Walk With New Amazement
When you measure the distance between towns on foot, walk to places you thought could only be reached by car, or talk to neighbors with whom you never felt necessary to interact, it will shift your mind! I live in the suburb north of San Francisco, driving is considered the main transportation option for most residents here. I still remember how excited I was when I first learned to drive 10 years ago. Driving at night, the headlights softly illuminating the road ahead, with music gently soothing my heart, I was filled with joy, a joy of independence in a foreign land! I had a photo taken of me hugging my white slender car and sent it to my family in China. I loved my car! Sometimes she was my only companion in lonely nights. Yet, as time went by, that excitement wore off. I dreaded driving, burning gas in bumper-to-bumper ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by Xiao
- Nov 29, 2015
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Surprised by Smile
I was walking to a literary event in a cool autumn night in San Francisco. Ahead of me, a homeless-looking man, maybe in his 60s, was pushing an empty shopping cart on the sidewalk in my direction. He pushed the cart left and right, seeming to intentionally block the pedestrians. The pedestrian walking ahead of me avoided him. My heart raced. As I was about to walk to the side too, the cart-pushing man stopped and spoke loudly, "You can't pass by me without a smile!" I happened to be standing right there, surprised. I smiled. He gave me a big child-like smile! Or maybe it was him who smiled first. We looked at each other, eyes to eyes, as we passed by, smiling. We were both innocent kids again. Before he walked across the street, he turned and said,
"Have a great night!"
"You too!" I said.
A large dose of happy juice was shot into the chambers of my heart and then pumped out traveling all the way to my toes. Magic is everywhere if we allow it to happen.
- Posted by xiao
- Nov 18, 2015
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Today was the Beginning, Small Gifts Can Make Big Ripples
Two days ago, I witnessed the magic of random kindness when I was having dinner with a friend who's involved with ServiceSpace. We gave a bracelet to the waitress with a message on it: "I am a sacred, worthy, luminous being. I am love and my love is for giving." The bracelet was a gift from Dr. Tom Pinkson, who shared his wisdom at the first Sacred Leadership Summit we'd just attended. To our surprise, the waitress was very happy and told us how sad she was the previous night and how she had prayed. The bracelet made her day! At the end of our dinner, she insisted offering us free coconut ice-cream. We were just thinking about getting coconut ice-cream from the store on the way back! Wow, a small gift could ripple big. You just never know. This is a typical case of serendipity. Last night, I watched the interview of Nipun Mehta by Charles Eisenstein. For the first time, ... Read Full Story >>
- Posted by xiao
- Apr 19, 2018
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