clearer afterward. Something I'm super grateful for. 

I wish I had more time to explain further, but alas I have to go off to work. Tell me what you think though. Which traits do you have?

one day without shoes

lets do it.

what inspires you?

I was inspired all day. by the Powell family. On Hulu.com. Extreme Makeover:home edition.

I want to help.
I want to inspire.
I want to give.


What inspires you?