Hinamatsuri is an extremely old ceremony, filled with color and meaning.  Soft, red fabric is laid all over, especially on stepped tables.  On the fabric are carefully placed dolls, hundreds of them, thousands all over.  From Hello Kitty to miniature Kabuki or Geisha versions, the dolls are considered to be empty containers with a spiritually important purpose.

As people look over the dolls, remarking at their whimsy or beauty, prayers are quietly given, meant to summon into memory recollections of evil or undesirable spirits, situations and thoughts, tragedies and terrors.  The intention is to move that which has burdened you, your family or your community into one of the dolls.

Many of the dolls at the shrine, along with trinkets and sweets, will be placed upon tiny straw boats, and placed upon the waters of the Takano and Kamo rivers, to float away, along with the bad spirits, omens and thoughts.  More prayers are said as the participants silently watch the boats float away with their worries and fears.

Hinamatsuri provides the people of Kyoto and Japan an annual cathartic feeling, as they begin to positively look forward to a better year ahead….

“…you will cast all your sins into the depths of the sea…”  ~ Micah 7:9

In Jewish tradition, there is a similar ceremony, held around Rosh Hashanah, known as Tashlich.  Tashlich is a Hebrew word, translating as “to cast away.”  It is a rarity among Jewish ceremonies, believed to be so important to spiritual growth that it is observed even on the Sabbath.

In preparation for requesting forgiveness from ourselves, each other and God, Jews keep some bread crumbs in a pocket while pondering on all of the sinful behavior they took part in during the previous 365 days.  Tradition has it that as we open our hearts and memories in honesty, the crumbs will absorb our sins and grief.

It is important to do this quietly, alone, and over a long period, thinking of everyone we may have wronged, no matter how slight the act seemed to us.

To perform Tashlich, special prayers are read aloud as the bread crumbs are cast into a free-flowing body of water, such as a stream or river.  The movement of water is essential, ritually carrying the sin-filled crumbs from where they were thrown.

In Ancient Israel, lakes and rivers were few and far between, so small shallow wells (cisterns) were dug up and used.  Kurdish and Yemenese Jews immersed themselves fully in Mikvot (ritual baths) to clean themselves of their sins.  The Jews of Safed climbed upon their roofs and prayed over the Sea of Galilee below.  In Galicia, Jews prayed over tiny boats of straw, them floated them out onto the water with lit candles.  When the candles burned down, the boats (and sins) caught fire and were destroyed.

The concept of Tashlich has evolved in modern time to mean that we are not so much casting off our sins as casting off attitudes and behaviors that caused them.  It is committing oneself to work on bettering ourselves, to be more understanding, more accepting, more loving toward and caring for our fellow Man.

“Don’t be afraid to make a mistake.  But be sure you don’t make the same mistake twice.”  ~ Akio Morita

In many larger Nations, a formal period of self-imposed reflection, asking of forgivenes, and casting off of bad behaviors does not exist.  We leave it up to ourselves to realize on our own (or through friends, family or religious leaders) that this is necessary for us to grow and move forward in life.  Do we as a Nation, as a Society, run the risk of repeating our mistakes without this periodic introspection?

We tend to stand together in times of crisis, such as now, after the tragedies of Haiti and Chile.  We stand together in times of great loss, as great leaders pass away or are murdered before our eyes.  In War, we are both torn apart as family at the kitchen table and bonded for life with strangers on the battlefield. We miss no chance to join together in celebration.  In the moments of greatest trial and tribulation, we can become much closer, a larger global family.

I wonder about Hinamatsuri and Tashlich.  Are we missing something important in our desire to grow closer as a family, in that we do not reach out and join together to ponder our behaviors, to ask forgiveness of our loved ones, our friends, our co-workers and ourselves?  Should we endeavor to begin, as a Nation, as a global family, to partake together in these celebrations of thoughtfulness and emotional release?

Many people are suffering recently, sleeping outside in the rubble amidst terror-filled memories and dreams.  My thoughts and prayers are with the peoples of Haiti and Chile.  May their pain and sorrow, the terrible tragedy of life lived hard before all of our eyes, be moved away from them, away into the deep still oceans, to return no more…

Steve Woods

Please read previous postings on how to forgive, and how you can begin to make a difference in the World using Social Media.

Ahead is the cleanup, and how to help over 2 million Chileans affected for some time to come.  What will be needed, and how long will it take to get help to them after the widespread need is figured out?

Whether from terrorism or Mother Nature, disasters will continue to strike, and coordinated efforts will be required, in the news, on television and radio, and yes – here in social media.

USING SOCIAL MEDIA’S POWER TO PREPARE FOR A TRAGEDY

Although social media allows all of us to demonstrate some level of influence, the greater power has always been in the sharing of our ideas freely.  So what ideas are out there that would allow a person, group or organization to stick their proverbial toes in the social media waters, and make a big a ripple helping others in the event of another disaster?

Here are a few methods to prepare and act, broken down based on whether you are a regular person, business or organization, or the very government representing all of us.  I’ve used war-time examples (semi tongue-in-cheek) to demonstrate how we all can show our uniquely American social media style of helping others around the World, on all levels, when tragedy strikes.

ONE PERSON – GROWING A SOCIAL MEDIA VICTORY GARDEN

If you are just a “regular guy” you may be unsure as to what you can do to help, especially in light of seeing what all of the support larger companies, organizations, governments and non-profits are providing.  But there are little things you can do on your own turf, the equivalent of growing your own little “Victory Garden” during times of crisis…

1. Talk to the boss – Talk to your employer about putting together a social media campaign (see below, If You Are a Business.)  Offer your services to put together and direct the campaign when asked to do so.
2. Go local - Raise money at your local level. Hold bake sales at work, school, or place of worship.  Ask your neighborhood to hold one big yard sale.  Print out and hand out flyers encouraging neighbors to participate and donate.
3. Blog about it – Put together a blog and post your own unique viewpoint about the tragedy, and tell them what you are doing to help.  Read the blogs of others writing about the tragedy, and thank them for taking the time.
4. Letters to the editor - Write your local newspaper and encourage your entire city to do something.
5. Use your social media account - Tweet and retweet, write Facebook updates, share on MySpace.  Repeat.

CELEBRITIES! ELVIS DID IT – WHY CAN’T YOU?

