If you’re anything like me, you have a bit of a cynical streak. It’s hard not to some days, with so much bad news pouring down: wars, famine, economic turmoil. When something good happens, it tends to be overlooked because of the frightening aspects of the bad. It doesn’t help that we have a media that is becoming increasingly based on fear-mongering, not journalistic ethics.

But what can you do to “break the chain?” How can you spread some positive news today?

Well, first you have to identify positive news. Believe it or not, you have already had many positive things happen to you since you woke up this morning. Maybe it was a relaxing, hot shower or a perfectly made cup of coffee. Maybe its the fact that you have a roof over your head or a working car…or bicycle. Perhaps a friend paid you a compliment or a song played on the radio that you haven’t heard in ages.

Today is the day to spread the news. Tell someone about something positive that happened to you. We often get used to the trap of sharing our bad news…which has its place. Sometimes we need to get that stuff off of our collective chest!

But as Thanksgiving 2008 passes behind us, continue to give thanks…and give it!

Positive News - Spread some Today! Better yet, share some with us!

UK-based Bristol Wood Recycling Project is based on a splinter-free premise:

“We go and collect wood from building sites. They pay us and we are cheaper than a skip,” manager Ben Moss explains.

“We reuse and recycle what we can. We sort through it all by hand and spend a lot of time cleaning up the wood and de-nailing it. What can be resold is on display in the yard. Some is recycled into MDF and the unusable wood is sent to landfill,” says Moss.

This cleaned up wood keeps extra waste out of landfill as well as providing jobs for people in need. The founders of the Bristol Wood Recycling Project purposefully kept their business approach free of shareholders so the focus would constantly return to the community.

“We always wanted to maximize all the social and environmental benefits of the project. If we had shareholders, perhaps our focus would be more about making money and less about doing as much good as possible,” says Ella Furness, Volunteer Manager.

What do you have around your household that you could re-use or “pre-cycle”? I recently went to a construction work site and pulled enough clean firewood to last me through the winter. Or perhaps there are some repairs you can make on an appliance or piece of furniture instead of buying new. It gives you a great sense of gratification and resourcefulness…plus you save money!

Contact: Bristol Wood Recycling Project,
13 Cattle Market Road,
St Philips, Bristol, BS1 6QW.
Tel: +44 (0)117 972 3219
Website: http://www.bwrp.org.uk

The Project is dependent on the
help given by volunteers from
the local community

Is it possible to have a love/hate relationship with the holidays? I think so. Let’s get the negative out of the way: commercialism runs rampant, stress levels increase, we overeat and overindulge and somehow, time spent with our families isn’t exactly the way we envisioned it after watching The Walton’s Christmas Special.

The commercialism alone can be a major impediment, especially during these trying economic times. We’re being encouraged to “spend” as if we haven’t spent enough bailing out these huge corporations! Merry Christmas, Fannie Mae! We shouldn’t have to spend in order to aid our economy at this point. We should be concerned about the people who have been outspending us for many years and with many millions of dollars.

But okay - enough of the negative. This is a positive news site after all! What I’m advocating is a holiday of thanks giving…and not just Thanksgiving! Every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas (or whatever holiday you choose to celebrate) give thanks to one aspect of your life daily.

Today I’m grateful for the quiet in my neighborhood. I live in a town near the sea and at night, it becomes so quiet. It really calms me and helps me think clearly. When I sleep, I sleep soundly and I feel safe. My soul enjoys the silence.

Get the drift? It doesn’t have to be major. Choose something seemingly small to celebrate. Move toward the “high ticket items” like loved ones and homes, etc. But for the next few weeks, be grateful. You’ll be amazed how this alone transforms your life and thinking.

Remember: one small gratitude a day!

Positive News Begins with You!

If you have any thanks you’d like to give, send it our way!

