This week Awesome Stories brings you kindness, dancing, pain, water and love.
Growing Kindness
This week, I’d like to share an inspiring story about a teacher and her kindness project. Camelia was inspired to start a project with her ESL students to see if kindness might be grown and cultivated in her school. Starting with the seed of inspiration, watered with kindness, and rooted in compassionate action, her students are growing brightly like beautiful sunflowers in the garden. Her students are thriving, while teachers and parents are being inspired to bring more kindness into their worlds. Read more about their beautiful project called Kindness – A Life Project at Du Coteau High School.
Pain as Compost
The universe has been reminding me to embrace my dark feelings and challenges. I’ve been feeling pain, anger overwhelm about my situation. Thankfully, I found this post by Kim about unblocking the dark feelings to free her creativity. It helped me realize that it would help to embrace and write about my dark feelings. Then I found this video called Don’t Give Up. May we find ways to embrace all our feelings, limits and human frailty. They may be the keys to our ultimate beauty! 😛
Daring Dutch
Laura Dekker is a great example of following your passions. Hers is sailing, growing up around sailing her whole life. I admire her courage, clarity and commitment ( all three can be challenging for me). Not for Laura. She was determined to be the youngest person to sail around the world solo. Laura even had to fight the Dutch courts to receive permission for her trip, deemed risky and even delusional by some. But her determination prevailed. In 2012, Laura set out in a small sail boat called Guppy to sail around the world. Again, she did it her way, with no follow boats and many stops along the way to enjoy her travel adventure. Her story has been made into a documentary called “Maidentrip”. And yes, Laura completed her trip and became the youngest person, at 16, to sail around the world. I hope to see the film.
SupaMan is Fly
I decided to let my wild out this week with this video by Naive-American Christian Parrish Takes the Gun. Like his name, SupaMan’s music is a wild, creative mashup of styles and talents. What do you think?
Put a Shine on It
This is a great story and reminder that when we put our love into something, we are transformed. An inmate named Birdman was asked to do manual labor for a violation that he didn’t actually commit. He started with resistance and anger, but gradually put so much care into the job that he transformed not only his anger, but the whole situation. I’ve always enjoyed cleaning and feel like I’m cleaning my energy while I clean the house, car, bathroom, etc. Put a shine on and see what happens. 🙂
WarkaWater Towers
Check out these cool nature-inspired towers that collect water from the atmosphere. I love how they use simple design and mimicry to create a better solution for the problem of clean water for many people in undeveloped areas. These first water towers were designed by Italian Arturo Vittori for villages in remote Ethiopia. They cost about $550 each and Arturo is looking for financial backers to build more.
What floats your boat? Any stories you care to share?
Blessings, Brad
writing to freedom 
Loved the video “Don’t Give Up” Brad.
Thanks for the ping back.
It is so easy to hide from the dark but sometimes you just have to shine a light on it, focus on it, write/sing/paint/sculpt/draw/dance your way through it or else it can threaten to pull you under and drown you. I have been through this experience too many times to count.
Hope things get better for you and you … (Fill in your chosen verb) … your way through these shadows to the moonlight and finally to the sunlight.
– Kim
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You’re most welcome for the link. I really enjoyed your post and yes things are better as I’ve been more willing to feel and face the painful emotions. That particular incident was helped by your post, the song and a poem I wrote about the pain called Pain Body. I appreciate your encouragement. blessings, Brad
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Good stuff Brad! My favorite line… “when we put our love into something, we are transformed”… beautiful! So true. We must put our love into All. So many great things in these stories. Wishing you joy and sending you love today and always! – Stacy
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Thanks Stacy, Now, I hope I remember my good advice next time something is challenging me. 🙂 I appreciate you and your support. Blessings, Brad
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Brad, I’m stunned! I humbly received your present today. This is a nice proof of unconditional love and beauty which brings a strong feeling of togetherness into my heart.
Thank you for your being out there to support, love and cherish all these beautiful moments!
Thank you for including us among your awesome stories. Kindness is worth spreading.
Have a great week,
Camelia
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Reblogged this on Kindness – A Life Project at Du Coteau High School and commented:
Kindness is worth spreading.
Thank you, Brad for including our project into your virtual book of awesome stories! The feeling of togetherness you generate can only bring more kindness.
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You are most welcome ( and worthy!) Camelia. I’m grateful to know you and see this project unfold. I just watched the video from your 3 older students with their beautiful song & message to spread kindness person to person. Keep on spreading kindness. XD
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SupaMan just rocked my world. I love how one voice becomes many when he loops his own voice. It has the rhythm of ceremony and a kind of ecumenical hip hop audacity. Awesome.
Michael
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Thanks Michael, I thought he was pretty awesome too. 🙂 I love how he blends so many talents and styles, plus using his art for social change.
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Brad, this is such an informative and uplifting blog. I enjoy visiting it.
One realizes that it comes from a caring soul.
Thanks.
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Thanks so much Cynthia. I love sharing inspiring stories, spreading joy and ideas for a better world. I’m glad to know that my writing touches you in some way. I appreciate you.
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Hi Camelia. I hope you are well. I’m not sure if you had a message, but thanks for dropping by! blessings, Brad
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