Celebrities that actually matter.

I'm all about celebrities who use their fame to educate and to uplift others

Ashton Kutcher, you just made the list of celebrities who do more important things than give us something to laugh or cry about on the silver screen...you give us wisdom and hope and inspire a generation that looks up to you to see themselves as the heroes.  Good work, sir.

Now THAT is something that matters.

Be the change.

The secret to staying young...

Rest in peace, Don Gabriel: a man whose heart was always young and who reminded us always to value the life that we are given, to hope for the future, and to dream big!

Soul exercises...

I have a friend who lifts me up daily with her wonderful life quotes and lessons and encouragement by positing them for the "public" and I'm not sure she realizes what a huge impact her small posts can have on others.  So here's my post, to tell her, that her posts make a differene.  And in honor of her constantly positive awesome posts, I will share the most recent:

A great reminder, posted by a friend in the form of a quote:

"You really can't begin to know how spectacular you are or how much you are capable of or how strong and brave the depth of your soul is. Because we all understandably see things from such a limited and incomplete point of view, because we haven't learned everything we need to learn yet, it is hard to see that things that feel like failures or roadblocks or hardships are the very things that exercise our soul muscles and keep us in top shape to be able to live out our beautiful and constantly progressing potential.

Life would be so sad and so boring if there were never any wonderful and sometimes painful and difficult opportunities for growth. It is in the growing and the changing and the stretching and the soul exercise that the biggest joys come.

Keep your head up. Keep sweatin' through the soul lunges. You are spectacularly fit for the challenge, you really are. 

You can do this."

Thanks Mitalee D!

(for this and ALL of your uplifting posts)

Princess Lacey and her Superman

If you don't know these names, you should read this article...because it will restore your faith in humanity, give you strength in your own struggles, and give you the courage to love and love and love until your dying breath.  If you DO know these names...you should read it anyway.

It's long.  

It's worth EVERY second that it takes you to read the whole thing 

because LIFE is worth every second that you have of it.  Remember that.  

Live like it.

Love like it.

Change the world like it.

Don't give up

Admittedly two of my absolute favorite voices, artists, and talents for the passion they bring to every note they sing.  This is no exception, and as always the message speaks for itself.

If you're going through something difficult, Don't Give Up.

There are people here who care, there's a place for us out there.

Project Zambia: World Vision

For every person in need, there are more that can help, and even more that could help if they took a few minutes of their day or a few coins from their pockets.  Can you IMAGINE drinking water that made you sick in order to survive?  There are people who do it daily...and in suffering to live, many are poisoned by the contaminated water and die from the thing that we are told gives us life.

This is Zambia.  

These are faces of the future  

but there are more like them.  

Thank you World Vision for seeing the big picture and for being the change!  

You remind us there is work to do 

and that 

we are the ones to do it!

Meet a Muslim Family: No, really...do it.

It may seem silly at first, but when you think about it there are so many people who are racist simply because of heresay.  Sometimes from generalization.  Sometimes we judge without reason.  Sometimes we put up walls when we should be tearing them down.  This family (and even some people who met them) wanted to show people that there may be bad people out there, but that the "bad" is not what is typical.  We are all one.  When we live and work together, the world is a much better place, and I for one would love to live in that better place.  Beautiful work guys!

Frozen: A New Twist

People are awesome!

Insane skills...for all of you Frozen and/or Disney and/or Pixar fans out there.

Or just for anyone who can recognize some voice acting talent when they see it :)

Declare your LOVE!

A friend, who is often an inspiration because of his hopeful and positive attitudes through all of his ups and downs, posted the following declaration to the world, today.  I feel like, the world is awesome...because people like him are in it.  Hopefully we can all learn something from it at the least,  and try it for ourselves, for us and for the world!

Starting today Love more; I will love more. So much that no one will have any idea what to do with me. People will watch with a confused look and wonder why I give so much and don't ask for anything in return. I will give it because giving is getting and there is nothing quite so important as emptying your heart every single day and leaving nothing undone, no declarations of it left unsaid. I will not only stop to smell the flowers, I will plant them myself and watch them grow old with me. I will pull over and dance in every single rainfall, make snow angels even when there is hardly enough snow left for the wings. I will never believe in the words "too Late" because it is never too late to be exactly who you wish to be, do exactly what you should, say exactly what needs to be heard and live the exact life you should be living. ‪#‎LiveLaughLove‬

Thanks Austin L!

It's never too late...

A reminder:  

It is never too late to start over.  

It is never too late to learn something new. 

It is never too late to inspire.

It is never too late to change the world!

Don't let fear stand in your way!

Perfect article for the beginning of the week...take on the unknown with "oomph!"  

Do not let fear stand in your way!

Celebrate the small stuff...

...like all of the washers being available and functioning when you have a ton of laundry to do.

BLOOD MOON! *Way more positive than the name suggests*

So tonight/tomorrow morning depending on where you are reading from, you'll have a rare chance to see the blood moon...ie the moon will be red because of the science o' light...filtering from the sun through Earth's atmosphere and imprinting itself on the face of the moon temporarily.  Even cooler is that it's not ONLY a blood moon, it's occuring because of an eclipse!  It's a 2-for-1 deal, and then some, according to Men's Health Magazine.  So much good in something we take for granted much of the time...go enjoy it!

Finding Yourself: Dance

A follow-up to a previous post...here are some guys that base themselves in Central Park, NY, and know all about finding themselves in dance.

