Archive for the 'Bite' category
Power of giving
March 26, 2008 8:57 pm
During college, I spent the majority of my spare time volunteering: soup kitches, convalescent homes, half-way children homes, homeless shelters, charity drives, park cleanups, battered women shelters, tutorting kids - you name it I helped out.
At some point I realized the true value of volunteering was not in what we did, but in the individual connection made with people. In the mind-set of giving, that is a subtle message that other people matter.
In a world where people are obsessed with pushing others out of the way to grab the most satisfying life, there is an incredible power in putting others ahead of your own achievement… and ironically, the joy of helping others may be what brings you the most satisfying life.
Million dollar project
March 25, 2008 7:04 pm
A couple weeks ago, I had a thought. Wouldn’t it be grand to have $1 million in a trust fund? Not for me - but for charity, such that I could make an impact on projects that I felt passionate about.
After talking to friends about what I could do to raise $1 million dollars - one me realize that this might be driven by a desire to feel important, not really a desire to help people. And truth be told, I had no idea how I would exactly use the money if I had it.
The place to start is with a cause. With a specific end in mind, one can focus on finding the appropriate resources. It also gives a tangible purpose on the difference being made (which is focused on others), as opposed to a general being-a-nice-guy (which is focused on myself).
New horizons
July 19, 2007 9:38 pm
Change is inevitable. Change is constant.
— Benjamin Disraeli
Nothing quite like a new job to remind me how quickly life can change.
I found myself enveloped in the London Business School course, “Creativity & Personal Mastery” as the teaching assistant for 10 weeks, and emerged to find myself in an exciting new job providing me with an opportunity to apply my technical skills in a new industry.
As I am adjusting to my new routine, I think it is the perfect time to delve back into exploring methods of getting the most out my day.
Simplicity
March 10, 2007 8:23 pm
Simplicity Blossoms When Coercion Dies
Govern a state with predictable actions.
Fight a war with surprise attacks.
But the universe becomes ours
only by eliminating coercive acts.
By not doing, nothing lacks.
How do we know these lessons?
By tuning into our Essence.
The more taboos and prohibitions there are,
the poorer the people become.
The more deadly weapons there are,
the more our fears turn us numb.
When craftiness spreads far,
the more bizarre what is done,
The stricter the laws there are,
the less the robbers run.
Therefore, the wise know
to make no one a foe.
The less coercing we do,
The more tranquilities grow.
When harmony reigns,
and we rule ourselves with felicity,
everyone gains,
and we’ll all live in simplicity.
Tao Te Ching
Lao-tzu (abt.551-479 BCE)
verse 57 as translated by Ralph Alan Dale 2002 ISBN 0-7607-4998-1
via mindfully.org.
The regional adjustment burro
February 25, 2007 1:23 pm
Credit card fraud with Capital One is very amusing.
There is this entity called the regional adjustment burro who keeps trying collect on a debt for a credit card opened in my name last year at an address I lived over 6 years ago.
For some reason, they don’t like to call me. Somehow they found my sister’s number in Salt Lake City, and like to call her instead. Perhaps it is because I live in the UK, and they are too cheap to make international calls, or perhaps it is because my sister is such a wonderful person to talk to, they find it more fun to call her instead. Note: They definitely have my number here in the UK, I verify this every time I call… they just choose not to use it.
I dealt with this in November, and handed it off to Capital One as fraud. I’m not sure of the law in the US, but as a resident in the UK, fraud is 100% responsibility of the credit card company. I tried to explain this to the adjustment burro, but they don’t seem to understand and just keep trying to sell me on the benefits of paying off their debt.
I called the fraud department (who do have their act together) and spoke with the person I filed the fraud with in November - and sure enough, my account has been correctly marked at fraud and the adjustment burro ought to know this and shouldn’t be contacting me. (Although, perhaps it’s okay for them to contact my sister… I forgot to clear up that mystery.) So all is nice and dandy, but the kind lady in the fraud department can’t call the adjustment burro, she can only re-mark the account as frauded so that I won’t be contacted again. (Which, as we discovered, did not exactly work last time.)
At least I called the adjustment burro back and gave them the extension of the lady I spoke with at the fraud department, so hopefully they can have a nice little chat and won’t have to involve me anymore. Or my sister.
Dependability
February 24, 2007 1:14 pmI need a week-long topic on dependability. I went on a trip to New York City, fully thinking that I would keep my newly refurbished blog running smoothly. I had a great time, and started many posts in a good old fashion paper journal, but they haven’t made it yet online. I thought when I started this that I would be good for a few months before disappearing suddenly from the internet. Fortunately, being a new blog, I guess the impact is pretty small.
Back to mindfulness.