It takes a war-level effort to overcome major tragedies in the World. One of the biggest periods of recruitment during any historic war we’ve been involved with, was after a major celebrity put their hat in the ring too.  Are you a celebrity or social media persona? Do you have tons of followers who actually listen to what you have to say?  During times of crisis, it is incumbent on you to use your much louder voice to reach out to others as an example.

1. Just talk about it - You have a ton of followers, and they love what you have to say.  Whether or not you have embraced the celebrity nomenclature and all that comes with it, you are in the public eye, even in social media.  Take the time to tweet and retweet messages of encouragement and support.  Share on all your social media network accounts often.
2. School your followers – Find great sources of information regarding the background of the region and its peoples, and share the links with your fans.  If you have first-hand knowledge of the location where the tragedy took place, use this knowledge to add support to your concerns.  An incredible example of this is @Alyssa_Milano who has travelled far and wide in support of others nations during tragedies.  She is friendly, knowledgeable and accessible.
3. Donate a portion of your proceeds – If you are an artist with an upcoming CD, or a movie maker with something out there in theaters, donate a portion of sales.  Fine examples of this are @JoshCharles, @BillZucker and @AriaaJaeger who are all donating a portion of the proceeds of their new CDs right now .  There are so many of you who could join in! Many of you (such as @kirstiealley) humbly keep the majority of your donating activities a secret, and I commend you for that.  But if advertising your philanthropic activities will boost sales (and therefore donations) you might want to reconsider in this case…
4. Create a storefront - Have you considered taking the lead from celebrities such as @MarielHemingway and creating an Etsy storefront?  It’s easy to do, and allows you to generate an income from selling simple items.  Etsy takes care of everything for you, including marketing and sales.  You simply collect a check! Make it known that all proceeds will go to charity, and see if people are interested in buying t-shirts or coffee mugs with your own mug on them. You have nothing to lose…
5. Sold to the highest bidder! – Find a major non-profit relief organization, and setup a partnership with them.  Ask the non-profit to establish a donation account code for the donations you personally bring to them.  Then when a tragedy occurs, take a photo of and offer up something one-of-a-kind to your followers, to the person who donates the most to your chosen non-profit using that special code.  Ask the non-profit to track and provide you the name, email address and Twitter username of the person who donated the most using that code, so you can contact the winner directly.  Tweet out the username and congratulate them!  What a thrill for your fans!

ORGANIZATIONS AND BUSINESSES: JOIN THE ALLIED FORCES!

During any major world-changing event, it has taken the combined ingenuity and support of American business (and their employees) to be victorious.  They have the shared, larger resources, ongoing consumer base, mailing distribution lists, telephone networks and web presences worldwide.  Why shouldn’t they continue to be a partner in the efforts to combat a tragedy somewhere in the World?

1. Turn off the block and turn on the love - You have employees, and many of them are on social media. Provide your employees an email or printed sheet with recommended messages of encouragement and support, or links to resources (including your own.)  Turn off the company block on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter for a week, and let your employees freely take time during their breaks or lunch hours to tweet and retweet these messages and others they find online.  Encourage them to take one post of their blogs and say something about what they are doing at work, and let them write the post during office hours…
2. Fundraising can begin at the office - Arrange for office fundraisers and support the staff in taking the time to put something grand together and develop interest.  Let the copiers or printers to be used (within reason.)  Letting your employees do something helps remove the sense of helplessness they may have as they read the news, which ultimately will help with productivity in the longrun…
3. Get the message out – Use some of those terrabytes of webspace you’ve got to highlight the tragedy, what your office is doing, how proud your company is of its efforts and employees, and what your customers can do to help.  Add a nice banner ad on the main page of your site to take people there so they can see what you are up to, and can suggest other methods to you…  Send links to the page everywhere using your newly-enabled employees!
4. Collect a Twitter Dollar - Does your business ever collect an extra buck from your customers, have them write a short message and put a little piece of colorful paper on the storefront in support of something?   If your business has a social media account (and it had better,) perform the social media equivalent.  In your stores collect that same dollar, and ask your customers to include their Twitter username on the paper.  Create a method for your store managers to send that info to corporate, so your social media people can tweet out a personalized thank you, including the donor’s Twitter username, so others on Twitter can also thank them for their donation. I will call this the Twitter Dollar concept.
5. Tweet, damnit! - Use your company’s social media account to provide hyperlinks to places to donate, to thanks others for their fine work, and what you are doing to help out.  Make sure your company has a plan for the social media maven (or mensch) to keep your followers alerted and engaged.
6. Make your customers into mini-philanthropists – Create a method for your customers to donate to help those suffering from the tragedy, simply by doing what they do anyway – purchasing from your store.  You pay people in Marketing to figure this sort of stuff out, and if they aren’t doing that good of a job, contact me and I’ll help you figure something out!  One fine example is to create a 10% off coupon offer and place it freely available online.  Tweet out a link to this coupon far and wide and ask others to retweet.  Customers who present this coupon at time of purchase are offered the chance to donate as much of that 10% savings as they’d like to your company’s efforts to help the victims of the tragedy.
7. Buddy up with the bigwigs – Discover who the social media heavy hitters are, and contact them.  They know their networks and how to communicate with their followers.  They’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. Ask their advice on what else you can do to get the word out and help alleviate the effects of the tragedy.  Ask if they would work with your company to get the word out.  In exchange for this service, you could offer to highlight them for their help on your webpage.  It’s win-win…
8. Integrate it all - This is where a social media position at your company helps.  Keep a running tally of donations from your coupon offer and Twitter dollars on that great new webpage you’ve created.  Tweet out milestones and encourage others to help with each status update.  Take photos of your employees working hard to help those in need and use a photo sharing service to highlight them.  Keep track of what works and use it over and over…

GOVERNMENTS: IT’S TIME FOR THE SOCIAL MEDIA MARSHALL PLAN

The Office of Social Media Relations – I ask federal, local and state governments to consider the creation of their own Office for Social Media Relations (OSMR).  Work together to create a Social Media Marshall Plan, to provide helpful information freely to help businesses, organizations and individuals create and maintain social media marketing campaigns with the sole purpose of helping others  in need.  Develop and maintain state and federal websites with best practices used, helpful documentation, and examples.  Invite people to follow your OSMR on Twitter, Facebook or MySpace in order to receive word when a tragedy strikes, and how they can help.

