Weekly Tidbits From Around The Ecosystem
ServiceSpace
--ServiceSpace
5 minute read
Apr 18, 2017

 

Back of the envelope estimate tells us that, every week, at least half a million people read our content, about 400 people join ServiceSpace, and about 5 sign up to volunteer. One of those volunteers this week wrote this in his profile: "As a Buddhist monk, I volunteer my life to the Buddha's teaching." He lives in Togo and wants to volunteer on the Tech Team. :) 

You really never know who you’re volunteering with. Awakin Calls volunteer, Molly, just published this remarkable story about her life: My Mother Was Not a Criminal

So, Saturday is Awakin Call day. How many weeks in a row, you ask? 276. For last couple years, Preeta has been knocking out remarkable bios on everyday heroes who often don’t have too much online -- like Thu Nguyen this week and Doug Powers last week.

Did you know that plants can hear? That’s how they find water.

Kaki is Mark’s mom, and also recipient of lots of neighborly kindness. So what did Mark and Yoo-mi do? Flew out from Canada to tag all 27 of them with a royal, home cooked meal!

At a restaurant in Berkeley last week, Otto Scharmer and friends spontaneously pulled out a camera and recorded a talk. They are hoping for round 2 of this breakfast conversation in Berlin that has been widely used in Ulab courses.

Khushmita, Meghna and gang finished April’s Moved by Love retreat. Who knows when the seeds bloom?  If you're Madan, right then.  Two years later, if you’re Paulomi: Happiness Unlimited

Buzzfeed on an interesting look at the selling of Mark Zuckerberg’s listening tour: “My parents were never like, ‘I love the founders of my refrigerator company!’ In this case, people who have never met Mark Zuckerberg call him Zuck. They spend their lives in these platforms and apps.”

Social media reduces well-being. We also blame social media for creating filter bubbles. New research, though, says polarization is due to income equality and cable-tv. Hmmm.

Nipun’s few days in Japan and Dubai stirred up a lot of goodness -- from Maki’s 7 Million Prayer circle to Sunita’s Awakin Circle, from meeting Shin to a security guard named Faisal, from Chandni and Sonia's Kindness Retreat to Natasha's Love Bomb.

Even if you aren’t a basketball fan, you have to admire how Warriors and their ‘Happy Warrior Star’ play selflessly. (Note to editors: please remove this before it goes public. :))

Sister Lucy in London? Yes, she’s speaking at Trishna’s Awakin Circle. May 4th. 

Do what you love, but should also learn to love what you do? Angela Duckworth says you can cultivate that grit by finding true calling, doing deliberate practice, and being optimistic in face of setbacks.

Our summer intern from couple years ago (and now a volunteer), Priya, started a student-run class called “Happiness Advantage.” Audrey, Birju, Melissa and Nipun have spoken there -- and it’s so popular that next semester they are hold 4 section of that class!

Speaking of Birju, if you’re looking for white-mail material on him, beyond this talk, here’s some new fodder. He’s anchor RSF’s Trust-Economy: Beyond Money Economy gathering (put by his good friend, Matt Stichcomb, co-founder of Etsy). And he’s an advisor for Integrated Capital Fellowship.

“Abraham Maslow, in his “hierarchy of needs,” said that once basic needs are met, then the intangibles such as love, meaning, and self-actualization can be fulfilled. But my grandfather disagreed. He told Maslow how people did not have their “basic” needs met in the concentration camps, but it was the “higher” needs (meaning, love, and values) that proved to be much more relevant to their chance of survival. Maslow revised his ideas and said, ‘Frankl is right.’” --from DailyGood story last week, Conversation with Victor Frankl’s Grandson

”When purpose comes to an end, can there still be meaning?” --Brother David quote, that inspired Somik to get SmartOrg to offer its Decision Analysis course on pay-forward basis

Kozo, Anne Marie, Dr. Sri and bunch others are starting a dialogue on Healing + Transformation.  Medicine aside, we know what's on your mind -- will it add another newsletter to our massive collection? :)

”My name is Nicolle, and I'd love to encourage my class to pay it forward to the teachers that have taught us this year. We, educators, are always told that our job has a high burnout rate and that we have to take care of ourselves. I'm a believer that taking care of others is taking care of ourselves. I'm seeking these Smile Cards to provide to my class as a resource to carry around in our bags, wallets, back packs, desks, to always remember that in order to keep our strength and dedication strong for making a difference in the world we must also rely on the gift of helping others. When they see the card as a reminder I believe it will plant the seeds in their brains to make random acts of kindness regularly.”  

And how will Nicolle get the Smile Cards?  A Smile Card shippers will send it out, anonymously.  And who is the anonymous person behind those dozens of anonymous shippers around the globe? Sujatha! Okay fine, we're not leaking her last name, to honor her anonymity. :)

Thanks to Kishan’s ongoing tilling of the soil at TCS (Tata Consulting Service), the entire company is about to endorse a collective 21-day kindness challenge.  You don't know how many employees at TCS?  Just Google it

On that note, you know about the 21-day Eco-Footprint Challenge starting soon? Join here. Google won't tell you that count, so we'll do the honors -- 634 participants and counting.

In Mosul (Iraq), an artist named Sadoun Dhanoun is replacing hate quotes with art of peace. #HeArtist

There’s a lot of underground book clubs floating around ServiceSpace. At least four, at last count. One of them is reading is “Braiding Sweetgrass”, and Guri posted a fantastic excerpt that explains the spirit of generosity with poetic clarity: I was Raised by Strawberries

Just as the Parag's Laddership Circle in India winds down, we are starting four (yes, FOUR!) concurrent Laddership Circle next week. Orientation on Saturday, with 31 of us. Stay tuned. 

 

Posted by ServiceSpace on Apr 18, 2017