A Holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, ’Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.’
The Lord led the holy man to two doors.
He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.
In the middle of the room was a large round table.
In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly.
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, ‘You have seen Hell. They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.
‘It is simple,’ said the Lord. ‘It requires but one skill…
You see, they have learned to feed each other.
The greedy think only of themselves.’
Just look at the beauty of the snowflake, yet look at what they can do when they stick together! ~ May you all be blessed this coming New Year and thank you so much for your support and encouragement in 2010!
In 1989, while touring India, Marc Gold found himself "thunderstruck" when he realized he could save a woman from a deadly ear infection by paying the $1 for her antibiotics. "I thought you had to be wealthy to do such things," he recalls. Since then, Gold has trekked through Asia, handing out money to the needy in amounts as little as 50 cents and rarely exceeding $500. In Vietnam, a small donation was enough for a widow to buy a sewing machine and start a business. In Indonesia, a fisherman fixed his boat and returned to self-sufficiency. Compared with global aid organizations, Gold's budget is tiny. But he has touched over 50,000 lives. [ 
On the way back from work every evening, a homeless man would often be at the exit of the freeway. His eyes were brown and had a sparkle, like an inside light beaming out of his eyes. He always waved at every car, he was always happy and smiling and sometimes almost dancing. A feeling of joy would come over me every time I saw him, as I came off the ramp. He had that effect. Then one day, I was laid off due to the economy. With no job and no savings, I worried about providing for my four amazing kids. On my drive home, I did not prepare the usual change and did not feel the joy approaching the off-ramp. Yet there he was, as always, as I turned the ramp. And he taught me to count my blessings. [
'A Passion For Giving' is a stylish, powerful and beautifully shot film with great music and compelling interviews with fascinating people, some famous some not, who inspire the viewer to give and help other people, animals and the planet. It reinforces the notion that anyone has the capacity to give, not just those with disposable income. From a Tibetan monk to a New York City street artist, this film excerpt demonstrates various methods by which a seemingly effortless gesture can prove very beneficial to society. [
What would you do if you won 11.3 million dollars? If you're Allen and Violet Large, you give it away. The couple discovered they had won the jackpot last July, while Violet was undergoing chemotherapy therapy for cancer. "That money we won was nothing," Allen explains with tears in his eyes. "We have each other." Since July, they've given almost all of it away, first taking care of a family in need, and then donating to two-pages' worth of groups like the Salvation Army. Their rationale? The money was a "headache". It brought anxiety that people would take advantage of them. But more than that, "Money can't buy you health or happiness." Violet smiles. [ 
"I work within an assisted living complex, and I truly love it! One afternoon, one of my residents's told me a story that really moved me and I wanted to share it. She said that she had lost her wallet many years ago but that a young woman called her a few days later to say that she had found it. When she went to the woman's house to collect it, she saw that the woman, who had three young children, was struggling to make ends meet. From then on, every Christmas for many years, she sent this woman Christmas gifts for her and each of her children - anonymously! I was amazed! Firstly, that the wallet was returned by someone in such a difficult situation. And secondly, by the resident's gesture - which just seemed so thoughtful and kind. And to do it anonymously, no less!"
"I cut some flowers growing in my yard, wrapped them up nicely and left them on the doorstep of some random house in my neighborhood. I rang the door bell and quickly ran off. A while later I walked by and saw the flowers still there. I went and picked them up because I didn't know how long the people who lived there would be away for and by the time they got back, the flowers could be wilting. I went to find another house. I saw an elderly couple leaving from their home on a walk. It was the perfect place! Once they were out of view I dropped the flowers off. I was riding back when I saw them again. They were on their way back home. I can't help but wonder what their expressions would be when they discovered the flowers. It was an awesome thrill and I loved it! I'm excited to do other acts of kindness!"
"As I was getting ready to do my grocery shopping for Thanksgiving, I had a thought - why not pick up an extra item or two to donate to a food bank? My library has big barrels for collecting food - maybe yours does too? Or maybe somewhere else in your town you can drop off canned goods? I filled up some bags with the canned/ nonperishable food items that I had bought and dropped them off at the library today and I wanted to share this idea with all of you... While we are doing all the "have to do" things for ourselves (like grocery shopping, dropping off library books, etc.) why not use that same time to do something for someone else too?" 
"A little bit of kindness can stay with a person for a long time... Five years ago, our family pulled into a truck stop to use the restroom. While we were there, my daughter saw a small toy kitty cat. Oh, she wanted it so badly! I could see the longing in her eyes but we simply couldn't afford to spend $10 on a toy. She was standing there looking at when a trucker walked up and asked if it he might be allowed to buy that kitty for my daughter. My daughter was so happy she started to cry. To this day, the kitty still sits on my daughter's shelf. She still talks about the man at the truck stop. We will never know the man's name. We probably wouldn't recognize him if we saw him again. But, the $10 he spent that day bought years of joy. Probably way more than he ever could have imagined!"
"I had a wonderful surprise when I was at the drive-thru today. When I reached up to pay for my lunch, I found out that the person in front of me had already paid for it and left me a SMILE CARD! I made the decision to pass the Smile Card on to someone else and paid for the person behind me in the drive-thru. It turns out that she passed it on as well! That's the way it works - at least three people cheered up by the ripples from a single unexpected act of kindness!"
"I was taking a walk one sunny day near my home in Montreal, when I saw a little old lady, about 70 yrs old, laying by the side of the street. I went over and asked if she was okay. I asked her if she needed me to call 911? She said she wasn't ill but that she just felt weak. "All I need is maybe a cracker and water," she said. For some reason, I decided to take her to my apartment, something I would never normally do. I sat with for a long time until she began to feel much better. She told me her life story and afterwards, I asked if I could take her home. She declined but asked if I could drive her to the metro station. I never did give it much thought after that. Then, one day, a letter was pushed under my front door addressed to, "The Lady In The Little Red Car". She thanked me for my kindness and the time that I spent with her. She said she was fine and that she had really enjoyed my company. I really made my day to get that note."