I invite a newly formed Federal OSMR to provide a website where individuals, businesses and organizations can register their contact information for the purpose of partnering to help in the event of a tragedy such as Haiti using their own social media accounts.  Everyone will be offered downloadable help in creating their own Social Media Marshall Plans.  Allow the registrants to state whether they are willing to help with tragedies affecting others on a local, state, or national level (or all of the above.)

When something terrible happens, the Federal, State or Local OSMR will send a groupmail to its registrants, depending on the level of the tragedy.  Organizations will be asked to implement their own newly-created Social Media Marshall Plan to get the word out and to help.  OSMR will continue to contact and coordinate efforts in the most desirable and efficient manner, whether it be asking for money to be donated, clothing and blankets, or even transportation.

Like a ripple, the word would them move outward quickly, and in an organized manner….  From there, social media users would push the word out further in an organic manner.  Blog posts would be written, employees will see blocks to social media lifted, businesses will begin fundraising campaigns, and we can all work together as proud Americans, battling to help others once again.

Because of organized efforts of businesses and non-profits, millions of dollars have been raised quickly since the Haiti tragedy not so long ago.  People on Facebook and Twitter have made their friends and followers aware of simple $5 or $10 text message donation campaigns.  And what’s easier than sending a text message?

I give a thousand shoutouts to the many nonprofits and celebrities tweeting to others and encouraging them to donate whatever they could.  I bow before those that continue this effort to this day, realizing the enormity of the plight of those in Haiti (and now Chile,) and that it will take more than the millions of dollars already donated.

Haiti and Chile need much, much more than what has given thus far.  It is up to our government, businesses, and people like you on social media to continue the interest, and to find novel new (yet simple) ways for people to donate and get involved in helping as Winter continues for those people affected by the quakes.  It is also incumbent on those of us with the ability to do so, to create a Social Media Marshall Plan, in order to be ready for whatever tragedy the future holds.  We’re waiting to be organized.  You showed the path to using social media to get into office, @barackobama.  Now show us you remain committed to directing our new “Virtual Nation” to help others!

I encourage you to share this article with all of your local, state and federal government officials, corporations and organizations you find in social media, and your friends. Tweet our leaders and demand they read this post!

- Steve Woods

We’ve all read the horrific accounts of slavery in the United States’ not-so-distant past.  Over 12 Million African men, women and children were forcibly removed from their villages, shipped like cattle and sold at auction.  Did you know that almost 11 Million Africans were shipped off to enormous plantations in Brazil?  America enslaved just over 645,000 of these poor souls.  By the 1860 census, the population of slaves in America had grown to well over 4 Million.

Of course, slavery was abolished by our Thirteenth Amendment, but what about the rest of the World? How has it come along on this issue?  Are there fewer slaves in the World? How are we doing?

Slavery worldwide is still an enormous issue

This last October, Hillary Clinton visited Pakistan to strengthen relations with our military ally in the Middle East.  One of the items on her agenda was Human Rights.  It is estimated that there are over 1 Million families in the Sindh District alone living in slave-like conditions, indebted to landlords for as little as $12 and having worked for years to no avail.  One-third of these slaves are children.  Other estimates by Pakistani newspapers put the number at millions across Pakistan.  In just one nation.

Pleas to the Pakistani courts have done little, and at least one advocate for the slaves has been enslaved himself.  Pakistan’s Bonded Labour System Act requires a 5-year sentence for violations; however, despite millions of violations, not one conviction has occurred.  Fully supported by the government’s blind eye, Pakistani landowners have killed those that have spoken up for themselves.  And herein lies the biggest issue – we need the government of this nation to succeed in our efforts in the Middle East, and it is difficult to reprimand someone while asking for a handout…

The State Department’s Tier System

The U.S. State Department does try.  It has a 3-tier system for ranking nations’ upholding of basic human rights. Tier One is for nations that work diligently to uphold its citizen’s rights.  Tier two is for those nations with human rights laws, but not necessarily a vigor to uphold them. Tier three is for nations that ignore basic human rights.

The State Department recently downgraded Pakistan to Tier Two on its Human Rights Watch List because of its ongoing problems with slavery.  The nation will drop to Tier Three after 3 more years if it does not improve, causing automatic sanctions.  So it looks like Pakistan has been told it has 3 years to enjoy the fruits of forced labor before we begin to whine a little louder at them, which could in turn drag on for a decade.  Children on these farms will grow up in the darkness of forced labor.  I suppose if the two-front wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ever end, we might get around to putting more pressure on the Pakistani government…?

The financial recession doesn’t help

In recessions, the trafficking of humans historically rises.  These tough times are no exception.  The State Department estimates that including forced labor, forced prostitution and organ stealing (yes, organ stealing,) over 12.3 million people are being trafficked against their will.  Wasn’t that the same number of Africans shipped around the World in our distant past?  It would appear that the misery has just spread around the World a bit more uniformly…

Largely developed nations fill the roster of Tier One states, showing the most effort in combating trafficking.  This year, both Iran and North Korea, as well as a half-dozen other nations, have joined the roster of Tier 3 states (showing the least effort to resolve the issue.)  In Iraq, mothers have been found publicly pimping out their daughters.  In Cambodia, little children are openly used for sex, and thousands of men are kidnapped for forced labor, where they are beaten to death if they refuse to comply.  In isolated locales, people are waking up, groggy from forced sedation, to find mysterious scars on their bellies, organs removed to be provided to wealthy but sick people.

How does the U.S. size up on slavery?

Did you know that the United States does not list its own issues with human trafficking on this annual report?  Things are about to change, according to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Clinton has revealed that beginning next year, the Obama Administration will be ranking “its own efforts at combatting trafficking along with the rest of the world.”

The Department of Labor continues to prosecute individuals and companies for imprisoning and forcing into servitude illegal immigrants, in order to pay off typically trumped-up debts owed to those that brought them into the country.  In the Immokalee region of Florida, since 1997 over 1,000 indentured slaves have been freed from the enormous tomato plantations that provide must of the tomatoes you and I eat.  The CIA estimates that each and every year, over 50,000 women and children are forced into our country for sexual exploitation.

We have a lot of cleaning to do in our own backyard, in order to help other nations deal with the issue of slavery.  I applaud the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, and countless other organizations working each and every day to free the continued victims of slavery, forced prostitution , physical and emotional thievery.

So how can you help? There are a variety of organizations on the Web…

HelpStopChildSlavery.Org – they fund a variety of anti-slavery organizations, and recommend you donate your website’s homepage to them, so ad revenue can help.

