Category: kindness

Holiday wishes

Greatest Holiday Commercial Ads to Touch Your Heart

Published on by dgkaye78 Comments

This Christmas will be difficult for so many this year, and mine is no exception. I’m not going to write any fancy or bougie words here about how cozy and mushy this time of year is for me and for so many others, between loss, hurt and this damned Corona virus, but I do want to share these beautiful commercial ads I came across. These ads reach far beyond whatever they are selling; they all encompass the human spirit of love, kindness and empathy. If you need a reason to smile (even though a tissue needed will be a guarantee), please enjoy. Hallmark has some strong competition!

Wishing you all a happy holiday season and goodness and good health for the new year forward.

Kindness matters ❣

@DGKaye2021

We are the World Blogfest

#WATWB – We are the World Blogfest #RandomActsofKindness – Inspiring Young Readers

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Welcome to September edition of #WATWB – We are the World Blogfest, where writers join in on the last Friday of each month to share something good going on in the world. In this edition I’m sharing a wonderful initiative – publishing books for children to read for free to fulfil its mission, believing that every child by aged five should own at least 100 books.

 

Bookdash is a literacy organization that publishes books in eleven South African languages, an initiative that began in 2014, and has so far published over 146 books and over one million copies.

 

“Almost 60 percent of South African homes do not own a single book according to a 2016 South African Book Development Council report. According to the report, having as few as 20 books in the home has a significant impact on a child’s going on to higher levels of education. The impact of having 100 is even more pronounced.”

 

“The reason that so few South African homes have books is because they simply cannot afford them, Book Dash’s  director Dorette Louw told the Christian Science Monitor. Many families cannot purchase glossy children’s picture books in bookstores. Printing short-run books for a South African market is very costly.”

 

 

You can read the whole article at Goodnet. And enjoy this video that shares more about the dire need for these books to improve literacy for the children in South Africa.

 

 

 

Original source: https://www.goodnet.org/articles/book-dash-inspires-young-readers-to-soar

 

If you’d like to join in with an inspiring post for #WATWB, you can add your link to the group Facebook Page. Hosts for this month’s WATWB are: co-hosts are Eric Lahti (https://ericlahti.wordpress.com/) and Susan Scott (https://www.gardenofedenblog.com/

 

©DGKaye2021

 

 

We are the World Blogfest

#WATWB – Meet the Young Woman Helping Others Smile, One Bouquet at a Time! – Goodnet

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Welcome to the the #WATWB – We are the World Blogfest, where a group of writers share something good going on in the world to deflect from negativity on the last Friday of each month.

 

Today I’m sharing an article I came across where one woman doctor brings the smiles one bouquet at a time.  Eleanor Love (appropriate name), worked part time as a florist while going through medical school and has a gifted knack for making bouqets. She has taken it upon herself to bring cheer to patients by collecting leftover flowers from weddings and making bouqets and giving them to patients to brighten their day.

 

 

Meet the Young Woman Helping Others Smile, One Bouquet at a Time!

 

 

“Eleanor Love knows that flowers have the power to bring joy to people.”

 

This young doctor’s mission is simple but genius: she turns something old into something new. Here’s how. She collects leftover fresh flowers from weddings and rearranges them into beautiful bouquets for re-gifting to hospital patients.

 

“But in this simple gesture of giving gorgeous flowers to lonely hospital patients, she is also gifting a healthy dose of instant happiness, bringing joy to her smiling recipients.”

 

“The floral passion of the appropriately named Ms. Love all started two years ago when she was a medical student at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, reports the Washington Post. Inspired by hearing about the regifting of flowers happening on the West Coast, and equipped with the hacks to create a beautiful flower arrangement from her part time job at a floral shop before medical school, she decided to add some joy into patients’ lives. She continued the effort by setting up an organzation called The Simple Sunflower, which keeps up with the flower deliveries. . .

Visit the full article at Goodnet

 

Check out the video which explains the Simple Sunflower project

 

Source: Meet the Young Woman Helping Others Smile, One Bouquet at a Time! – Goodnet

 

If you’d like to join in posting something positive going on in the world, please add your link to our #WATWB Facebook group.

