More Gifts That Give Back

Do you like to buy ornaments to give as holiday gifts -- or even to add to your own collection? Renowned designer Christopher Radko creates hand-blown glass treasures that benefit charitable causes, including AIDS research, children's cancer charities, animal welfare and more. Check out his "Heart of America" ornament, whose purchase helps fund post-Katrina rebuilding efforts. Order these ornaments now; each one is 7 days in the making.

Gifts That Give Back

In the November issue of Waking Up on the Planet, I promised to post resources here for holiday gifts whose purchase helps others in need. Here's the source I gave in the e-newsletter for helping New Orleans residents who are trying to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina:
Visit MissMalaprop.com – “indie finds for your uncommon life” – and click on the New Orleans and NOLA links listed on the right. You’ll find great, one-of-a-kind gifts created by Gulf Coast artists and small-business owners whose economic recovery from Katrina could get a boost from your purchase. For example, your purchase of a “Rebuild New Orleans” handcrafted ornament from Heather Elizabeth Designs for $19.95 benefits the New Orleans Musicians Clinic and City Park Restoration Fund.

Come on back for more; I'll post two new resources each week.

All Rise and Pledge Compassion

A wise friend recently sent me the link below to Matthew Levine's inspired "Anthem for the World." It seems particularly appropriate on this day when the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial is being dedicated in Washington. I know you will find it every bit as uplifting as I did, and I hope you'll share it with friends and family. It would be nice to have it passed around the globe, like a gift or prayer:

http://www.anthemfortheworld.com/house-divided.html

With deepest thanks to Matthew for making music his message.

Wealth in My Pocket

In her best-selling book, Simple Abundance, author Sarah ban Breathnach suggests that we tuck a $20 bill into the pockets of coats that we put away after winter, so we'll have the delight of discovering the forgotten cash when we take the coat out again a year later. I didn't have any 20s to spare last spring, but I did find a note in my pocket last week when I wore my fall jacket for the first time. It was from a woman who'd found a copy of my book, The Difference a Day Makes, in her room at a local bed 'n' breakfast and, as a result, had subsequently bought 10 signed copies from me. She'd listed the names of the 10 people she wanted me to address with my signature, and underneath, she wrote, "Thank you -- your book kept me up in a wonderful way the other night. Reading it evoked my hope and my determination, and I appreciate your mind and soul work in doing it."

No amount of 20s could possibly have made me feel richer.

Pure Poetry

Someone sent me this poem last week, and I thought I would share it here, since so many of you continue to ask what you can do to promote peace. While the author asked that her name not be revealed, she gave permission for me -- and anyone -- to share/forward as you wish.

Talking Points

Yes, I want to cut and run
I want to cut all ties to casual cruelty
and run toward reason, humanity's arms.

I want to cut through pain and politics
religion and revenge
and run a stream of healing through
this gaping, gasping wound.

I want to cut into this parched landscape
and run a current of compassion
into its dead heart.

I want to pick up all the splintered pieces
and pull out all the choking weeds
and give my hands to restoration and
redemption.

I want to cut out every charred and
blood-soaked image
of dishonor, dismembered
I want to run with warmer winds
straight into peace
and purpose.

- Author Unrevealed (by request)

At the Heart of Amish Country

The shootings at the Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, have left a particularly persistent ache with me, since I grew up about 45 minutes from this area and still drive through it every time I visit my mother. The Amish and Mennonite people were not an unusual presence in my hometown. I intend to write more about these peace-loving citizens and their response to this tragic event in my "Wake-Up Call" for October's e-newsletter. In the meantime, if you are moved to respond to this heart-rending incident, here are some actions you can take today:

> At the request of Amish community leaders, Coatesville Savings Bank has established two funds, donations to either of which should be sent to Coatesville Savings Bank, 1082 Georgetown Road, Paradise, PA 17562:

To support victims of the schoolhouse tragedy, mark your donation for the Nickel Mines Children's Fund.

To support the young children of the man who perpetrated the violence, send donations marked for the Roberts Family Fund.