WorldVision.Org - allows you to sponsor children who are freed from slavery, so they can get back on their feet, and/or return to their families.

SaveTheChildren.Org – provides community awareness, economic alternatives, education and shelter.

CATWInternational.Org - The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women – promotes women’s rights by combatting sexual exploitation.

Take a little time to read about these organizations, and see about advertising one of them in your blog, on your website, or in Social Media.  Help remember the millions who are hidden from the rest of us…

I thought I’d start out with a propaganda film from the 1950′s regarding Homosexuality, just to put you in the mood…

The video was created in 1961 by filmmaker Sid Davis, and was funded by both the Inglewood Police Department and his Inglewood Unified School District. In those days, it was acceptable for government monies to help propagate the myth that Homosexuality was a “sickness of the mind,” or that gay men were pedophiles. Although as a rule we’ve stopped using government funds to share such idiocy, the myths still exist in the minds of people we come across daily, and the ideals resulting from such falsehoods still slip out of the mouths of many.

Three days ago, I blocked a person on Twitter, an action that I reserve for spam-bots, britney-bots, someone trying to sell me something, people who are rude or obnoxious, and your garden-variety bigots. This particular person fell under the last of those categories, and I had no qualms whatsoever as the block happened in a knee-jerk manner.

The last tweet I will ever see from the guy read something like this, “Here’s my daily sound-off on the Muslims. They have no business being in America. Round em up and ship em off.” (I changed it a bit so nobody would find the guy using Twitter Search and slam him too badly…)

I don’t miss the guy, and he was completely lost to memory until I saw what day it was today – International Day of Tolerance. So the question arose in me – Was I, too, being intolerant? Should I have continued to follow the guy, despite his demonstrated hatred of those he obviously knew little about?

The Importance of Tolerance

The next time you’re walking down a crowded street, take a moment to think about the incredible variety of backgrounds surrounding you. The man walking by you enjoying his latté may have come from grandparents who were chased from their homeland by people hating their faith. The woman juggling the cell phone while folding and tucking the newly purchased newspaper may have heard hushed stories from her father about dear friends or relatives being killed simply because of their race.

We are the culmination of the co-mingled hopes and dreams of our ancestors, the centuries of hard work and strife as each generation before ours was pushed forward, cajoled and upbraided, supported and loved. We are also the product of the intolerance our ancestors suffered, as well as the intolerance they may have shown to others. The wounds are still there, if you look closely enough, listen carefully enough. You can still easily find the stereotyping, the racial jokes, the homophobic commentary, and the fear and anger it incites in those that are ultimately its victims, the pain and hardship that stereotyped individuals have had to endure.

With each passing generation, the anger dims a bit, as tolerance spreads further, rippling outward from those that are exemplars of it. There also remain those that abhor tolerance, angry vacuums of bigotry, using all available means to suck in those that are unprepared to face the variety of existence around them. It is our role to face these black holes of hatred head-on, to become immune to their poisons, so that others do not lose their entire lives to it.

Raised to See the Difference?

We have grown up in a world that sees the differences, categorizing each other since early childhood. The playgrounds and hallways of our youth held the jocks, the populars, the socials, the nerds, the loners, the rockers, the goths, the emos, the eggheads, the geeks and endless other categories of those that were different. Some of us wended and weaved among these groups, picking and choosing friends as we found fellowship in the varied ranks of many. Many of us did not, choosing one group or another to temporarily identify with.

Tolerance must be learned, must be shared and supported as a life-skill. Without it, our children will not be able to wend and weave their way through life, will find it difficult to reach across those artificial boundaries, and will be stunted in their ability to connect to a wider World filled with different people being rapidly woven together through social media and technology. Without the ability to tolerate, people get paid by us to make movies to frighten our children with lies. And worse.

The Teaching of Tolerance

“The highest result of education is tolerance.” ~ Helen Keller

The teaching of tolerance begins at home, with how we behave and what we say around our family, especially our children. Even the smallest allowance for stereotyping or discrimination cracks the door ajar for more, like dirty little flies scurrying into our home.

Avoid stereotyping -It is assumed that if you are reading this post, you know that people of all races are equally as intelligent, as funny, as quiet, as athletic, as studious, as hardworking. Avoid the urge to lump in others who may share a physical trait, sexual orientation, or religious faith, no matter how many similarities you believe you have found in your experience. Young children reside in what must seem to be a very complicated world, and many will readily grasp at these oversimplifications. It’s a nasty little short-cut that bypasses true learning about the people around them, and should be avoided at all costs.

Avoid derogatory terms - If you have used derogatory terms in the past, stop. And not just around your children, either. Never denigrate others, no matter what they have done to offend or hurt you. If you must vent, avoid the use of degrading terms related to race, sexual preference or religious background. If you tell jokes or “funny” stories with those terms, you are simply hurting your children’s ability to tolerate differences they come across in others later in life. Examine the use of terms such as “That’s so gay,” and you will see how it poisons the atmosphere for others.

Be the example – Start at home and begin to learn how to tolerate the differences in opinion your spouse and children have with you. Listening is key in this. The former head of the United Nations Kofi Annan, one of the most powerful negotiators in modern times, is noted for his ability to listen at the bargaining table. Ask simple and meaningful questions to learn how other’s think, and they in turn will be more open to your thoughts. Speak respectfully, even in the heat of an argument. And try to keep your opinions to yourself when it comes to how your teens’ friends dress.

From Tolerance to Acceptance

The word tolerance has the connotation of “putting up with” someone, rather than accepting them. When we merely put up with working in the presence of an openly gay person, we are practicing the 2nd definition of tolerance, allowing for a so-called variation or deviation from what we believe to be the personal standard or societal norm. But if you discovered your coworkers merely put up with your presence in the office, how would it affect you? Where we define the area to draw our acceptable standards from is one way to move toward acceptance.

You can choose to restrict the definition of acceptable behavior to that found within your own home, where everybody comes from shared values, experiences, race and faith. Anyone outside this tight circle would be a variation, a deviation of some sort. But move your vision to the neighborhood, and what is acceptable expands with the borderline. Now we have to include in what is “normal” the Gays and Lesbians, Muslims and Jews, Blacks, Hispanics and Whites that reside within this wider circle. So many new capitalized words! So many interesting people!