Many of you may have heard about this case:

Percy Schmeiser, a small farmer in Canada, was being sued by the megacompany Monsanto , in one of the most ludicrous and opportunistic lawsuits of the century (in my humble opinion.)

The agrochemical company Monsanto took Mr. Schmeiser to court for growing their genetically modified canola without paying them. Problem being, he never wanted to grow any genetically modified crops in the first place. He wanted just the opposite. Monsanto’s unwanted seeds blew onto his farm and began to grow.

This is one of the problems with genetically modified organisms - they are not containable. Seeds can blow for hundreds of miles, infecting presumed organic crops. But to be sued for a company’s environmental neglect? That’s just plain greedy.

Positive news? Mr. Schmeiser won the lawsuit. He will be reimbursed a measly $660. BUT the message is clear: agricultural chemical companies will be held responsible (ideally) for their contamination and do NOT have the right to sue based on their own disservice.

Both Percy and his wife Louise have become heros in their own right, winning the “Alternative Nobel Prize.” The couple was honored “for their courage in defending biodiversity and farmers rights and for challenging the environmental and moral perversity of current interpretations of patent laws.”

Percy Schmeiser’s website

Send us your comments. We’d love to hear from you!

We’ve shared several stories about the mammoth improvements in prosthetics over the last decade. If you don’t have a need for a prosthetic, then perhaps the importance of this alludes you. But for people in need, this changes the entirety of their lives. Every detail, from brushing their teeth in the morning to undressing at night, is affected.

Another case in point? Kasey Edwards, an 18-year-old who lost his hand to an alligator one fateful day. While he was visiting The Today Show, he was presented with a new, high-tech hand that would read fine impulses delivered from his brain to his wrist and move accordingly. To make it that much more life-like, it is covered by a covering that replicates human skin.

Edwards tried it out for the first time on The Today Show and was brought to tears by the power and ingenuity of it.

“You can’t be doing this on live TV with me.” said the overwhelmed young man.

Kasey Edwards (right) with Troy Farnsworth, who helped design Edwards’ artificial limb.

“In the last 50 years, humans have experienced the chaos of the technology we have created. Technology separates us from each other and from ourselves. The gift of nature is to provide the green space, the sanctuary, the solace, the reflection, the peace to bring us back.”

- Tom Stoner, TKF Foundation Co-Founder

There is not one of us who don’t feel the power of a garden, even the most seasoned, city-dwelling souls. Gardens are a space of refuge, of calm. The air is a little cleaner, the beauty more abundant. Some of us have natural proclivities in the garden (i.e. a “green thumb.) Others couldn’t grow a weed but still value the the power of a garden.

TKF is a foundation that’s been placing gardens in needful places for over 12 years. One of the most “needful places” was Western Correctional Institution, where TKF created a sacred place for the inmates that has been transformational. In the garden, there is a human sundial, where an inmate can connect with the sun and the stars and locate himself in time and space. There is also red roses for violence and white roses for hope. And lastly, there is a “well of unspoken truths” where the inmates can deposit thoughts on paper, thoughts that will never be read by another human.

How can you tend to your garden today? Maybe it’s just a small houseplant but let’s give our plants extra love. They help our souls and they are living with us, too.

Western Correctional Facility Garden

I know of several friends who are very concerned about the holidays. They just don’t have the budget and can’t purchase the landslide of gifts they used to. They feel guilty, as if only 3 or 4 presents is just not enough.

It’s hard to hear, frankly. I remind them that there was a time when you only gave one gift and chances are, you handmade it. Or you celebrated by sharing food and wine and life. Somewhere along the line, we’ve equated holidays with excess and we’ve never looked back. But if there was ever a time to re-evaluate our attitudes surrounding the holidays, it’s now…and for a number of reasons.

Most of us are feeling the brunt, on some levels, of a problematic economy. Our wallets are a little thinner and our budgets a little tighter. In addition, there is a lot of dissension in our world; a continuing war in Iraq, Africa experiencing nationwide conflicts, just to name a few. Its hard to celebrate fully when there’s so much need and difficulty in so many places. On top of that, we have severe environment issues we’re contending with - more stuff just burdens our aching planet.

