Magic Hat Stories

The Hat is Back!

A hat tip to Laura for that title!

Well Happy New Year everyone. After a very long hiatus, as the title says, the hat is back. Let me just say that life in got in the way, and some tinkering had to be done.

One of the beautiful things that happened in the interim, I experienced a magic hat story of my own. Well two of them or maybe more. Whose counting? Kinds destroys the magic by keeping score. One was a karmic situation which turned out to be a real head shaker. Someday I will write a Greek myth about it. 

Another bit of magic, was a topic found me. To be honest, I had no idea where this blog was going when I started it. In the course of finding stories about positive change, fate conspired with some of the lessons of my life, along with some of my topics of interest. In August 2010 I tried to get a Pepsi Refresh Grant for a documentry I'm going to make called Vanishing Feast. There are heirloom varities of food that are at risk at vanishing for good, including fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins of all varities of feathers fins, and hooves. 

There is a story in my family of plant that is a family heirloom. It was through writing this blog that I hit upon something that stirs more passion than my grandmother's wooden spoon stirred many pots of gravy. (For those who may not be familiar, gravy in South Philly speak is tomato sauce. South Philly is also where my relatives from Italy settled, and it plays a role in the documentry I will make.) I love gardening, my father taught me about organic gardening growing up, my relatives are farmers who brought a love of the land here to America, and passed that along as a part of my heritage. It is a family heirloom from both sides of my family. And there is the story of the plant that is a family heirloom of mine. It came together as Vanishing Feast, where I will call attention to these food sources that are at risk of vanishing, focus on plants, and provide ways that people can take action on their own to transform the heirloom varieties of plants into family heirlooms. 

So how does this jive with Magic Hat Stories. Well stay tuned, becuase as with any story, it will be told as it unfolds.

In other words, I have no idea right now.

Another componet of all of this, there's an activity kit for kids that I had developed back in 2002. And as with many good ideas, it's been soundly rejected at many levels. It's been tweeked once again, and will be sent off to a publisher along with a proposal for the brand I developed along with it. And yes it has to do with hats. Utlimately I want proceeds from the kit to go to the Grameen Scholarship Program.

So that's it for now. I will continue to post as I can. As I work this back into my day, I will have a better idea of how often I will post. The same focus will be one story at a time about someone or some entity doing something positive to change the world. 

 

 

Chartering a New Course of Compassion

There is a movement afoot that asks people to affirm their commitment to thinking compassionately and taking compassionate action.  It's know as the Charter for Compassion (The Charter). From their Web site;

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honor the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It's a simple concept, but yet one that has taunted and alluded humanity for a very long time. The Charter started with a wish. Again, from the Charter Web site;

On February 28, 2008 Karen Armstrong won the TED Prize and made a wish: for help creating, launching and propagating a Charter for Compassion. Since that day, thousands of people have contributed to the process so that on November 12, 2009 the Charter was unveiled to the world.

November 16 - International Day of Tolerance

Today is the United Nation's International Day of Tolerance.

From UN.org;

In 1996, the General Assembly invited Member States to observe the International Day for Tolerance on 16 November, with activities directed towards both educational establishments and the wider public (resolution 51/95 of 12 December). This action came in the wake of the United Nations Year for Tolerance, 1995, proclaimed by the Assembly in 1993 (resolution 48/126). (snip)

From Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello, What's So Funny 'bout Peace, Love and Understanding;

From the Human Rights Education Association;

An International Day for Tolerance can serve as an annual occasion for tolerance education as well as for wider social and political reflection and debate on local and global problems of intolerance. It is a moment to take stock of the progress made during the year and to propose fresh policies to close remaining gaps.

i never understood intolerance. I know I'm not perfect, and I don't expect anyone else to be. I always thought that was the nature of being human, and being so, we should accept each other because of that. I like the fact that other people are not like me. It challenges me and my beliefs. It gives me pause to reflect on a different point of view. Why is that such an issue for some folks? My hope is that someone somewhere will realize what today is about, and take a moment to reflect on what the meaning of tolerance.. And if they do, they tell their story to others about what transpired in their reflection.