When you move the sweep of the circle to encompass our entire nation, the variations are almost impossible to behold, and the border defining what is the standard blurs. If this is from where you draw your definition of standard or norm, then you must now see the Bisexuals, Transgenders, people of mixed-race, all variety of faiths and intra-faith sects, agnostics and atheists, and so forth. Gets pretty hard now, doesn’t it, to place someone as a variation or deviation from the standard, huh?

Of course, many of us expand of our circle of acceptance only to the boundaries of our chosen faith and/or morality, and I understand this concept. I cannot fault you for doing so, and do appreciate the extent to which some of us live closer to those boundaries, for it is at those moral walls that we hear the voices of the Outsiders. Perhaps from time to time we can peek around and say hello…

Teaching Ourselves Acceptance

So how do we draw such a big circle, and move ourselves from tolerance to acceptance?

Learn about other faiths – From Churches and Synagogues to Mosques and Temples, go out and learn about others’ faiths by participating in events there, and meeting their adherents. Scan your local newspaper’s faith section for cultural fairs, open houses and open worship nights. Say hello, try some interesting foods, ask a bunch of questions, mispronounce things, pick up some literature, and enjoy the similarities found in our common desire toward morally desirable behavior. Look for interfaith alliance groups and lend your voice, too.

Show support for people of all sexual orientations – There’s plenty of space in Gay Pride parades for straight people to help hold up those big, beautiful banners. Ask your local chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Gays and Lesbians) if they need any help with fundraising or activities. Attend candlelight vigils in support of equal marriage rights, and share a cup of coffee with those seeking legal acceptance of life-long love and commitment. Read and learn about the difficulties encountered in the lives of transgenders. Don’t worry, they’ll like you, too…

Become a community advocate against Racism – Donate time and/or money to help organizations that combat Racism in your community. Make a few phone calls and ask if you can help flip pancakes for fundraisers, or attend speeches by civil rights leaders who come to town. Take some time off from work to march with others whenever you can. Shake hands and meet people in attendance, and begin networking with them. Write to your local paper and exhort others to join in rallies against Racism and bigotry.

Creating a Global Standard

But what of an even grander sweep of vision, encompassing the incredible richness of human life on our whole planet? Can you draw your circle of friends this wide? In this view, we gaze upon all of humanity, and all ethnic, religious and sexual differences disappear. We are left viewing the breadth of “human” existence. From this standpoint, our backgrounds, orientations and preferences are no longer limited to what is valued in just our family, our neighborhood, our region or nation. We become a part of the human PhotoShop colorwheel, blending into the person next to us, interconnected and part of a loving rainbow.

In a global existence, it is much easier to move from tolerance of others to acceptance of all. From this place, how far is it to move into the warm embrace of those around us? We are all equals, with so much to learn from each other. We talk and share openly, visit each other’s places of worship in respect and admiration, breaking a variety of breads in fellowship at each other’s tables. A much greater compassion is learned from connecting with each other, and soon, those that discriminate and differentiate become the variation from the standard.

The Global Standard and Social Media

Social media is teaching us to look across borders, finding fellowship in the wonderful people of all races, all backgrounds, all preferences. We sign up, log on, and are soon swimming in what seems to be, at first, a sea of difference. As we talk and share, view pictures of loved ones and celebrations, listen to music on instruments we cannot pronounce, receive recipes for foods we previously did not know existed, the armor of our stereotypes begin to fail us. With the veil of distance removed, we go from seeing the differences to the similarities we all hold, and reveling in our new-found together-ness.

So was I being too harsh on the guy who was bashing all Muslims? Should I have left him in my stream as a sign of tolerance? I don’t think so, and here’s why. Tolerance has its limits. We should never tolerate words that harm or threaten to harm another. Race-baiting, religious intolerance, and hatred run counter to the desired goal of greater tolerance and acceptance. I choose not to provide a forum for poisonous behavior, to lend even a speck of legitimacy by having him listed in my followers. I don’t have time for haters, because I am spending all of my time in the company of wonderful people here seeking to know me, as I come to know them…

The story of Husayn Ali

Takur, near Tehran, Iran, where Husayn Ali was born

Husayn Ali was born on November 12, 1817 in Tehran, Iran, to the home of an aristocrat, a government minister, who could trace his own ancestry deep into ancient Iranian nobility. Raised in wealth, Husayn did not receive a regular public education, instead learning to ride horses, write calligraphy, handle a sword, and the recitation of romantic poetry.

In Husayn’s culture it was believed that precocious children likely would not survive into adulthood, so his family was quite concerned over him. He more than made up for his outspokenness in intelligence and wisdom beyond his years. Despite his inexperience, even learned Muslims could be found consulting with him regarding intricate religious matters; not because Husayn knew the answer already, but because he had a mind for figuring these complex issues out.

The puppet show

We are only puppets, our strings are being pulled by unknown forces. ~ George Buchner

What strings pull us around our lives?

Husayn once wrote that as a child, he was brought to watch a puppet show, one of the popular forms of public entertainment at the time. As often happened, the puppeteer had crafted this performance to make a public statement, the story being about the political motives and greed of a corrupt king’s court. Husayn was both bothered and intrigued by the performance; however, what happened after the little curtain was drawn and the other children were leaving played an important part in shaping Husayn’s mind and future. Husayn noted the puppeteer stepping out from behind the curtain and leaving the premises with a big box under his arm.

Curious and unafraid, Husayn asked the man what was in the box. “All this lavish display and these elaborate devices,” the man replied, “the king, the princes, and the ministers, their pomp and glory, their might and power, everything you saw, are now contained within this box.” The concept that all of the tapestries of life, those material items struggled toward, that we all-too-often witness the lives of others being destroyed over, could be rendered lifeless and carried away. All could be lost at the very gates of death, at the end of our live’s performance, as we too are boxed and buried. As these thoughts coalesced in little Husayn’s mind, he suddenly viewed all of our lifelong material struggles as nothing more important than children’s playthings, mere past-times, we playing the role of puppets to unknown masters.

What drives our lives?

We are no longer puppets being manipulated by outside powerful forces: we become the powerful force ourselves. ~ Leo Buscaglia

It's not a bad goal to have...

A desire to have a strong, loving and committed relationship with our significant other. A need to see success in our children’s lives, to know they will be secure in their futures. The ability to retire in relative comfort, with a roof over our heads and not a worry about money. A desire to attain notoriety in our field of endeavor, to be seen as contributing. A wish to be loved by others, whether in a small office or on the big screen. A brand new Mustang convertible is always good. There are millions of hopes and dreams we all have, sharing more than a handful of them with most. Sometimes these dreams are directly in competition with someone else’s. Where did these hopes, desires, and dreams come from? Who pulls our strings?