Of course, that’s not to say we shouldn’t celebrate. It’s more important than ever to give and receive LOVE during the holidays. Thing is - love doesn’t mean gifts. It means love.

This holiday, practice giving yourself as a gift (no, not wrapped in a bow!) Give your time, your understanding. Give patience in an area you don’t normally give it. Give of yourself. And give the gifts a break. Don’t we all have enough stuff by now? Love is the gift that keeps giving!

One of the first homes in Pitt’s Make It Right Program

So many people out there are doing good for the world, that one hesitates to give more “press time” to big stars. But in the case of Brad Pitt, it’s worth mentioning (again!) His work in Katrina-stricken Louisiana has been remarkable and effective.

“I thank God for Brad Pitt,” said Gloria Guy who moved into her new home which is part of Pitt’s “Make it Right” program that will eventually provide 150 homes in a district that was particularly targeted by Katrina. Guy’s new home is also built for flood (as much as possible!) and sits on top of 8-foot pilings.

These replacement homes cost an average $150,000 per house and are made for residents who still own their property and can pay insurance and taxes. Their monthly house payments will be based on the applicant’s income and in addition, subsidized by funds raised by Pitt’s foundation.

Hurricane Katrina’s damage has flooded over to this day. Many people have forgotten about the damage that was done, except for the people who live there. Let’s some some positive thoughts and prayers their way, as well as others who have suffered from natural disasters throughout the world.

Marilyn Mock believes that the time to really “step up to the plate” is now, as our economy suffers and people are in serious need.

As Mock puts it, “People need to help each other, and that’s all there is to it,” she said.

So what did Mock do that makes her the “Economy Angel of the Week?” She bought a foreclosed house and sold it back to its rightful owner, Tracy Pottsboro, who had also recently lost her job.  She happened to be sitting next to Mock, who saw the tears running down Tracy’s face.

“The final farewell to my house,” Pottsboro said. “It means so much to all of us. It’s not just a house.”

Tracy Pottsboro and Marilyn Mock

“The final farewell to my house,” Pottsboro said. “It means so much to all of us. It’s not just a house.”

Mock told “Good Morning America” that she will take out loan to finance approximately half the cost and will allow Pottsboro and her family to live in the house and make payments to her instead of the bank.

Considering the vast amount of foreclosed properties during these trying times, its nice to know that a few Good Samaritans exist who can help some families continue to stay in their homes. From July through September of this year alone, more than 2,700 Americans lost their homes to foreclosure every day, according to The Associated Press.

What ways can you contribute to others during these tough times? If you’re one of the many suffering, then contributing can often make you feel more financially empowered. It all comes back to you in the end!

Send us your comments or positive news…we need it now more than ever!

A Columbus-based school marching band will have an opportunity of a lifetime: they will perform in an upcoming Rose Parade. What makes this marching band especially unique (other than that many have perfect pitch) is that is composed primarily of blind youth. And even more unique? This will be the first Rose Parade to enlist the contributions of blind musicians.

Of course, it’s no easy task. This is for the 2010 Rose Parade and the next year will be needed to practice, not just musically but physically. Some of the members of the group have sight and will serve as guides for a 6-mile long trek. Not only that, the group will need to raise funds to make this cross country trip possible.

“I’m nervous, but I’m excited, too. It’s gonna be hard, but we’re gonna get through it,” said Bria Goshay, a 15-year-old snare drummer from Columbus.

The uniqueness of a blind marching band should serve as a reminder that anything is possible, when people set their minds to it. And that creativity and musicality comes in all forms and knows no boundaries of physical handicaps.

Members of the Ohio State School for the Blind, upon hearing their acceptance news.

Please send your comments our way. We’d love to hear from you!