we are what we think

I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.

Martha Washington

In Memoriam: Bertha

Loves knows no barriers, accepts no limitations. Love understands the infiniteness of it's nature and even when all else crumbles around us,Love remains constant.

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Often in life we feel we may have lost someone, but this is only a reflection of our wait for fullest comprehension. After a while we begin to feel, to sense, that the person we thought we had lost is still present with us. When the time is right the shining treasures of our life interactions start to glisten in the darkness of our sadness. Before too long the shining is so powerful that our hearts are magnificently illuminated and we glimpse an understanding that love has no end. 

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I know I shall not see again

that smile upon life's well worn face

instead the joy of YOU remains

within the heart's most secret place:

just now and then

when rainbows bend

or frostflakes glisten in the wind

I sense again your smile of caring

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.                                                               copyright  gg

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Thank YOU, thank YOU,Thank YOU…for treasures of lovingness that shall never,never fade…

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Charlie's an angel – episode 4

7 year old Charlie (see reports below) continues upwards with his fund-raising efforts to help people in Haiti – it all started with a bike ride to raise £500

£242,723 

         $385,000  

            SeK  2,812,000

But sometimes it's not just about the money.Often such a loving spark lights a fire of lovingness,as you can see from these donation comments at Charlie's Just Giving webpage:

easy judgements….

A group of men came along the street; heavily armed soldiers leading a condemned man to the gallows.

"That man is no good," said a disciple to Nasrudin. "I once gave him a silver coin in order to help him start his life afresh, and he did nothing important."

"He may be no good, but perhaps he is now on his way to the gallows because of you," argued the master. "Perhaps he used the alms in order to buy a dagger, which he then used in committing his crime-because instead of helping him with love and care, you chose to give him alms in order to release yourself from your obligation."

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an excerpt from Warrior of the Light

by Paulo Coelho

When you think you have everything…

Bill and Melinda Gates announced plans Friday to invest $10 billion in the fight against a number of illnesses including AIDS and said the record donation could save nearly nine million lives.

(via)

…………..you realise that you have nothing until you share

(ps. I LOVE Windows 7)

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Oh, and don't forget little 7 year old Charlie…who has now raised £230,000 to help in Haiti. From the 'largest' to the 'smallest' the message of sharing and caring is the same.

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In Memoriam:a dying religion

Iran has executed two men arrested during the period of widespread unrest that erupted after June's disputed presidential election, reports say.

They had been convicted of being "enemies of God", members of armed groups and trying to topple the Islamic establishment, Isna news agency said.

(via)

So the question is – is this a political or religious execution? Either way it is an indication of what happens if you resist Islam.  I wonder how that squares with the words of the Prophet

"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error" Qur'an 2:256

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I was not aware that an all-powerful, ever-present,all-loving God could have enemies. Why, even Abe Lincoln declared "the best way to 'kill' your enemy is to make friends with them".

Oh, Islam, what wrongs are done in your name and without protest from those who truly love Islam

Angel Charlie - £202,000

that's around $328,000 as at 13-06 CET

Angel Charlie – it just keeps getting higher

Well, 7 year old Charlie has now topped £166,000 (including Gift Aid) and it's still coming in!  (that's around $270,00).

Charlie is reaching people in Thailand, USA, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, in fact…all over the place his willing heart is touching others.

If children are the future….what a wonderful world this is going to be

$2 Billion and counting

As at 02-45 CET  today, 26th Jan, CNN is reporting almost $2 billion raised for the Haiti Earthquake appeal worldwide – and it's still pouring in.This,remember, for a tragedy that occurred 13 days ago!

Very detailed information of progress and fundings can be seen at  reliefweb.int

The amounts above represent the figures so far for both private and government donations/pledges.

Sometimes some people get cynical or discouraged about the state of the world………………but when we witness actions such as these, there can be little doubt about the kind-heartedness that is deep in the human spirit.

Charlie's an angel :)

Charlie said he had hoped to raise £500

A seven-year-old boy from west London has raised more than £65,000   £69,000 (+17K in Gift Aid) for the Haiti earthquake relief effort by organising a charity cycle ride.

Charlie Simpson, from Fulham, cycled five miles (8km) around South Park near his home to raise funds for Unicef's earthquake appeal.

The fundraising total outstripped his initial £500 goal, after he put an appeal on the JustGiving website.

Unicef thanked him "on behalf of the many children in Haiti".