If you live in the region, you can also drop off donations at any of the bank’s branches including Coatesville, New Holland and Oxford.

> Send donations and/or letters of support to the Nickel Mines School Victims Fund, c/o Hometown Heritage Bank, P.O. 337, Strasburg, PA 17579.

> To donate funds to help victims' families with transportation, medical care, supportive care and other needs, call the Mennonite Central Committee (717-859-1151) or the Mennonite Disaster Service (717-859-2210) or donate online at mds.mennonite.net or mcc.org; tell them you wish to designate funds for the Amish School Recovery Fund.

> If you would like to send a thoughtful note or card to the families of children recovering in hospitals, you may wish to send sentiments addressed to A Special Child From Nickel Mines in Your Care:
c/o Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th Street and Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4399
OR
c/o Penn State Hershey Medical Center, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033

Let's all keep these children, their parents and the entire community in our most healing thoughts.

Red Light

I was in my car, stopped at a red light, when a car in the lane next to mine drifted forward and struck the rear bumper of the vehicle in front of it. A man, looking loaded for bear, got out of the whacked car, and I braced myself to witness the inevitable confrontation. A woman jumped out of the offending vehicle and began a litany of apology. Maybe it was her obvious distress, or maybe it was because the bumper was unblemished, but the man's face immediately softened and he assured her -- with a smile! -- that it was fine, no harm done. Both got back into their cars, and I let out my breath, and that green light never looked so bright.

War Is Hell

As if we need any more reasons to wish an end to war, I read in The Washington Post about 22-year-old Spec. Edward Richmond, who just completed a two-year prison sentence for killing an Iraqi civilian. Edward's parents tell folks that their son joined the Army after September 11, as if the attack on America was the reason. But it turns out that then 18-year-old Edward was facing charges for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana, battery of a police officer and resisting arrest; it was suggested that the DA wouldn't seek a conviction if Edward joined the Army, and so he did. The felonies weren't the first of Edward's troubles; they capped off years of hostility toward authority, fights and other signs of alienation. His recruiter said, "He had some problems, but it wasn't anything that we couldn't put him in the Army for."

Edward ended up shooting a cow herder who'd been handcuffed and led away by a superior officer, the result, he says, of misinterpreting the situation. His father is suing the Army because that officer, he discovered, may also have killed Iraqi civilians and yet testified against his son at trial. But despite the father's obvious love for his son, another soldier's separate actions don't change what Edward did. The father said it himself: "War is not a pretty thing. Things happen in a war zone."

Unimaginable things. Instead of trying to justify them from all sides, we'd do better to look them in the eye and recognize them for the unadorned horrors they are.

Ironies & Contradictions

Last Sunday's Washington Post was filled with what I quickly labeled, Ironies & Contradictions. Among the stories that qualified:

An artist making a legitimate point about poverty being "the elephant in the room" that no one talks about honored one compassionate instinct while compromising another. He set up a room, complete with gold-flocked red wallpaper, in a Los Angeles warehouse and then not only posed a live Indian elephant in the center of it for the exhibit's three-day run, but covered the creature in red and gold paint to match the room's decor. Animal advocates spoke up on behalf of Tai, the 38-year-old elephant, and the paint was washed off for the final day. But I look forward to the day when we stop using animals as clever props and entertainment altogether.

And speaking of animal welfare and otherwise well-intentioned human beings, another article on the same page was about a man who came up with an idea for providing homes for people without them. The inspiration struck while he was out hunting.

Finally, what's wrong with this headline?: "Mother, Fetus Killed; Friend Is Charged." There was no simultaneous good to that one.

Those Who Judge

Today a jury gave its verdict in the re-trial of Andrea Yates, who said she heard voices that told her to drown her five children in a bathtub. Not guilty, by reason of insanity. Whether or not you have trouble feeling compassion for Andrea Yates, surely we would feel less conflicted if our justice system revised its language. In a culture that routinely abandons personal responsibility, wouldn't we do better to render such defendants "guilty and insane"?

