Dalai Lama Foundation Study Circle Montreal

Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him. — Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Good News of the Day:
Looking out the window, James Zwerg accepted his worst fear: He was going to die today. Only the night before, Zwerg had prayed for the strength to not strike back in anger. He was among the 18 “Freedom Riders”, white and black college students from Nashville who had decided to take the bus trip through the segregated South in 1961, to desegregate public transportation. In the midst of the ensuing savage violence, Zwerg says he had the most beautiful experience in his life. “I bowed my head,” he says. “I asked God to give me the strength to remain nonviolent and to forgive the people for what they might do. It was very brief, but in that instant, I felt an overwhelming presence. I don’t know how else to describe it. A peace came over me. I knew that no matter what happened to me, it was going to be OK. Whether I lived or whether I died, I felt this incredible calm.” http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4615

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Be The Change:
In your next moment of anger, practice the art of nonviolence.

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4615

If you want to change the world, change the metaphor. — Joseph Campbell

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Inspiration of the Day:
“I think poetry always comes out of what you don’t know. And with students I say, knowledge is very important. Learn languages. Read history. Read, listen, above all, listen to everybody. Listen to everything that you hear. Every sound in the street. Every bird and every dog and everything that you hear. But know all of your knowledge is important, but your knowledge will never make anything. It will help you to form the things, but what makes something is something that you will never know. It comes out of you. It’s who you are.” Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin reflects with Bill Moyers on language, his writing process, the natural world, and the insights gleaned from a much-lauded career of more than 50 years. http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4618

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Be The Change:
Write a poem today.

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4618

There is no delight in owning anything unshared. — Seneca

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Good News of the Day:
Neighbors often share a power washer and lawn mowers. Others co-own cabins and cars. Some pick fruit before it rots and donate it to food banks. Families share pets like horses and dogs. Some even share organs. In a society valuing independence and fearing disagreement, people have found a way to enhance their pocket books and their relationships by sharing what they have. Through sharing arrangements, each family has lightened its footprint, freed up cash and fix-it time, and found confidence in cooperation. They’ve realized that sharing brought everyone closer together as a collective group, moving from “me” to “we.” http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4607

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Be The Change:
Share one of your possessions — a tool, a belonging, a service, a meal, even a smile — and discover the connection it creates.

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4607

If someone gives you negative energy, you give back positive, affirmative energy — such as forgiveness. […] This is the giving within for-give-ness. — Michael Bernard Beckwith

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Good News of the Day:
It would be easy for Mary Johnson and Oshea Israel to be enemies — he killed Johnson’s only son. But their first face-to-face conversation took a remarkable turn. “You were not that 16-year-old. You were a grown man. I shared with you about my son.” At the end of their meeting at the prison, Johnson was overcome by emotion. “The initial thing to do was just try and hold you up as best I can,” Israel says, “just hug you like I would my own mother.” Johnson says, “After you left the room, I began to say, ‘I just hugged the man that murdered my son.’ And I instantly knew that all that anger and the animosity, all the stuff I had in my heart for 12 years for you — I knew it was over, that I had totally forgiven you.” A touching NPR story. http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4624

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Be The Change:
The next time you feel wronged, take appropriate action externally, but internally, try practicing for-give-ness.

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4624

When you do things from your soul you feel a river moving in you, a joy. — Rumi

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Inspiration of the Day:
Is artmaking selfish? In this interview, artist Gale Wagner reflects on art as a grateful response to fulfillment, as an expression of joy, and as a way of serving it forward. “We’re so fortunate. Do you realize that a third of the world’s human population isn’t going to have fresh bath water or fresh drinking water? And look at this! I’m wasting it washing my car! The only antidote, I believe, is realizing that I’ve got to give back. And I’m already making the highest spiritual thing I could make,” Wagner says. “So why make [art]? Well, I make it because it’s the best I can do. It’s the highest, most spiritually, visually rewarding and enjoyable journey in every aspect.” http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4594

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Be The Change:
Take an inner inventory. What things give you a moment of joy?

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4594

Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom. — Thomas Jefferson

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Good News of the Day:
Josh Ferrin picked up the keys to his family’s first home last week, and as he opened the attic door hatch and climbed up, he saw a box that looked like a WWII ammunition case. Then he found seven more, all stuffed full with tightly wound rolls of cash — about $45,000 in all. Ferrin thought about how such a large sum of money could go a long way, pay bills, buy things he never thought he could afford. “I’m not perfect, and I wish I could say there was never any doubt in my mind.” Ferrin said. “But the money wasn’t ours to keep and I don’t believe you get a chance very often to do something radically honest, to do something ridiculously awesome for someone else and that is a lesson I hope to teach to my children.” http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4619

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Be The Change:
Look for opportunities to be radically honest today. For further inspiration: http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4619a

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4619

Learning without reflection is a waste, reflection without learning is dangerous. — Confucius

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Tip of the Day:
What does Oprah have in common with General George S. Patton? Being an avid diarist. Recently, Oprah offered her readers glimpses into her diaries, along with encouragement to keep their own. Many well-known figures throughout history, from John Adams to Andy Warhol, have faithfully kept records of their daily lives. Aside from a place in history, are there any personal benefits of keeping a diary? This article from the Harvard Business Review outlines four good reasons for keeping a work diary: focus, patience, planning, and personal growth. http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4596

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Be The Change:
Start a diary, where you can reflect and write about your daily “work,” however you define it.

**Share A Reflection**
http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4596