When Husayn’s father passed away, the very desirable and financially secure ministerial position he held was offered to Husayn, who turned it down to pursue a life of charitable work, wishing to put to good use his belief that the pursuit of wealth and title were nothing compared to the care of others. He worked diligently to improve the lives of the many poor in the surrounding community, earning him reverence and the title of “Father of the Poor.”

Who pulls our strings?

Men are not great or small because of their material possessions. They are great or small because of what they are. ~ James Cash Penney

Wait! Don't run off just yet!

Before you hit the Close Window button on your browser, I’m not on a soapbox today. There’s nothing wrong with buying a lot of cool things and keeping them. I’m staring at twin 27″ screens, when I could’ve done this sort of work on a simple 15″ one. There’s a whisper quiet brandy new PC under my desk, running Windows 7. My shiny (but not so new) iPhone is always within arm’s length. I own way too many weird ties and an assortment of coffee cups. But bear with me for a bit…

We have to work to survive, so we work. For most of us, it means the job you did not dream of as a child, because the income was nice, the benefits pretty decent, we had a family that prefers food on the table, and there’s a decent retirement plan on the horizon. We’re busy after work driving our children to appointments, baking something for fundraisers, getting our garages ready for the next yard sale, and trying to keep ahead of the impending Christmas shopping rush. Basically treading water, right?

It’s a difficult economy right now, and I’m starting to look at the Christmas list with a bit of tredipation. I likely won’t be spending quite as much as last year, and am feeling a twinge of guilt about it. But you know what? I’m starting to ask myself why I feel bad about it. Do I have to spend every cent I have in the malls purchasing more of those trinkets to eventually store in the boxes in my garage, or for my kids to toss in the closet with the ghosts of Christmas past? Are the unknown forces that drove my father and his father going to drive me too, or will I take a new path in life?

The dangers of stepping through unknown Gates

The World is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Downtown Tehran, early 1900s

In 1844, a young man by the name of Siyyid Alí-Muhammad changed Husayn’s life forever. Siyyid referred to himself as the Báb, which meant “the Gate” in Arabic, and proclaimed that all faiths served a single God, and therefore must come together in unison. Siyyid made sure everyone understood that he wasn’t that person, but that he would soon come. What the Báb taught rocked Iran’s nobility and faithful, and his renown spread quickly, with Husayn becoming one his most ardent supporters. To the clerics, supported by and controlling the government, it would appear a movement was afoot, and fears slowly grew that they might someday lose power…

Four years after Siyyid introduced his new philosophy, Husayn found himself a captive of the government, being tortured for his support of the Báb, as his captors repeatedly beat the soles of his feet with long wooden rods. It was only the start of many such episodes in his life, as he was either chased to or sent to a variety of prison locations, ending up over 2,800 km from his place of birth.

What will be the legacy to my children?

It’s a bit daunting, the concept of figuring out what drives my life. But I don’t want to be known affectionately in the future by my children as the guy that once got them the Wii Mario Cart game. I want to be known as the guy who taught them how to freely say “I’m sorry,” upon discovering they wronged someone. I’d much rather be remembered as the man that taught them loving acceptance of the wonderful variations of humanity around them, than the guy who brought home a piping hot cheese pizza every Friday night. That said, I also want to enjoy a nice pizza and beat their cheerful little butts on the Wii once in awhile.

It’s a balancing act, isn’t it? To be a good parent, to remember to teach the lasting life skills in a patient manner, while still providing the many material objects that my kids (and I have to admit that I) drool over in the store. I have to build the Gate through which they’ll cross from idealistic, angst-filled teens to loving and decent adults. And I have to help them walk that sometimes tortuous path.

Cutting the Strings

My desire to exit the game is greater than my desire to remain in it. I have searched my heart through and through and feel comfortable with this decision. ~ Barry Sanders

Prison in Akka, Israel. Husayn's cell in upper right corner.

In 1850 the Báb was killed, along with a number of his most ardent supporters by government forces and the powerful clerics. Although Husayn was spared execution, he was sent off to a prisons in Tehran, Adrianople, Istanbul and Akka, each place progressively worse. And in each of these fetid, smelly, dark places he received revelations, divine images telling him things he had difficulty understanding or accepting.

According to the visions, Husayn was the chosen one spoken of by the Báb. A year after arriving in Baghdad, Husayn took leave from his family and followers, and went up into the nearby mountains of Sulaymaniyyih for 2 years, to consider in solitude how to accept this mantle, and what he must do. When he returned, he began writing a number of religious books, and with renewed vigor the Bábi community rapidly embraced him as a leader.

Ten years later, in 1853, Husayn officially proclaimed himself to be the Bahá’u'lláh, the chosen one that the Bab referred to, the promised one he believed was to be found in all scriptures, who had now come to unite the faiths in brotherhood. And he was once again sent off to prisons in faraway lands.

I have some cutting to do...

I’m not going to be around forever. Duh. To be a better parent to my children, I have to intensify my focus on them, to listen to the voices in my head that tell me to take the time and teach, to slow myself and them down, to offer both toys and wisdom. I have to cut some of the strings in my life, too. I have to cut the string that says I have to spend all of my hard-earned money each month. Or the big ol’ credit card stringie. I have to cut the string that says I have to always get that new, shiny thing even though the old thing still works. The watch every football game string (that’s a painful one…) Oh, there are a variety of other invisible strings pulling me around, and I will have to take some time examining (and cutting) some of them too… But I know my kids and fiancée are worth it…

Staying out of the box

In 1867 Bahá’u'lláh penned letters to all of the leaders of the great nations including Emperor Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm I, Tsar Alexander II, Emperor Franz Joseph, Pope Pius IX, Sultan Abdul-Aziz, and the Iranian ruler, Nasiri’d-Din Shah, telling them that he was a messenger of God, and exhorting them all to join God’s plan in putting down their arms and working together in peace and unity.