In Warriors' Words

I wrote about war in July's issue of Waking Up on the Planet. It's easy to apply compassion priciples to the horror of war, but much more challenging to define the appropriately compassionate response to those whose job is to wage that war. We hear all the time that people "oppose the war but support the troops." But what, exactly, does it mean to support them?

Back in May, The Washington Post ran a feature titled "Voices of 100 Veterans" and let them share their perspectives. Their divergent views showed just how misguided we might be when offering support in the forms we think they need. Some examples:

"You know what was really amazing? The people who said, '...you know, I don't support the cause, but .... I'm always going to support the troops.' I was just dumbfounded by that. I asked this one guy why you don't support the cause. He said, 'I've been watching the news.' 'Well,' I said, 'that's your problem.' "

"Sometimes it hurts to know Americans have all but forgotten us. America has totally forgotten about Afghanistan."

"It's hard to look at Americans and not say, 'You are fat, lazy, and have no idea what you have.' The very first time I go into McDonald's and hear someone complaining that there isn't enough ice in their Coke, I'm going to punch them in the face."

"I felt a little undeserving because of all the thanks I received. I felt like I was just doing my job."

"[When we landed back home,] you could smell the grass...I hadn't smelled that smell for a year. It hit me and made me realize I was home."

These are just examples of the variety of attitudes any given soldier might have, and even these may change over time. So how can you know what to do or say? Listen.

Cash Conversion

Many of you who subscribe to Waking Up on the Planet have said that its regular Cash Conversion feature is your favorite item. I aim to please:

Cash Conversion
$357 million =

> Value of retirement package granted to ex-Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Lee Raymond, who stepped down in January (Source: Chicago Tribune)
> Cost to provide 16,227 drivers with a Honda Civic hybrid. (Source: MSN Money)

In Good Company

Without question, the most gratifying part of having authored The Difference a Day Makes: 365 Ways to Change Your World in Just 24 Hours is the arena of remarkable, compassionate people I've been privileged to meet and work among. For example, Difference is currently paired for discount purchase on Amazon.com with the recently released Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson. Greg builds schools in troubled regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and he was kind enough to provide remarks for the "Thoughts That Count" quotations that appear throughout Difference. Among his contributions: "When I look into the eyes of the children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, I see my own children. I think that the greatest thing we can do for all of them is to leave them a legacy of peace. This is what motivates me." Greg is one of the most inspiring people I've ever had the pleasure to know. Read more about him here.

Earth Day Revisited

Since many of you are subscribers to Waking Up on the Planet who haven't received the e-news in awhile (see opening post about tech troubles), I thought I'd provide some of the April issue's content here -- tips for honoring Earth Day,which surely should extend beyond a single day on the calendar. Thse simple actions can become habits that transform your relationship with all living things -- every day of the year.

> Cut down on your gas consumption by properly inflating your tires.
> Buy green tee shirts. Not the color green (unless you like it), but green as in "eco-friendly," made from organic cotton or hemp. Some sources include Patagonia and American Apparel’s "Sustainable Edition" line.
> Replace chemical-heavy household cleaners with eco-friendly versions like those from Seventh Generation or Ecover. Discover the cleaning power of simple vinegar and water.
> Choose organic gardening products and techniques this year instead of toxic pesticides and wasteful practices. Ask your county extension service for advice, or visit OrganicGardening.com.
> Replace at least some of the conventional lightbulbs in your home with compact fluorescent bulbs.
> Support local food producers, which cuts down on energy used to transport foods around the country. Buy from local food markets and produce stands, and buy organic when you can.
> Get more ideas and share your own with like minds at Grist.org or GreenThinkers.org.

Happy Earth Day -- all year long.

Greetings from Benevolent Planet

It took tech troubles with delivery of Waking Up on the Planet, Benevolent Planet's e-news, to expand the Planet's orbit into the blogosphere. But now that we are here, I'm thrilled to have another venue for sharing practical strategies for purposeful living with all of you, the Everyday Altruists who have made Benevolent Planet a place for global compassion on a personal scale. Welcome to our newest place for meaningful exchange, where we'll be Blogging on Purpose for a long time to come.