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Debra Roberts: Sacred Path Of Bees

Jun 21, 2017, 3 smiles This week's Awakin Call guest: 'Debra Roberts: Sacred Path Of BeesReflection questions: Our guest this week has cultivated a sacred relationship with bees because she believes that "there has been a collective forgetting of our holy nature that has created a crisis for pretty much every other life form on this planet, of which we are one." How do you cultivate a sacred relationship with nature and other living beings?

Planting Seeds, Sharing Fruits...

May 27, 2017, 2 comments, 16 smiles Some of you may remember that a couple of months ago, the DailyGood team shipped a "box of appreciation" to Steve De Quintal, a subscriber who has been sending us messages of gratitude unfailingly every week - for years. Two months later the messages were still coming but there was no mention of having received the package. We checked in with him about it and were sweetly touched when he responded with excitement that the box hadn't arrived, but not to worry just the very thought that on top of sending DailyGood emails we would think to send him a package was a huge gift :) Afreen had put a lot of thoughtfulness into the assortment of tags and I was a little disappointed that it had been swallowed up by the postal service... Then a few days ago came this triumphant mail from Steve: It has arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know what to ... Read Full Story

Koala Wisdom

May 07, 2017, 4 comments, 27 smiles "Nature doesn't hurry yet everything is accomplished." Was trying to remember Lao-Tzu (and my tea bag label's ) sage advice last Saturday while waiting for a very leisurely print-store staff to print the tiny wisdom scrolls I was waiting for :) At some point I recognized the ridiculousness of letting any amount of impatience seep in (any time really but particularly) while one is in the process of creating little billboards of inspiration. So I leaned over and asked the young woman taking my order, "What's your favorite animal?" She looked up surprised, then, "The koala bear," she said. The animal on the top card of the wisdom scroll set was a koala bear. Did she just say the first thing that came into her head or was that really her favorite animal? (O mind of little faith!) 'Have you had a chance to see one in person?' 'Yes -- when I was ... Read Full Story

DailyGood Ripples In Louisville, KY

Sep 06, 2016, 4 comments, 11 smiles A few months ago we ran a DailyGood story on Moina Shaiq, a Fremont-based mother, grandmother and community activist who, galvanized by recent tragic shootings, initiated a "Meet-a-Muslim" event at a local coffee shop, to foster deep dialog and understanding. Last week we received this touching note from one of our readers in Louisville, Kentucky, as a ripple from that feature -- a beautiful reminder of how inspiration travels far beyond our ability to map or measure: Hello, I just had to share my story with you¦.You sent this story about Moina back in May, and it really resonated with me. With all the hatred, fear, and misunderstanding we have seen through the media lately, I wanted to do my part to increase dialog, mutual respect, and understanding. This past week, I hosted my own "Coffee & Coversation with Muslims" session at my workplace. I reached out via our internal social media site ... Read Full Story

The Privilege Of Living Whatever Life Brings

Feb 18, 2016, 29 comments, 53 smiles As most of you know, mid-August of last year, Viral was very unexpectedly diagnosed with an acute form of bone marrow suppression. The past six-months we've been in near-seclusion. With the help of many skilled health practitioners, a detailed regimen, and the invisible support of the community, Viral has been slowly getting better. Updates from this journey to recovery are archived here. Below is a conversation that explores Viral's grounded perspectives on this latest surprise twist in the road. Very early on in this experience with serious illness you referred to it as a privilege. Can you expand on what you mean by that? I think our core happiness is determined more by the ways in which we respond internally to the situations we find ourselves in, than by the situations themselves. As Viktor Frankl put it, "No one can take away man's last freedom. The freedom to choose his or her own attitude given ... Read Full Story

How To Run A Company With (Almost) No Rules

Feb 22, 2015, 2 comments, 15 smiles Interesting TED talk by Ricardo Semlar, a Brazilian who talks engagingly about designing for wisdom, in the context of businesses and schools. Love the principles that he weaves into his work -- including "terminal days", "an empty bucket list", radical trust and generosity. Operating a complex, thriving business (and running successful schools as well!) he up-turns conventional rules, and demonstrates the power of a different approach. Well-worth a listen. Here's my favorite excerpt from the talk... "I accumulated a lot of money when I think about it. When you think and you say, now is the time to give back -- well, if you're giving back, you took too much. (Laughter) (Applause) I keep thinking of Warren Buffet waking up one day and finding out he has 30 billion dollars more than he thought he had. And he looks and he says, what am I going to do with this? And he ... Read Full Story

Introducing DailyGood Audio!

Jan 29, 2015, 3 comments, 25 smiles We are thrilled to share that more than 17 years after its humble beginnings as a service called Quote-a-Day, DailyGood has just released a new audio feature on its website! Yes, you heard right --- DailyGood Audio! :) Select stories that DailyGood features will now be available online as high quality recordings offered up by one of our newest volunteers. About a week ago Nick O'Kelly wrote in the following to DailyGood: "I am a professional voiceover artist and Daily Good fan. Your email has been the first thing I read for many, many years. Frequently, I read the story to my wife over coffee in the morning. It starts the day off right. I'd like to produce an audio version of your stories...on a daily basis. What do you think?" Short answer: We thought it was a GREAT idea :) Within the week Nick was a profiled, oriented and newly-minted ServiceSpace ... Read Full Story

May You Who Find This...

Dec 10, 2014, 3 comments, 21 smiles I received an email from our library today. It informs me that A Thousand Mornings, the beautiful collection of poems by Mary Oliver that's on my shelf, is due back in a couple of days. I'd read the book when it came out a couple years ago, and had wanted to read it again. Because reading Mary Oliver's poems is like sipping a hot, fragrant beverage on a cold, rainy day. It nourishes, comforts and gives you reasons to be grateful. I go online, log on to my library account and try to renew the book. But there is a hold on it. Someone else is waiting to warm their hands with these words. So this afternoon I pick up A Thousand Mornings and begin to read. Marveling all over again at this poet's wise talent for holding up to the light, this ordinary, magical world. I read one poem, ... Read Full Story

Not "Mere" Coincidence

Nov 12, 2014, 6 comments, 26 smiles Came across this quote today that made me smile: "Coincidence is God's way of staying anonymous." :) Moments of serendipity, whether you believe in a higher power or not, give us an opportunity to pause and reflect on what a wonder-full experience it is -- simply to be here together in all the marvelous mysterious ways that we are. Had a moment like that a couple of months ago that I've been meaning to share. Last fall in southern France, I met a guy named Gunther. We were co-speakers at a conference and I enjoyed learning about his multidimensional work in the world while he really resonated with the work and ethos behind ServiceSpace. We meant to reconnect after the conference but didn't quite get around to it. Months passed and then one night this past September I saw a little post and photo on Gunther's Facebook feed that caught my attention: Today ... Read Full Story

Crazy Wise

Jun 16, 2014, 11 smiles Gifted photographer Phil Borges was a guest speaker at one of our Awakin Circles last year. He's now completed work on his first feature-length documentary: Crazywise. It deals with an important subject that in his own words, "grew out of my fascination with shamanism and the way indigenous cultures often look at severe mental disorders. Until I started working on this film I didn’t realized the severity of the mental health crisis in our country. My goal is to create a powerful film that will spark a long overdue conversation for change. Most importantly, it will explore successful programs and methods for addressing mental illness. Since some of these solutions are new to our country many people have never heard of them until now." Meditation is one of the paths to healing that's deeply explored in the film. You may enjoy the trailer:

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