 

Hosts for this month are: Mary J. Giese (https://maryjmelange.wordpress.com/ and Belinda Witzenhausen (https://www.BelindaWitzenhausen.com/) 

 

©DGKaye2021

 

We are the World Blogfest

#WATWB – We are the World Blogfest – Giant rock snake started by a 7-year-old at a Toronto beach is melting hearts

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Welcome to May edition of #WATWB – We are the World Blogfest, where writers share an inspiring article they’ve come across, to share some of the goodness in the world and to deflect from negativity.

 

Today I’m sharing a heart-warming article I first saw on our local TV news, then searched for the article. Because of the never-ending lockdowns in our city, it’s especially important to keep up the good spirits in children who are sorely missing out on social interaction. This little boy, Lucas Walker, has started a ‘snake chain’ of Kindness Rocks he hand-painted then started the chain of rocks at one of our Toronto beaches, and invited others to join in and add rocks. Now, people of all ages are visiting and enjoying reading the rocks and so many others are adding their own.

 

Kindness Rocks!

 

Giant Rock Snake is melting hearts in Toronto:

“Something as simple as a rock snake is getting plenty of smiles from the community after seven-year-old Lucas Walker started it last week.

Since the Beaches kid placed the first four painted rocks next to the Kew Beach boardwalk and set up a painted sign encouraging others to join in, it has grown to about 15m.

“He was just looking for an activity to do and wanted to get others involved,” Walker’s mom, Sema Sali, told blogTO. “We were heading to the beach one day, and were like, ‘Hey, why don’t we do something fun and creative’ and he was like, ‘Let’s paint some rocks!'”

Please visit the original post at BlogTo.com to see some of the wonderful rocks and how many more that have been added since Lucas began with four rocks.

 

Source: This now giant rock snake started by a 7-year-old at a Toronto beach is melting hearts

 

If you’d like to join in with a post about something good going on in the world, please join us with your post by sharing it in our WATWB Facebook group. 

 

©DGKaye2021

 

Bitmo Sunday book review

Sunday Movie Review – The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

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My Sunday Movie Review is for The Celestine Prophecy. This was a book recommended to me by a friend more than ten years ago, and I still never got to it. James Redfield wrote both, the book and the screenplay for this New Age fictional story about synchronocities that lead us to where we need to be and to the people we meet throughout life for reasons.

 

“Look not from the mind, but from the soul. For the life that is coming, is already before us, waiting to open the world. Just look more closely.” ~ from The First Insight

 

Storyline:

Disillusioned and temporarily rudderless, John Woodson is about to experience a dramatic and profound metamorphosis. Through a mysterious set of coincidences, he finds himself on an adventure to Peru in search of ancient scrolls, known as the Celestine Prophecy. The prophecy and its nine key insights, predict a new awakening that redefines human life and provides a glimpse into a completely spiritual culture on earth. Resistant at first, skeptical and unsure, John finds that each step he takes, each person he encounters leads him to a new awakening. It is only in this letting go that he finds his destiny and comes to understand the meaning that had escaped him when his adventure began.

—James Redfield

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398842/

 

Some poignant quotes from reviewers:

“This film reminds me how to take care of my energy and be aware of others energies and the importance of being around places and people that are good for our souls. ”

“If for no other reason watching this movie can show how people can improve their lives by just how they treat each other.”

 

 

Blurb for the book:

The #1 bestselling phenomenon with millions of copies sold around the world — now with a guide to creating your own Celestine Prophecy experience.

You have never read a book like this before–a book that comes along once in a lifetime to change lives forever.

In the rain forests of Peru, an ancient manuscript has been discovered. Within its pages are 9 key insights into life itself — insights each human being is predicted to grasp sequentially; one insight, then another, as we move toward a completely spiritual culture on Earth.

Drawing on ancient wisdom, it tells you how to make connections among the events happening in your life right now and lets you see what is going to happen to you in the years to come. The story it tells is a gripping one of adventure and discovery, but it is also a guidebook that has the power to crystallize your perceptions of why you are where you are in life and to direct your steps with a new energy and optimism as you head into tomorrow.