Even more than being a good parent to my children, I want to be a good citizen of the World. I want to understand, to embrace the varieties of existence around me. I believe as long as I keep my eyes (and mind) wide open, I just might be able to stay outside of that little box for awhile…

Bahá’u'lláh and the Bahá’í Faith

And suddenly, like light in darkness, the real truth broke in upon me; the simple fact of Man, which I had forgotten, which had lain deep buried and out of sight; the idea of community, of unity. ~ Ernst Toller

As a result of angry response to his letters to World leaders, Bahá’u'lláh was finally exiled to the prison city of Akka, Israel, to join the murderers, theives and political prisoners sent there by the Ottomans. It was believed that Bahá’u'lláh and his followers would die there, and that the new faith would soon crumble without his continued presence.

Within months of arriving under harsh treatment, Bahá’u'lláh and his follower’s treated the sick and suffering in silence, an act which led authorities in Akka to lower restrictions against them, including finally allowing visitors, who travelled hundreds of miles to see their religious leader. During this time, Bahá’u'lláh began laying out the essentials of the Bahá’í faith as it is known today, creating a roadmap of how the World could come together. After having accomplished so much in sharing the message he had received, after having lived as an exemplar of spiritual philanthropy, Bahá’u'lláh died peacefully in 1892.

We can all live together, regardless of faith...

In case you were wondering, I’m not a member of the Bahá’í faith. I am a very liberal Jew in the Reformist tradition, reaching out to and learning from the words embodied in a variety of faiths. I can see many merits in the Bahá’í philosophy of unity and caring for each other, and have noted these same exhortations in a variety of religions. I can see the value of Bahá’u'lláh’s desire to see all of us control our own destinies, ignoring those that tell us to live meaningless lives in pursuit of things that tarnish with time, and erasing the many boundaries that have been constructed to separate us from one another.

In celebration of the birth of the founder of their faith, Bahá’í houses of worship and national centers near you are holding special programs, artistic performances tonight, as well as offering to the public food and refreshments, kindness and fellowship. If you are up to it, feel free to step through a new Gate and join them. You just might find out a way to stay out of that box too…

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Dad was madder than this...

Today is Use Your Common Sense Day. How many times, growing up, did an adult say to you angrily “Use some common sense?” Oh, it was the worse, because it left you feeling like you were mentally deficient, that some part of your logical faculty had been left off when you were formed in the womb. It was a popular one for my Father when he was angry at some stupid stunt I had pulled and got into trouble over. Of all the things he said to me, in addition to the belt-smacks on my bottom, that statement stung the most. I was left wondering for long disquieting hours whether or not I was ever going to grow up and be as smart as my Dad, whether or not I would ever be good enough…

Origin of the concept of Common Sense

Common sense as a phrase was first coined by Aristotle, although he had something very different in mind from

Aristotle

what we think of today. Aristotle viewed common sense as a physical reaction, a visceral response to the signals provided by a special, inner body organ, akin to our eyes or ears, tongue, nose or skin. This mysterious, hidden organ pulled together and filtered the information from the other organs and helped us to make sound, practical judgments. Sound a bit like a brain, huh? I believe Aristotle held this theory because of the bodily impulse we feel when driven to do what is right, or what our conscious tells us is best. Like puppets, we are physically manipulated by the forces of common good. And like a puppet, if the impulse is strong enough, it is impossible to deny our master’s wishes.

Common Sense today

Today we know common sense as sound, practical judgment, derived from experience rather than study. We didn’t learn to use it from long periods of time in classrooms, or as a result of pondering great works of literature; rather it is native good judgement, learned in the locality in which we live, allowing us to make what appear to be sound decisions in our environment.

We tend to shun those that oppose our beliefs.

As a concept, common sense refers to attitudes and widely held beliefs that ultimately may be difficult to justify. Despite this fact, they are generally assumed by those holding them to be time-tested and reliable, generations after first developed. Break from these long-held beliefs and you will likely find yourself isolated from the larger group and labelled as mentally disturbed, mentally handicapped or socially inept. Why don’t you just get it? It’s common sense! It’s not the fault of the one questioning; often, we deny them their fair hearing as a protective measure, keeping ourselves from having to share in the new challenge to our commonly-held beliefs.

The Genius of the Opposer

On the flip side of the coin, it is also the mark of true genius to shirk what is conventionally held as common knowledge, in the pursuit of a once-hidden truth which ultimately we come to embrace. We once held as common sense that our big, beautiful Earth was flat, actually imprisoned those that said otherwise, and treated opposers publicly as insane or in league with the Devil. The very word Satan comes from the Hebrew

He smilingly opposed those of his time...

word Ha’Satan, meaning “the Opposer.” How much easier it must’ve been to simply point fingers at those that questioned our common-sense authority and call them such, than to take the long hours of time determining if what they were saying was valid, and/or admitting a personal mistake.

Through the centuries, we’ve also held as common sense that only men and women could (and should) be attracted sexually to each other, that men and women of different races could not marry, that the darker the skin the lighter the intelligence, that our circumstances are born to us and cannot be changed, and a host of others that still linger. Just this week a judge stepped down after publicly refusing to marry an interracial couple, because he held the opinion that those relationships were fraught with disaster. Remember, his opinion would’ve been applauded as common-sensical by a majority of our population 60 years ago, and is now derided by an even-great percentage. Oh, how social tables turn…

The Value of Common Sense

So if common sense is so capricious in nature, why is it held in such esteem? John Berger viewed common sense as a home-grown ideology developed by the great masses in response to having to figure things out without the benefit of a proper education in critical thought. After all, most of us can’t afford an experienced, personalized teacher to walk us through life, spending day after day with us examining the values that guide us, exposing every closely-held truth to the light and helping us move past the misconceptions. We have to get on with the practice of living today and now, working with others, trying to get along…

“Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.” ~ Einstein

Our cobbled-together, sea-worthy lives

Common sense works because it allows us to travel the rough waters of our lives on a lashed-together raft of semi-false wisdom. But at least we are moving, right? Berger viewed common sense as a mish-mash of religious hold-overs, information we individually discovered through experience, skepticism of “new” ideas as a form of protection of what we already hold as truth, and items held merely for comfort’s sake. The very thought of trying to approach this mountain of tangled briars and slowly, methodically removing each branch, pricking ourselves emotionally along the way and crying through the pain is frightening, to say the least. But as a society we go through this pain together and cyclically, in nation after nation, as one gifted, charismatic philosopher after another pushes us forward together. Ghandi was one such figure, Confucius, Buddha, Martin Luther King, Jr. and a host of others. There are men and women in our future, still-unborn, who will someday pull us closer to the shore and one day help us find more honest paths to stroll through in life.

