I had to share this youtube after I watched it. Perhaps you are like me and you shy away from youtube videos if they are longer than two minutes, or maybe that is just me?
I have learned that there are some great videos that are worth the extra time, like the one above.
I have never been to Russia, my dream has never been to win the lottery and visit this part of the planet but these snippets of dashboard camera video were a cold splash of water on my ignorance.
All of these people in these video I believe were helping strangers, getting out of their warm vehicles, doing something with no expectation of payment, perhaps what I was witnessing was “paying it forward” on a massive scale.
This video is inspiring, helping someone out of snowbank or (summer time) buying a coffee for the stranger behind you at the coffee shop, picking up one piece of garbage – what would our world look like if we did one unselfish gift/deed a week ?
It would be like a wave of positive energy, instead of people standing and sitting at a special event, it would be a wave of hope as we all stood and sat doing our small bit.
compassionate understanding
Thanks for visiting, and I hope you like this post.
Many years ago, before I had grey hair and my love handles my wife and I were volunteers with a church group to an orphanage in Baja, Mexico. Even as I write this I remember the warm nights, the air heavy with silence, the road was soft sand, no gravel to the orphanage and the skies were wide open. It wasn’t just the geography that makes the trip memorable 30 years later though. It wasn’t the food either, it was all pretty basic grub at the orphanage and the most striking memory in that respect were the chilies in the bowls at each table and that the Mexicans at chilis as part of their meal like i would chomp down one of our delicious BC apples. However BC apples are not super spicy, and just a bit of these chiles was too much for me to eat even if I chopped it up fine with my rice. Regardless the mexicans at the orphanage ate them whole and ate them plenty.
Not the geography, and not the food is the subject of this post though. The memory that I tucked away then, in 1980, and often remind myself of has to do with my vehicle getting stuck in the sand. I don’t know how it happened but my tires had spun their way into the soft sand on a road that went right by a shack. I mean a literal shack and outside this shack was metal barrel which was for cooking on by throwing wood inside it and lighting it on fire.
Cappadocia, Turkey
There we were, spinning tires, when out of the shack tumbled a very beautiful and happy family. I can’t tell you how many in the family, I only remember now the smiles, and I remember my impression how content they were. They laughed at our predicament and gave us a little push and we were out of our little rut. No gratuity requested or required, I don’t know if they knew we were volunteers, but there were no tourist spots anywhere close. I was a newlywed, and I remember saying to Sue (my new bride) – let’s never forget this day, happiness has nothing to do with money, it all has to with an attitude of being content.
At last I’m here, still reading? Money would make life easier… but it isn’t essential to being happy. I remember the smiles, and really in our lives the real joy comes from being loved, and accepting ourselves. Nothing wrong with a nice house and some toys sure but they don’t guarantee happiness as the overdoses of celebrities, and continual striving by millionaires seems to indicate.
Thanks for reading my blog, I hope you enjoyed it, share it, and leave a comment. Your feedback inspires me.
Maybe you will like this post also from “some of my favorite posts” category.
Flight of the Bumblebee-3, Grevillea ‘Red Hooks’ (Photo credit: Flavio~)
It’s funny how life ties a person up. Cutting the grass, washing dishes and today I was inspired to get my bucket and squeegee to wash windows.
It would be nice to just sit at the computer and try to come up with blog posts, and hopefully generate some comments and new friends, but alas I have a conscience that reminds me that I need to be more active, and doing things around the house, and yard. Oh and have you noticed that when you start with one thing, then you notice three other things that absotively posilutely need to be done right away? Okay, maybe it’s just me.
It has been a cool wet spring here in the Okanagan, a teaser of summer days a few weeks back and then cool wet days ever since. Today though it was 25 degrees (80 degrees if you use the Farenheit system) and so it is very pleasant but not too warm at all.
I am not a classical music fan, but neither do I duck or weave to avoid it neither. I can enjoy it in small doses, and actually that goes for everything in music, I like most of them. Today while cleaning windows though I found a nature channel with birds chirping and a creek bubbling, that was nice for something different.
I found a short youtube that you may enjoy, the Flight of the Bumblebee, with computer animation for something different. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading, and visiting my blog, otherwise I would talking to myself! 🙂
I have a bad habit of having multiple books on the go at a time. I guess as bad habits go, it’s not disastrous but I am wondering now if it is the ostrich in me. I have to bury my head in something else at times.
For example, I find I can only read a few pages of “Sarah’s Key” at a time. The story is so sad, that is fortunate that the author has written it so the reader isn’t smothered in the ugliness of unfairness of war, and torture of innocents.
It caused me to think how important that we remember these sad events of World War II despite the discomfort, and unease it inflicts on our hearts.
It also makes me happy for my lighthearted reading, and reference type books that keep my balance so that I can sleep at night without thinking about terrible historical events like genocide.
How can I learn from this book in my life right now?
Possibly it is this, I recently wrote about sweatshops, this is an ugliness that is happening right now. This could be an ugliness that I am unconsciously supporting, and so are you.
I don’t think we try to be ostriches in our lives, but it can happen and it often takes something really ugly to get us all collectively to look around. I guess that is the positive side to the Bangladesh building collapse – Collectively we have pulled our heads from the sand and we are saying as consumers we don’t want to be ostriches anymore. We want laws enforced, and we want to be informed consumers, and we want to influence corporations for positive treatment of workers. This is where I think millions are at now, we are aware, we are supportive, we want change, watch out clothing, shoes, and other industries – the ostrich has their head out of the sand, and I hear ostriches have a vicious kick. – see the link above – Beads for Life – Eradicating Poverty One bead at a time.
Life and Random Thinking 