Can you spare 20 minutes ?

So I get this email forward from my mother-in-law...

Sheesh - she gives me a link and wants me to spend 20 minutes watching something called "The Story of Stuff"...

Me - the delete key whiz...

But - sigh - it's my mother-in-law...

So I made John come and sit with me and we watched together...

and now I want YOU to watch it too... Please ???

It's definitely worth your time ! Thanx Mom - we love you :)

later man, jan

Spiritual Resolutions from All Traditions...

I am not really into resolutions... but wanted to say ---
Happy New Year everyone !

I thank Frodo for blogging me to the following series of spiritual disciplines. This list is only a small piece of what is called The Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy - where you can find 37 spiritual practices from all traditions - authored by MaryAnn and Frederic Brussat.

I don't expect to even come close. But I do know I have to TRY!!!!!

1. I will live in the present moment. I will not obsess about the past or worry about the future.
2. I will cultivate the art of making connections. I will pay attention to how my life is intimately related to all life on the planet.
3. I will be thankful for all the blessings in my life. I will spell out my days with a grammar of gratitude.
4. I will practice hospitality in a world where too often strangers are feared, enemies are hated, and the "other" is shunned. I will welcome guests and alien ideas with graciousness.
5. I will seek liberty and justice for all. I will work for a free and a fair world.
6. I will add to the planet's fund of good will by practicing little acts of kindness, brief words of encouragement, and manifold expressions of courtesy.
7. I will cultivate the skill of deep listening. I will remember that all things in the world want to be heard, as do the many voices inside me.
8. I will practice reverence for life by seeing the sacred in, with, and under all things of the world.
9. I will give up trying to hide, deny, or escape from my imperfections. I will listen to what my shadow side has to say to me.
10. I will be willing to learn from the spiritual teachers all around me, however unlikely or unlike me they may be.

later man, jan

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

This is hilarious...

later man, jan

$25 AT A TIME...

Kiva.org had a post yesterday telling us to tune in to "Business Nation" on CNBC tonight, to see a feature length piece about Kiva.org featuring correspondent John Larson (www.kiva.org/lender/john2481) who actually went to Africa to find the entrepreneurs he loaned to!!!!

Of course - I can't find CNBC - not on my little tv:) I did find their website and copied the following intro...

"There’s a remarkable new venture that’s transforming the lives of people in some of the poorest countries on earth. Kiva.org is the innovative website that enables ordinary people all over the world to make tiny loans – as little as $25 at a time -- to small business owners in third world countries. NBC News correspondent John Larson reports. watch video"...

John and I watched it. It really is easy to change another person's life...
Just like the cliche "a hand up - not a hand out" How very true!

later man, jan

Christmas With a Capital C

I respect the rights of other people with other religions - however - in turn - I expect them to respect my rights and not be offended when I say "Merry Christmas"
later man, jan

Wanna feel good inside... giving is the way to go...

and this is way better than regular on-line shopping...

check out this website link to Kiva.org to find a new way to support those in need in our world...

There are many ways to give - but these are micro-loans that let you get your money repaid and able to be given again - WOW! now I can be a micro-lender to give a micro-loan...

There was so much traffic on the page today that it took me forever to get in when I decided to register! They use PayPal to send the money and you can check the status of each loan anytime. They also have an RSS feed for their blog and I have been fascinated by the stories and pictures. Where have I been, that I missed seeing this on the news! People lending to people!

If you have time, check out the documentary that spread this news a year ago at FRONTLINE/World called Uganda - A Little Goes a Long Way. In one year they have spread from Unganda to 11 other countries.

later man, jan

Washing Osama's Feet...

Can you stretch your heart and pray? "Father, forgive Osama. He doesn't know what he's doing."

If this image makes you want to dig deeper into your soul...

check out Greg Boyd's blog for background info and more links...

The truth hurts... I am still honking at that guy who cut me off at the light... so I have a long way to go.
later man, jan

Meth is the bottom of the hill...

I have been glued to this subject today...

The Partnership for a Drug Free America has a Meth Information and Resource Centre website full of resources for community education... you can find...

before and after pictures of meth users...

videos and slideshows highlighting the overall dangers of meth use...

personal stories of people who have tried to fill some emptiness in their lives and then... memorials for those who have proven that drugs don't discriminate and everyone is at risk...

but best of all - a recovery story allowing me to feel hope and not total despair and giving me the ability to thank you, Loving Spirit, for the gift of Life!

later man, jan

The Mom Song Sung to William Tell Overture with Lyrics

"The Mom Song"

Get up now
Get up now
Get up out of bed
Wash your face
Brush your teeth
Comb your sleepyhead
Here's your clothes and your shoes
Hear the words I said
Get up now! Get up and make your bed
Are you hot? Are you cold?
Are you wearing that?
Where's your books and your lunch and your homework at?
Grab your coat and gloves and your scarf and hat
Don't forget! You gotta feed the cat
Eat your breakfast, the experts tell us it's the most important meal of all
Take your vitamins so you will grow up one day to be big and tall
Please remember the orthodontist will be seeing you at 3 today
Don't forget your piano lesson is this afternoon so you must play
Don't shovel
Chew slowly
But hurry
The bus is here
Be careful
Come back here
Did you wash behind your ears?
Play outside, don't play rough, will you just play fair?
Be polite, make a friend, don't forget to share
Work it out, wait your turn, never take a dare
Get along! Don't make me come down there
Clean your room, fold your clothes, put your stuff away
Make your bed, do it now, do we have all day?
Were you born in a barn? Would you like some hay?
Can you even hear a word I say?
Answer the phone! Get off the phone!
Don't sit so close, turn it down, no texting at the table
No more computer time tonight!
Your iPod's my iPod if you don't listen up
Where are you going and with whom and what time do you think you're coming home?
Saying thank you, please, excuse me makes you welcome everywhere you roam
You'll appreciate my wisdom someday when you're older and you're grown
Can't wait till you have a couple little children of your own
You'll thank me for the counsel I gave you so willingly
But right now I thank you not to roll your eyes at me
Close your mouth when you chew, would appreciate
Take a bite maybe two of the stuff you hate
Use your fork, do not burp or I'll set you straight
Eat the food I put upon your plate
Get an A, get the door, don't get smart with me
Get a grip, get in here, I'll count to three
Get a job, get a life, get a PHD
Get a dose of,
"I don't care who started it!
You're grounded until you're 36"
Get your story straight and tell the truth for once, for heaven's sake
And if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump, too?
If I've said it once, I've said at least a thousand times before
That you're too old to act this way
It must be your father's DNA
Look at me when I am talking
Stand up straighter when you walk
A place for everything and everything must be in place
Stop crying or I'll give you something real to cry about
Oh!
Brush your teeth, wash your face, put your PJs on
Get in bed, get up here, say a prayer with mom
Don't forget, I love you
And tomorrow we will do this all again because a mom's work never ends
You don't need the reason why
Because, because, because, because
I said so, I said so, I said so, I said so
I'm the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom!!
Ta da!!! (more)

thanx to Ann for the link... this is great...
later man, jan

This is NOT A GOOD READ...

Dear diary - You won't like this but I can't get it out of my mind - I need to do something but I have no idea what - so I guess I am passing the buck...

The scale of brutality taking place in the Congo now is staggering...

What are we doing? What should we be doing?

later man, jan