credit to @Kathleen for suggesting this topic which is very complimentary to the “Path Forward” thread
Hello All,
Wouldn't it be great to share the uplifting articles, books, podcasts, e-subscriptions that we're reading these days! Could we develop a separate thread called Library and share this information in one place?
@dannyboy Thanks for the mention, Danny. I'm going to start off by suggesting a wonderful book. Look for it under "Library" and feel free to add your own!
Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world.
All things break.
And all things can be mended.
Not with time, as they say, but with intention.
So go.
Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally.
The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.
-- L.R. Knost
I'm looking for books about angels but when I started my search on our forum I came across the angel messages from 9/30/20 and it blessed me so much and now I'm even more curious
I am NOT a Stoic because I've read just a few books on the subject but much of it resonates with me, especially right now. The book I recommended earlier is a great entry point but for those curious about learnign a little more without committing to a book, I really like this article: https://dailystoic.com/4-stoic-virtues/#:~:text=If%20we%20were%20to%20describe,temperance%2C%20wisdom%2C%20and%20justice.
If I were to rate myself on the four virtues it would be "emerging" on all of them except courage, which... if you couldn't tell from my journey this past spring but overall, has typically been one I've been better at than the others.
The one I want to work on consciously developing further right now is temperance.
How about some uplifting music? A friend told me about this mash-up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=zpuSUAk_6uY
Currently reading Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness and am loving, in particular, the reminder that we've been through this before (And I'm not just talking about 45) and have always come out stronger for the struggles.
That's not the overall message of the book however - it's all about the goodness in humans by and large. I'm about halfway through and since I want to re-sync my kindle reading streaks to 0 to start fresh for 2025 (my goal each year is 52 books in 52 weeks and when I finish this one tomorrow it'll be my 57th) it will be the last one I read in 2024. Considering how I began this year with Better Days it's a full circle kind of year for me, reading, and personal growth and development.
Please consider checking this book out at your library either the physical copy or the digital, or consider just picking it up from a seller like Thriftbooks instead of Amazon. It's good to remember that the vast majority of humans are good people, despite how much we might want to think otherwise in some cases.
Here is an uplifting story that was posted on National Geographic online on their social media:
At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, was walking through a park one day in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her favourite doll.
She and Kafka searched for the doll unsuccessfully. Kafka told her to meet him there the next day and they would come back to look for her.
The next day, when they had not yet found the doll, Kafka gave the girl a letter "written" by the doll saying "please don't cry. I took a trip to see the world. I will write to you about my adventures."
Thus began a story which continued until the end of Kafka's life.
During their meetings, Kafka read the letters of the doll carefully written with adventures and conversations that the girl found adorable.
Finally, Kafka brought back the doll (he bought one) that had returned to Berlin.
"It doesn't look like my doll at all," said the girl. Kafka handed her another letter in which the doll wrote: "my travels have changed me."
The little girl hugged the new doll and brought the doll with her to her happy home.
A year later Kafka died...
Many years later, the now-adult, girl found a letter inside the doll. In the tiny letter signed by Kafka it was written:
"Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way."
Embrace change. It's inevitable for growth. Together we can shift pain into wonder and love, but it is up to us to consciously and intentionally create that connection.
Here is some great news about the Yurok Native American tribe in California.
From CBS News:
In a first-of-its-kind arrangement, 125 acres of land bordering California’s Redwood National and State Parks will return to the Yurok Tribe. It’s a milestone nearly 200 years in the making, as the tribe had its land taken away during the Gold Rush.
The Yurok people will take full control of the majestic forested land, called ‘O Rew, in 2026, with support from the Save the Redwoods League, California State Parks, and the National Park Service. “Together, we are creating a new conservation model that recognizes the value of tribal land management,” Joseph L. James, chairman of the Yurok Tribe, said in a news release.
The tribe’s plans for the land include building a traditional Yurok village and bringing the ecosystem back to balance, something it’s already making headway on by reintroducing the California condor and helping salmon populations bounce back.
“It tells us that our land’s healing and that our people are gonna heal,” Rosie Clayburn, a descendant of the Yurok Tribe, told CBS News. She added: “I really hope ‘O Rew symbolizes a coming home of the Yurok people and reconnecting with our landscape.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/redwood-national-park-land-returned-yurok-tribe/