 (via)

Haiti Hour

One of the things I love and admire about my chosen country of residence, Sweden, is a profound sense of fairness in the society – and an almost touchable sense of 'helping those less fortunate'.

Today in Sweden countless numbers gave an hour of their pay to help Haiti.

Some newspapers charged 1 krone extra  - and donated 2 kroner each paper to Haiti.

This in addition to all the monies that are flowing in to aid agencies, Unicef, Bankgiro and Postgiro donations.

You only have to look at Sweden's record of assisting refugees and re-settling them in Sweden to see just how amazingly generous Swedish people are.

I know this is also happening all around the world, in many countries. People are putting their money where their mouth is……and sharing what they have with others less fortunate.

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Thomas Paine + Haiti

I wanted to use a quote (Lead,follow or get out of the way) and to refer to it's source, which I did not know. Thanks to the wonder of search engines, I was able in seconds to access quotations from Thomas Paine – the source of the quote I wished to use.

As so often happens in life, the words I found on THIS WEBPAGE of Thomas Paine quotations seemed eerily appropriate to today and especially the situation in the greatly distressed country of Haiti.

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a sparkle of the brightness

Muslim group Minhaj-ul-Quran issues fatwa against terrorists

The fatwa, which was released in Pakistan last month, uses texts from the Koran and other Islamic writings to argue that attacks against innocent citizens are "absolutely against the teachings of Islam and that Islam does not permit such acts on any excuse, reason or pretext"

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(via)

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Haiti grief

The world is also weeping

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del.icio.us Tags: Haiti

Flickr Tags: Haiti

LiveJournal Tags: Haiti

Helping IS what we do best!

There are times in our lives when – even against our better judgement – we simply cannot resist helping others.

"The injuries we saw were too grave for the few bottles of antiseptic, gauze and waterproof tape we had: skulls shattered, bones and tendons protruding from skin, chunks of bodies missing. Some will die in the coming days, but for the most part they are the lucky ones"

(via)

Let us save the sermonising, politicking, judgementalism for later…..

For NOW, let us help in whatever way we can with a thought of gratitude in our heart that this did not happen to us and our families and friends.

gg

Now is the time…………

"Words are the tools with which we demonstrate our interest.

Actions are the tools with which we demonstrate our LOVE"

gg.

There is no better time than now to show we care enough to be more than we normally are, yet always have the potential to be.

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Memory Lane

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They said to me

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"GET A LIFE"
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so I got one.
But it was faulty
so I took it back!
I was told
'The only thing that is faulty
is your perception....
Be who you are
not who everyone else wants you to be".

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A rose is a rose, an oak tree an oak tree,
all have their unique place.
So do you
existence is incomplete
without YOU
being the special you that you are.

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.originally posted here on 8th September 2001………what goes around, comes around…hehehehe

let your little light shine

gg

In Tsunami’s Wake, an Unexpected Second Chance

You can read the full article HERE

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"In Thantirayankuppam, a man named K. Manipalan told me he had wondered right after the tsunami if the village would recover. Now, he said, he had concluded that in a strange way the tsunami was a good thing.

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To mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster, he said, villagers would stand on the East Coast Road and light candles. The candles were as much to give thanks to the world as to remember the dead."

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Happy New Year

Tick.Tock sounds the clock.

Clang.Cling does the bell ring.

With such symbols we mark our journey

Through this walk of relativity

We have named living.

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Yet deep within us sounds the rhythm

Of a profounder pattern called infinity:

For in each life has been shown

The formula of lovingness

By which we have grown

Into a self-fulfilling awareness.

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Behold the first time love

Embraced our walk

Toned our talk,

Honed our all too clumsy actions

Into an eternity-filled fraction

Of compassioned caring

And suddenly we awoke to sharing.

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Behold that time when love

Encompassed our humanity

And the urges of the body

Surged into moments of ethereal ecstasy.

And where was time then?

Did the tick,the tock

The bell-ringing of the clock

Restrict the outward blossoming of our love.

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Ah yes, the hours we mark

And in our secret silences

Know the truth of time’s remark

That all are special experiences

All are symbiotic melodies

That conspire to create a symphony

Of the lovingness that we are…

And always have been…

And always will be

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So,come New Year

You hold no tears

For those whose love will shine.

So,come New Year

For you are but another sphere

In which we happily recline.

So,come New Year

And we with joyful hearts

Welcome all these special moments

When we may be truly who we are.

copyright Geoff Groom 2001