Praise for The Celestine Prophecy
“A gripping adventure story filled with intrigue, suspense, and spiritual revelations.” – Commonwealth Journal

“A spiritual classic…a book to read and reread, to cherish, and to give to friends.” – Joan Borysenko, PhD, author of Fire in the Soul

“In his inimitable style of great storytelling, Redfield opens us up to a world of insight, inspiration, synchronicity, and power.” – Deepak Chopra

 

 

My 5 Star Review:

This book was originally written in 1993 and revised in 2006. John goes off to Peru and learns the way of the world from an ancient manuscript rumored to reveal the future of mankind. The energies we exchange with each other are the catalysts of what transforms human society.

Chaos in the world will change us and have us look at everything differently – a prediction for our modern times. John, newly fired from his teaching job, learns about the secret scrolls of Peru, and in a quest for knowledge, he goes there in search of a priest who knows about the scrolls, which have been stolen. There are many messages interwoven in this spiritual, fictional story. An insightful tale told through story encompassing, coincidence, how people we meet, even for an instant, seem to play an integral part of foreshadowing us into another event of life. Other insights on how opening ourselves enables us to receive, our purpose for being, staying alert to signs, how giving connects us in ways we never realized, and that things are not always as they seem.

This movie is inspirational and I think if everyone watched it, the world would be a better place.

 

©DGKaye2021

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Bitmo Sunday book review

Sunday Book Review – Featuring Sally Cronin’s #NewRelease – Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries

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Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today is somewhat of a double-header for my friend and author/blogger Sally Cronin. I recently invited Sally over for a Q & A where we got some good insights from her on marketing and blogging and more, as I featured her newest release, which I’m featuring here today again with my review – Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries – Some Bitter, Some Sweet.

 

For those of you who enjoy Sally’s heartfelt stories that pack a punch in the heart zone, and for those of you who’ve yet to enjoy one of Sally’s books – Sally never disappoints! Sally takes us into stories sure to tug at our hearts in her latest book of heartfelt stories and accompanying poetry.

 

 

Blurb:

Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries: Sometimes Bitter, Sometimes Sweet is a collection of short stories with scattered poetry, reflecting the complexities of life, love and loss.

The stories in the collection dip into the lives of men and women who are faced with an ‘event’ that is challenging and in some cases life changing.

Even something as straightforward as grocery shopping online can be frustrating, and a DNA test produces surprise results, the past reaches out to embrace the present, and a gardening assistant is an unlikely grief counsellor. Romance is not always for the faint-hearted and you are never too old for love. Random acts of kindness have far reaching consequences and some people discover they are on a lucky streak. There are those watching over us who wish us well, and those in our lives who wish us harm.

 

My 5 Star Review:

I was eagerly looking forward to Sally Cronin’s latest book of short stories that take us in and to other places and time. And although each story is individual to itself, as with all of Cronin’s stories, they share a common theme – kindness, humility and the human condition.

Cronin writes stories about everyday humans, situations, love, loss, courage and hope. Several of the stories end or begin with an accompanying poem which reflects on the tone of the story. The author has an innate gift for syllabic poetry – especially the Cinquain.

I love the title of this book because, as it implies, such as in life we enjoy the sweet moments, but must also endure the bitter sometimes in life. The book reads like an anthology, encompassing stories that warm our hearts, as well as a few surprise stories with a futuristic edge – that may not really be so far in the future.

Just a sampling of a few of my favorites in this book are:

The Weekly Shopping – The first of the stories to grab our attention where Barbara encounters what many of us feel nowadays – Big Brother watching our every move. But how far is far enough?

Winning Streak – “They say you can’t buy happiness, but you will be surprised by the power of a fiver in the hands of the right people.” This poem alludes to two of Cronin’s stories about luck, below.

The Scratch Card – following circumstances after Elsie Thompson wins $20 on a scratch card, and we discover how much those meager winnings hugely touch a few people’s lives as ‘pay it forward’ progresses.