Emerging from Common Sense

So why is it important to face up to our commonly held values, to cast them aside if they work so well? Berger re-emerges in this conversation, and tells us that despite its efficacy in holding us all together “happily” in belief (unless you are on the short end of the commonly-held belief,) common sense never grows from its own nourishment, never moves itself (and hence us) beyond its current state, without the insertion of philosophy.

It's scary to go into unknown places...

Descartes viewed common sense as the faculty man uses to survive on life’s journey, until he finds himself in the mysterious realms dominated by the lords of philosophy, a domain in which all of the tools amassed in his life are roughly taken from him and cast into the rough seas of fact. Some of us have a more difficult time with the loss. You’ve seen them, sitting in the back row of your college Critical Thinking class, angry as the professor verbally pickaxes the sturdy foundation the student resided on up to that moment. And just like that student, I have walked upon a firm foundation built on religious values, good intentions, stereotypes, personal experience and plain bigotry. I have had the floor destroyed from under me on more than one occasion. It’s a painful time, as I find myself once again in that place, the role of my Father played by life itself, and I once again that little child being painfully schooled. And once again, I smart for a time, until I accept that I was wrong, that I have much, much more to learn, and forgive the harshness of the lesson in favor of the content.

Social Media and the new Global Sense

“Common sense is not so common.” ~ Voltaire

With the advent of Social Media and Internet-connectivity, we find ourselves going through changes that do not reverberate in one isolated community, in one nation or religious group. Our lashed-together rafts are no longer travelling down local streams, but are instead fighting against ocean currents. Those locally-held belief systems are collapsing under the critical eyes of the larger community, whose lives were not shaped by the same values. Login, and find yourself challenged in all directions.

The emerging social Global Sense

The Internet is rapidly becoming that personalized teacher, ever-present and ready to walk with us. Hold racist ideals because your parents do? Be ready to have to explain yourself to a variety of individuals of every race, to those who never held such beliefs and are disgusted by those that do. Misogynist? Be prepared for an onslaught of women who have more than the mental capacity to decimate your “common sense” values with 140 keystrokes. Common misconceptions, stereotypes, and small-mindedness have never known a time where there were fewer places to hide from the light. What is true where you live is no longer true when dealing with the globalized community of Twitter or Facebook.

It’s time to step into the light, to share with others, to listen intently to the words of others, and learn from each other. It’s time to do more than tolerate; rather, let us learn to embrace, and one more – let us learn to Change. Social Media is redefining common sense, pulling it from the tight grasps of the small village, the isolated desert town, the gated community lives we lead, and unfolding before us a new Global Sense of what we believe. This shared stream of thought is being nourished daily by each and every one of us who are connected into the larger community, spreading runners underground and popping up in places impossible to ignore, knocking old, valued crockery off of shelves and upsetting those asleep.

It is unfortunate that my Father passed away before the emergence of Twitter. If I could’ve persuaded him to discover it, I think he might’ve gotten a taste of his own medicine. And I would’ve been there beside him, helping steer the raft…

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To be sure, our ongoing transition to a World increasingly dominated by Globalistic philosophy, wherein nationalistic desires are being scrutinized through the lens of the needs and rights of the citizens in all nations, has rubbed many the wrong way, to say the least.  That said, Globalism is increasingly being embraced, as economists have seen an overall increase in revenues in many economic systems, when international cooperation exists.  Dwindling resources have caused our leaders to cooperate with other user nations.  Pollution entering the atmosphere from our rapidly industrializing neighbors has caused a great deal of concern and consternation.  Globalism is the worldwide application of the Golden Rule, and however you feel about it, it seems to work in our day-to-day lives, so why not between governing bodies?  If we increasingly showed we cared about each other in our actions, I am certain there would be a wave of gratitude from all areas of our planet…

Former World Gratitude Day, Inc. President Edna Fuerth Lemle describes the holiday as one “for all peoples, a meditation for all religions, a day of celebration for all humanity united by a simultaneous shared emotion.”

The annual award provided by the United Nations to “World Citizens,” states the following:

WHEREAS, humanity has come to recognise devotion and allegiance to immediate family, to clan, to city, to state, and to nation, and now must experience the concept of Globalism; and

WHEREAS, words of praise and positive thoughts generate dynamic harmony, and

WHEREAS, decisions made from a grateful heart are endowed with intrinsic wisdom and engender prosperity; and

WHEREAS, gratitude, the opposite of “taking for granted,” is a positive emotion which generates good will, is a basic emotion which is indigenous to all people, is a peace-engendering feeling;

AND WHEREAS, September 21 is a special day. It is an equinox: one of the two times of the year when the sun passes over the equator and night and day are everywhere of equal length and everyone is equal under the sun;

THEREFORE let us proclaim World Gratitude Day, a holiday for all peoples, a day of meditation for all religions, a day of celebration for all humanity, united by knowledge of simultaneously shared emotion, a day when triumph of the spirit can make a world community.

Social media, to be sure, has already embraced a global philosophy:

• FaceBook has over 60 Million users worldwide, with the top 10 nations being the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, Sweden, Norway, South Africa, France and Hong Kong. People are finding their long-lost friends, and connecting with strangers from all over, sharing photos and video of their daily lives and celebrations.
• MySpace has over 110 Million users worldwide, translated for use in 20 International territories.  Our teenagers are saying good morning to people waking up in Europe, goodnight to teenagers in Japan, and listening to music you never would’ve considered (shamisen, anyone?)
• Twitter has over 28 Million users in the U.S., but America only makes up 40% of total Twitter traffic. We tweet at basically the same rate as Japan. Other large level users of Twitter are seen in Brazil, Germany, Taiwan, Spain, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands. Language difference aside, you will find a great deal of English speakers tweeting away in other nations…

Want to gain a Global perspective? Reach out to citizens of other nations with your social media accounts!  I love Twitter, so I will provide the example of Twellow, or The Twitter Yellow Pages, a voluntary directory of Twitter users, based on their stated profile information. You can search Twitter profiles by keyword; so if you are looking for individuals living in Rome, Italy, simply type that in and hit the search button.  I highly recommend finding individuals from across the Globe, and enjoying the conversations you have with them. And don’t forget to show your gratitude to them for having found them!

Tiny Print, Inc. has sponsored The Gratitude Challenge a 3-week challenge to take a few moments each day and look at “the brighter side of life.” They are featuring blogs whose writers have dedicated themselves to meeting this challenge. Take a look and give it a try!