When we open newspapers or watch the news on television it is easy to feel overwhelmed and discouraged by the amount of negative news that is the media’s focus.
And yet, throughout the world, there are many “points of light” – people and organizations who labour hard and tirelessly to make this world one that is brighter, more equitable, and responsive to the needs of the most vulnerable among us. These are the types of inspiring stories this new section will include – they can’t help but bless!
Summary of an article by Amy Yee, Correspondent, CS Monitor, July 20, 2017 Two dozen men and women sit in a circle at a training center an hour’s drive from Dakar, the capital of Senegal. They are Muslim teachers, religious leaders, and community heads from Ghana and Nigeria who are participating in a workshop offered…
March 7, 2017, National Geographic http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/felix-finkbeiner-plant-for-the-planet Children are not often invited to speak to the United Nations General Assembly. But there stood Felix Finkbeiner … with a somber question about climate change. “We children know adults know the challenges and they know the solutions,” he said. “We don’t know why there is so little action.…
When Stefano Boeri imagines the future of urban China he sees green, and lots of it. Office blocks, homes and hotels decked from top to toe in a verdant blaze of shrubbery and plant life; a breath of fresh air for metropolises that are of fumes and dust. Last week, the Italian architect, famed for…
Thanks to Jamila Afghani and the organization she created, Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization (NECDO). 6,000 imams in Afghanistan have taken gender-sensitivity training Click here for the full story of this amazing, courageous woman: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2017/0105/Thanks-to-this-Afghan-woman-6-000-imams-have-taken-gender-sensitivity-training It is Friday noon in Kabul, Afghanistan, and men dressed in traditional clothes hurry to mosques to pray in…
Sita Shrestha, 19, took part in a two-day training on leadership organized by the UN Women-supported women’s group SAATHI, in Nepal, following which she helped construct a tap and organize villagers to turn a natural water source into a public space they could share. Sustainable Development Goal 6 seeks to ensure universal and equitable access…
In the USA an estimated 570,000 people are homeless on any one day and in Europe, the latest estimate is 4.1 million. The latest worldwide survey by the UN done in 2005 indicated that 100 million people were homeless, and Habitat estimated that l.6 billion lacked adequate housing. Progress is being made, but not fast…
We bless ourselves in our ability to express the light we truly are at the heart of our being, and thus to become willing tools to uphold, heal and sustain our beautiful planet. Pierre Pradervand, from his Global Oneness Day 2016 blessing. On October 28, 2016 24 nations and the European Union agreed to create…
Imagine you’re working at a school and one of the kids is starting to act up. What do you do? Traditionally, the answer would be to give the unruly kid detention or suspension. But in my memory, detention tended to involve staring at walls, bored out of my mind, trying to either surreptitiously talk to…
Good News Network – http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org The town of Geel has been a sanctuary with a tradition of hospitality toward anyone with mental illness since the 1400s – and such ground-breaking integration was the key to healing success. Resident families volunteer their homes to people affected by mental disabilities by signing agreements with health authorities to…
By Paul Lenda, Guest Writer for Wake Up World, May 25, 2016 Excerpted from from the full article. There is a growing awareness and understanding within the human race of the unity that humanity has with the environment within which it exists. This sense of unity with nature is not something new and indeed has…
A story about love, compassion and devotion. “All the supply in this world is within you and it has to flow out FROM you. It cannot come TO you. If you want to demonstrate supply, you have got to begin with ‘What have I in the house.’ And then you have got to begin to…
In a country where the privileged social status of boys is compelling, it is nice to know that some small villages are bucking the patriarchal tradition. In north east India, in the state of Rajahstan, female infanticide is a tradition. However, a community of 8000 inhabitants, the village of Piplantri, celebrates the birth of each…
… producing honey, protecting trees AND providing income to small farmers!A win-win project wherever acacia trees grow! I bless us in our ability to develop a relationship of deep caring, unconditional love and authentic reverence towards our sisters the bees and all creation. Pierre Pradervand, from his forthcoming book ‘365 Blessings to Heal Myself and…
“I bless the millions of small farmers everywhere that they may learn to regroup to defend their interests and innovate intelligently. I bless those in government responsible for enacting laws and regulations of all sorts that they may be inspired by divine wisdom rather than narrow interests.” From a blessing by Pierre Pradervand Even as…
Great Spirit, give us hearts to understand; Never to take from creation’s beauty more than we give; Never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed; Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth’s beauty; Never to take from her what we cannot use. Big Thunder Algonquin prayer Following a decade…
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela. Education is a challenging undertaking even under the best circumstances. It is especially problematic in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo which has gone through years of political upheaval and violence, where schools were raided by paramilitary…
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead What started as a small gesture, feeding destitute children, by 31-year-old Darshan and his friends has turned into a full-blown movement. An email Darshan Chandan sent to a restaurant, after being…
What is the gift economy? In a gift economy, goods and services are given without any strings attached; it is an economic system where it is the circulation of the gifts within the community that leads to increase; in this context, hoarding actually decreases wealth. At its core, gift-economy is a shift from consumption to…
An estimated 19 million children have been caught up in world conflicts but perhaps the most famous may be Amina Ali Nkeki . She was one of 219 Nigerian girls abducted by Boko Haram militants in 2014, and the only one to be rescued so far. After meeting with the Nigerian president, she was promised…