The Charity Shop – have you ever had the good fortune to find a sweet cheap deal in a charity shop? Find out what Mary Jane picked up for a ‘fiver’ and how it changed many other lives.

The Date – Elsie Windsor buys a raffle ticket, hoping to win the tin of biscuits and wins a lot more than she could even imagine. At age 95, Elsie is not too old to feel young again.

Friday Night – An empowering little tale about Lizzie who learns her value and takes back her power.

Gaffer Tape – More Karma, and a bit of sweet deserved revenge when Jennifer has taken back her power and teaches her husband a well-needed lesson.

The Florist – It’s never too late for dreams to come true, even when you think love has passed you by.

Sally Cronin is known for her books that go straight to the heart, so if you enjoy feel good stories for a lift, you will surely enjoy this latest book of heartfelt stories.

 

Sally Cronin's Books

Visit Sally’s books on Amazon

 

©DGKaye2020

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Humble and Kind

Take Four Minutes and Twenty-Nine Seconds and Listen – #Humility and #Kindness

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I was surfing around Youtube and came across this video.

I love this song ever since the first time I heard it four years ago. It touches me on so many levels and goes back to grass roots, respect and empathy. And if the song isn’t enough, there couldn’t be a more perfect video to paint the words.

It’s also been the ringtone on my cell phone since the first time I heard it.

Take four minutes and twenty-nine seconds to enjoy listening (and looking at) to Tim McGraw and his reminder song about humility and kindness. The music and lyrics are beautiful and the video is reaffirming – extra touching at this seasonal time of the year. And a little more powerful because it reminds we are all one globally.

 

 

©DGKaye2020

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We are the World Blogfest

#WATWB – Toronto Carpenter is Building Insulated Shelters for the Homeless – Goodnet

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It’s that time of the month again, WATWB – the last Friday of the month, and time to share a good deed going on in the world to celebrate goodness and deflect from the negativity in the world for the We are the World Blogfest.

Today once again, I’m thrilled to share this initiative I came across, happening again in my own city of Toronto, where a carpenter, Khaleel Seivwright, has put his skills to work to build tiny shelters for the homeless. With our cold Canadian winter already taking effect, and the numerous amount of growing homeless growing with the evictions taking place in this pandemic, sadly, we can expect more of the same.  But Khaleel has started a Gofundme to raise monies to continue to build these shelters – fully insulated, complete with a window and a door.

As much as I appreciate people like Khaleel and his efforts, it’s a sad situation to know people are homeless, but somewhat of a comfort to learn that they won’t freeze to death. Read on to learn more about this endeavor.

 

Toronto Carpenter is Building Insulated Shelters for the Homeless

 

Winter is almost here and in Canada, that means very cold weather. It also means bundling up outdoors and staying indoors more. Nothing is more relaxing than drinking hot cocoa by a fireplace and watching the snow falling outside.

But for people who don’t have homes to warm up in, Canadian winters can be treacherous. That’s why Khaleel Seivwright, a carpenter in Toronto is building and giving away tiny portable shelters to people who are homeless according to CTV News.

He told CTV that he wanted to build “something that would be useful for people that are staying outside this winter.” He knows they work because he built the first one for himself a few years ago in British Columbia and it kept him warm in -15 degrees Celsius. Seivwright has already dropped off two shelters.

The tiny shelters are built of wood, insulated with home insulation and have a door and a window. They have caster wheels to make them portable and each one has a smoke detector to keep occupants safe. There is just enough room for a person to lie down in it. Each of the homes cost around $1,000 to build. . .

Please continue reading on Goodnet

Video is courtesy of CBC.ca news

 

Advocates warn of ‘catastrophic’ winter

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/mobile-shelters-homelessness-covid

 

Source: Toronto Carpenter is Building Insulated Shelters for the Homeless – Goodnet

 

If you’d like to hop on to the WATWB share with a post of your own, you can add your link to our Facebook group page HERE. Hosts for this month are: Lizbeth Hartz, Inderpreet Uppal, Shilpa Garg, Damyanti Biswas, and Roshan Radhakrishnan

There will be no December posting, so I’d like to wish all participants happy and safe holidays.

 

©DGKaye2020

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