Awesome Stories 276

/ July 9, 2016

This week Awesome Stories brings you serenading elephants, saving traditions, community kitchen and the science of good stories.

Serenading Elephants

Who knew that classical music could engage elephants. Pianist Paul Barton has created a number of video concerts with elephants, but the most engaging to me was one of Paul playing Mozart to an elephant that was considered dangerous for having attacked people before. The elephant ended up calmly listening and swaying to the music! I couldn’t find it again, but here is another video or Paul playing for elephants.

Preserving Seeds and Traditionstraditions, seed saving, Awesome Stories

In northeastern India, there are matriarchal groups that pass down land to their daughters. These wise women are doing their best to maintain their traditional ways of preserving the land, raising foods organically and saving seeds. There is mounting pressure to adopt modern methods and mono-crop farming, but they understand the value of preserving diversity that feeds the whole. Read the article from Yes Magazine, filled with wonderful stories about the women who are working to preserve their culture and land for future generations. Thank you.

Dining with Dignity

Kansas City is home to a unique soup kitchen called Kansas City Community Kitchen. Rather than making people wait in long lines, their patrons are served food restaurant style. Guests are welcomed, guided to a table, offered drinks and told the choices. The volunteers take their order and bring the food to their table. Having once been homeless himself, the chef, Michael Curry, is working to offer better quality and variety of foods. Everything they are doing is designed to help provide dignity and community for the guests, feeding both their bodies and spirits. They’ve also created programs to train the volunteers in various aspects of food service so they can find work in restaurants. Kudos KC!

Great Stories

This article by Jeremy Adam Smith helps us understand what makes a great story. Good stories grab us emotionally, create physiological changes in the body and can motivate us to change our behavior. Some storytellers go for drama, others love, others use awe like in the Star Wars adventures. I appreciate how the author reminds us that we have power when crafting words and stories. How are we using those powers? Jeremy mentions how certain leaders use fear, while others use love. I prefer to use my words to inspire, uplift and connect. There is so much tension and conflict in the world. May we use our words and actions to bring more harmony and love into the world.

Peace and love to all.

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22 thoughts on “Awesome Stories 276”

  1. Wow! These really ARE awesome stories. Thank you so much for providing such a healthy nourishing alternative to the cynical mainstream drip feed. You remind me there’s still an abundance of beauty and goodwill in our troubled global human family. With gratitude, Harula xxx

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  6. When I want to feel better, I visit your site and it happens instantly. It’s like eating cherries while lying down in a daisy field… You are a great storyteller, Brad! Crafting words and stories for the purpose to share Love makes you powerful indeed, powerful to inspire, uplift and connect all of us, your readers.
    Thank you for being you!
    Have an inspiring week!

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  10. Amazing soup kitchen, and yes it costs nothing to treat each one eating their with dignity and respect.. Wonderful
    Loved the Music and the elephants Music is food for the soul no matter what species we are .. And so loved that those wonderful women are preserving seeds through hard work and passling down traditions for future generations,, Those who have gone with GMO crops will be wishing they hadn’t in a few years time.
    Excellent awesomeness Brad as usual my friend and always pleased to catch up with your inspiring posts
    ❤ have a great new week and Keep on DANCING!

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