I slept and dreamed that life was joy, I awoke and saw that life was service, I acted and behold service was joy. Rabindranàth Tagore Whether it involves help with cat sitting or learning a new language, moving a sofa or lending a hand at a charity event, helpfulpeeps has seen the need requested –…
What do you do when a protester stands outside your place of worship preaching words of hatred and intolerance? If you attend the Noor Islamic Cultural Center, you give them a hug and free breakfast. The mosque was prepared for angry protesters and signs after a Facebook campaign tried to organize picketing at dozens of…
Though Hailey Fort is only 9 years old, she has already done more to help the homeless and needy than many of us have. This young girl spends her free time building mobile shelters for the homeless, and even grows food and provides toiletries for them too! When Hailey was 5, she saw a homeless…
Sikhs are taking one of their traditions of religious hospitality to one of the most inhospitable places on Earth — five miles from the Syrian border in refugee camps for people fleeing that country’s civil war. The UK group, Langar Aid, an organization that provides food and water to people in need, has set up a…
All round the world, innovative new measures and policies are urgently needed to face what could, with time, become huge challenges for tens of millions. A relevant blessing from Pierre Pradervand I bless the peoples all round the world who are facing the more challenging aspects of climate change…I bless them in the vision and…
“True love lived always includes your neighbor. It can never be selfish or exclusive.” Evan Mehlenbacher He was among India’s poorest of poor. He decided, if those in power would not help his people, he would. This is a man who believed in the Do-It-Yourself spirit! Without pausing for a thought, he went ahead and did…
“Compassion… the capacity for feeling what it’s like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there never can really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.” ~ Frederick Buechner Who would have ever thought that pairing preschoolers with elderly nursing home…
from an article by Jenny Zhang, syndicated from mymodernmet.com, Apr 27, 2015 Looking at the lush, green, tree-filled stretch of land north of the Yeli Village in Sunzhuang Township, Jingxing County, Hebei, China, it’s hard to imagine that just 12 years ago, those plains were filled with nothing but rocks and weeds. This miraculous transformation…
Based on an article by FARAH AKBAR – nbcnews.com/ ““Humankind is making amazing discoveries concerning our partners from the animal kingdom. More and more specialists believe animals have a conscience like we do and daily we are discovering their amazing abilities – while at the same time continuing to slaughter them on an increasing scale!…
“We bless Mother Earth in its infinite abundance and stunning beauty, the wealth of its fauna and flora, the infinite subtlety of its growth and survival mechanisms and its mission of supporting the human race.We bless it in its ability to protect itself against the chemical and physical abuses of which it is a victim.…
More than 20,000 men, women, and children are estimated to have lost their lives in the past two decades, while trying to cross the Mediterranean in search of a better life. So far in 2015, 1,826 migrants are thought to have died while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Last year, at least 3,419 people died trying…
based on an article by Cat Johnson, syndicated from shareable.net, May 03, 2015 “I bless this day for the food which blesses my table three times a day … And I say yes, yes, yes for the innumerable opportunities to bless, knowing that each sincere blessing returns to bless me too.” Pierre Pradervand Adam Smith…
“When we recognize the virtues, the talent, the beauty of Mother Earth, something is born in us, some kind of connection – love is born. We want to be connected. That is the meaning of love, to be at one … You would do anything for the benefit of the Earth, and the Earth will…
“Every human being has the right to look human. To be treated as human. To have a place at the table of the human race,” states Dr. Gary Parker, Chief Medical Officer of Africa Mercy. “And when you have been deprived that seat, and it’s offered to you again . . . to be able…
“I decided to forgive him,” says former child soldier Colombia’s talks to end a six-decade-long civil war (in which an estimated 220,000 have been killed and thousands more abducted) .offer valuable lessons. One big one is how to create an atmosphere that can soften attitudes before hard decisions have to be made. Recently, the government…
“I am the world’s richest man because I get paid in hugs and smiles, the most valuable currency that exists. I love my children and I love my job,” says Charles Fletcher, founder of SpiritHorse, an international network of equine therapy centers that offers free riding programs to children with severe disabilities… Following his early…
by the awarding of the Templeton Prize 2015 to Jean Vanier “The words we all need to hear all our lives: ‘I love you … as you are.’” The Templeton Foundation recently awarded the 2015 Templeton Prize to Jean Vanier for his discovery of the central role of vulnerable people in the creation of a…
“We are choosing love, not for an outcome but for the actual creation of a different reality, where cynicism cannot overshadow the real connection of Love. The norm is fear and separation, but Love is the greater reality. I don’t have to judge those who fear, I can feel compassion for them. There are wounded…
“Indeed, the subtle touches of beauty are what enable most people to survive. Yet beauty is so quietly woven through our ordinary days that we hardly notice it. Everywhere there is tenderness, care and kindness, there is beauty.” John O’Donahue For thirty years, Lily Yeh was a professor of painting and art history at Philadelphia’s…
This text is an excerpt from an article by Tom Lawson which was published in Yes Magazine on June 8, 2014. In view of the growing anti-moslem and anti-Semitic feelings in parts of Europe, it is appropriate to us to show that the common values of these three religions are more important than their differences,…
Niko Pitney, Sr Editor, The Huffington Post, 12/19/2014 Martha Ryan’s clients are society’s most vulnerable women. They are pregnant and they are homeless. Virtually all were born into poverty, and many are battling addiction or are victims of domestic violence. And yet these women achieve extraordinary results. Over 90 percent of their high-risk pregnancies result…
