Whales: Interspecies love….
If dolphins & dogs can get along….
You’ve kissed people – did you ever see anyone jump like this, afterwards?
from One World, One Ocean
Wordplay: What would it sound like in the age of the Internet?
As usual, Randall at xkcd.com gets it right:
Wordplay: Ten to watch for…..
Not sure why I’m putting this here – you already know this.
Maybe to show your kids. YOUR kids probably already have ’em down, though.
Thoughts: Sharing & leaving the police out of it….
This is a little story from the Wake Up Project,that my friend Elaine passed on to me & you.
What would you have done?
Jessica Eaves from Guthrie, Oklahoma (USA) recently had her wallet stolen by a man while she was grocery shopping. Most people in that situation would immediately get the authorities involved, but she found a way to resolve her problem herself.
“I saw this gentleman down the aisle from me,” Jessica tells us. “He walked behind me, and when I got a couple of aisles over, I realized my wallet was gone.”
“I spotted him in a crowded aisle and approached him,” she continues. “I’m a pretty out-there personality, but I was quiet and calm.”
“I said to him, ‘I think you have something of mine. I’m gonna give you a choice. You can either give me my wallet and I’ll forgive you right now, and I’ll even take you to the front and pay for your groceries.”
The alternative? Jessica reporting him to the police.
“He reached into his hoodie pocket and gave me my wallet,” she recalls, adding that the man was extremely grateful for her help and forgiveness.
“He started crying when we walked up to the front,” she says. “He said he was sorry about 20 times by the time we went from the pickle aisle to the front. He told me he was desperate.”
She spent $27 on his groceries, which included milk, bread, bologna, crackers, soup and cheese. “The last thing he said was, ‘I’ll never forget tonight. I’m broke, I have kids, I’m embarrassed and I’m sorry.'”
“Some people are critical because I didn’t turn him in, but sometimes all you need is a second chance,” says Jessica.
She adds, “My brother and I lost my dad to suicide when I was seven, and I remember him telling me years ago that no matter what I become in life, to always, always be kind.”
~ Source: Yahoo News
Wordplay: That’s tearable. Terrible. Terrrrable. Whatever.
Whales: What do you do when a humpback takes a swipe at you?
When freediver Chris Coates was swimming off the coast of Africa, he had seen humpbacks all day….but this one came close & thumped him with its pectoral fin. You can see his amazing video & the rest of the story here – check it out!
Wordplay: Depends on how you look at it, this lost generation
You know what a palindrome is – you read it one way, it makes sense. You read it in reverse, still makes sense.
This one has gone viral since Jon Reed won second place in an AARP contest, a few years ago – I bet you’ll start composing one of your own after you see it.
Whales: Plastic in the gut – it’s a killer
Ever since I met Captain Charles Moore a few years ago (he came to San Juan Island for a rousing talk), I’ve had plastics on the brain. If you haven’t seen his here’s-everything-in-a-nutshell TED talk, check it here.
The amount of plastic in the world’s oceans is staggering, and it makes its way into the animals who live there. I’m happy to see that people like Angela Sun are making documentaries about this (here’s her trailer for her film, Plastic Paradise):
Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Trailer from Angela Sun on Vimeo.
This is not isolated to any one part of the world – it is everywhere. The whale in the photo above died because it was filled with plastic waste, and there’s a lesson in its death about the direction it – and we – as a species are headed.
Here’s the rest of the story, from CS Globe.
Funnier: Validating you….
If all it takes is a smile, you’re gonna love this.
I promise: You’ll forward this to your friends. You’ll re-post it.
And you’ll remember & dig it all day – check it out!
Thoughts: Gratitude, living in the country….
My good friend Mary Wondra lives near the village on Lopez Island, and has a keen eye for the subtle & the sublime. She posted this little observation about how the inside of what makes it autumn sometimes shows on the outside:
Had a lovely Lopez moment this morning. Sitting on the porch with my sweetie, drinking coffee, doing the x-word puzzle. It’s spider season, so there are webs EVERYWHERE on the vegetation, catching the early slanting sun on their dewy designs. In the apple tree, a spider drowsing in its web when suddenly, another spider appears and shakes one of the connecting strands.
The sleepy spider awakes and heads out to protect his/her home. Thus ensues spider wrestling, name calling, etc. while the two contend for mastery of the early morning construction. We watched for 20 minutes – no clear winner.
But I thought, wow, if I lived in the city, I would never have noticed this momentous battle going on. I’m grateful to be here this morning.
Wordplay: All the alliteration you can ‘andle…
Thoughts: Exploring vulnerabilty, with Brene Brown
This is one of the more influential TED talks I’ve seen, with more people responding to it when I’ve posted it than any other.
Brené Brown studies human connection — our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity.
Thoughts: Try a little kindness…
Writings: (Don’t) be careful what you ask for….
“Be careful what you ask for…..”
Whenever I hear someone say this (is it true for you?) they’re almost always noticing something that turned out…the way it was asked for.
“Hope I get a promotion.”
So you do. With no raise.
“I always catch 4–5 colds every winter.”
Ah-chooooo.
OK, so we never really know how things are going to turn out. Cool enough – we can come up with a zillion examples of the surprises life can throw our way, both stuff we expected & things that went the other way. But lately I’ve been noticing how people articulate pretty clearly what they really want, and then just as articulately list the reasons they’re not going to see it happen.
“I want another job!”
So, go after one.
“I can’t. I need the benefits at this one, and the family would have to move, and my parents don’t want me to do that, and I have to feed the dog (someone actually told me that, and let that keep her from finishing updating her resume), and I’m scared and my wife has friends where I work now and my husband doesn’t make enough money and….”
You get the idea.
It’s time to take the leap. Take the risk, take the jump. Sure, be careful enough to not whack yourself or hurt someone or neglect the chance to love someone, but not so careful you pass up the chance to feel how wonderful it feels to do what you truly were born to do.
I met a guy who was conducting a tour at The Future of Flight factory in Seattle (it’s a Boeing operation – you see planes made), and since I saw him five times (I brough him tour groups), I told him it sure was fun to watch him give tours, because he seemed to be having such a good time, which in turn made it fun for the people.
He said, “My daddy told me, “If you do something you love, you never have to work a day in your life.'”
Wouldn’t that be great?
Be wise, be observant, use discretion…but don’t be so “careful” you can’t taste the thrill of doing what your heart sings for you.
Make it so, Number One.
– Brother Ian
Whales: Meet Ken & check in on the orcas, with Carl Safina
Carl Safina came to San Juan Island in Washington State to see what’s happening with the killer whales, and to hang out with the Center for Whale Research’s Ken Balcomb.
The state of the environment for the orcas: short on food, and decreasing numbers in the resident pods. It doesn’t help that the Navy does sonar testing in these waters, either.
Carl files this report. (click here)
Thoughts: I read the the news today, oh boy
Have you ever tried to not watch the the news?
The people who tell me that if I don’t have a television I’m missing a lot. I think they are.
– Brother Ian
About Brother Ian
Over the centuries, Brother Ian has been collecting stories & information & discourses for the purpose of elevating the human condition as needed, dissecting it when necessary, and building the case for hope.
In the spirit of noting that organized crime, organized baseball, organized labour, and organized religion tend to engender controversy & occasional discord, I promise to be neither organized or critical of those who are.