Cheer On Strangers

A story of a bunch of people who chose to make complete strangers feel like total rock stars:

I want to give a shout out to the large group of middle - aged people who sat on the corner of Central and 1st St. N last night (Ceviche). They would wait for someone to walk by and then yell "Here they come!" followed by clapping and cheers as if you were a hero/celebrity/vip. It may seem silly but it made everyone (including us) feel super special even if for a moment. People dont get enough credit for just being people and living life as best they can. So yea, we are all VIPs... And those "fans", sober or not, brought many smiles last night. A great reminder to cheer each other on! 

--Thanks Jakzeel for sharing such a great story!

Dance like no one's watching!

Whatever your style...bust a move!

We are all one.

WeAreAllOne.org

Humans once knew how to be PART of the system instead of trying to control the whole thing.

Let's get back to that.

We are all one.

Connected.

A good reminder. Today is the day!

Your life is your message to the world...

 

Make sure it's inspiring!

Why be the change?

...for all this and more.

Forgiveness. The most powerful act of love.

Have you ever said..."I don't hate anyone.  The only person I would ever hate is someone who killed someone I loved or something terrible like that..."

Shall I eat my words?  Or shall I concede that these people are much better than I am?  Or shall I simply  accept that one does not know what he or she would do until the situation is theirs to respond to?

I think the latter is how I try to be in most situations.  I try not to make judgement, or I judge with the caveat that I am unsure of what is best, not being the person affected.

I am feeling humble right this moment.  Remember that first statement?  I've said it many times in my life.  That, or similar things, and now I have reason to question my judgement on that, too.

It is easy to think it is right be angry and hateful toward a person that does wrong and shows no remorse of comprehension of wrongdoing, or feeling of guilt...but how might you react when the other person recognizes his or her guilt, profound inhumanity, and is ashamed of the actions that he or she did?

I hope that I would even be half as gracious, loving, and humble to recognize the humanity in the other person.  I hope that I would be strong enough to put love and peace above all other sentiments, seeing that continued negativity would leave two broken people in a life of sadness and pain instead of two healed people at peace.  I hope that the world can see the example that I just read about.  Rwandans who, alone or in groups, raped, hunted, and slaughtered men, women, and children were given the chance to receive classes on forgiveness and humility in their prisons or in their communities.  Then, the people whom they made suffer from their actions were offered forgiveness at the choice of those whose actions caused such destruction, and they did the miraculous...the unanticipated (until now)...they forgave them.  They let their wounds heal by accepting the past and choosing to love over continuing to be empty or hateful.

I am in awe.  

I have learned something new.  

There is no limit to forgiveness.  

There is no ceiling to how terrible an act must be to be unforgivable.  Everything in this world is forgivable should forgiveness be requested and meant.  It is not just some "otherworldly" gesture that is spoken about in religious doctrine.  It is something that we hold within ourselves should we choose to live and to love freely in this lifetime.

Live and love freely.  Choose forgiveness when it is asked of you.

Make peace with yourself.  With your past.  With wrongdoings.

The world is brighter today 

because these Rwandans have done the impossible and it is no longer impossible.  

It is love.

Speaking Peace into our Daily lives

The words of the Pope.  Not because he is some dictator that you must follow.  Not because you must believe in all the aspects of his religion.  Not because I say so.

Instead, because peace is a hope in all nations and love is a feeling that all humans are capable of.  Love each other.  Make peace after you are at war.  Find your commonality in love and let that be your means to a peaceful and loving end to war.  In your smallest moments and your largest battles.  In your innermost thoughts and on the global scale.  We can take responsibility for our demonstration of love, and that demonstration will bring peace to everyone.

Another list.

So, I'll start my telling you this isn't my favorite list.  It's because it seems redundant and repetitive.  Now, I'll end by saying, just because it isn't my favorite, doesn't mean it isn't useful and helpful.  Just because it isn't my favorite doesn't mean it won't be yours, and I'm not here for me.  I'm here to pass the positive on...so here's some positive that I found!  Then it hits me!

Some things are so important, they need to be repeated.  

So here's a list of advice for you with some good positive hopes for you and your life!  Enjoy!

Advertising is everywhere...live young!

While advertising everywhere sends all sorts of messages about distorting our future selves with unnatural means and processes and additions...I love a company that reminds us to be ourselves...in the most innocent and natural way possible:

LIVE YOUNG!

When we know the difference between existing and living...

Similar to yesterday's post, sometimes it takes the stark contrast to realize all that we have.  Thanks to one of my regulars for another inspirational observation:

I used to complain about such minuscule things. 'I have to go to work', 'I have to pay my car bill', 'I have to go to class', etc. No. 'I have the opportunity to go to work, because I'm fortunate enough to be employed'. 'I get to pay my car bill, because I have enough money to own my own car'. 'I get to go to class, because I am lucky enough to be a student and working toward my goals/dreams on a daily basis'. I think we sometimes forget about how lucky and fortunate that we are. We complain about certain things, when we should be thankful for them. I have my health and people who love and care about me, and that's all I need. Austin was given another chance to live after a tragic car accident years ago. I never heard him complain about anything. He was always happy, and he had such a positive attitude. He passed away two weeks ago.
"Today is a great day to be alive" -Austin White 
Thank you Austin for teaching me such a valuable lesson. You are truly an inspiration, and I'll always have a special place for you in my heart. You had such an amazing perspective on life, and I'll try to live the rest of my life with that same perspective. If I could be half as good as you were, I would be completely satisfied.

-JMacko

A reminder about our purpose in the world...

My friend is a police officer, and sometimes it takes the bad days to remind us of our purpose here...and he is eloquent enough to sum it up quite nicely:


Today was one of those days where work wasn't incredibly positive. 

If you know someone who is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts please reach out to them and let them know there are people who care and resources to help. 

Gay, straight or otherwise we need to help each other get through life.-JM