Matching goodwill with the right occasions

Sometimes when I walk on the street and see an old lady coming home from shopping with her bag, opening her door and going home to a place she loves, but where she is probably alone, I feel like offering her a smile, or something that would make her smile. I find most old people so wonderful, so fragile, so beautiful.
Sometimes, when I wish I had a flower to offer them, I do not have the flower at hand. The opportunity to offer is there, but the object to offer is not. The occasion does not lead to a happy ending.
Since we receive a bouquet of fresh flowers at our office every Monday and the flowers are still fine by Friday, I sometimes take them with me in order not to leave them in the empty office for the weekend, but offer them to somebody, who may appreciate them. A fortnight ago I did the same. I took the flowers and we went to a small town for a Friday afternoon walk. I held the flowers in my hand and was keeping my eyes open for an opportunity to offer them to somebody.
We walked, and walked, stopped for a drink and continued the walk. At some point I even went up to people (not necessarily old ladies arriving home) and offered them the flowers. But nobody wanted them. After hours of walking and drinking some white beers in Haarlem (not the one in NYC, the one in The Netherlands), I returned home with the flowers in my hand. They still looked beautiful in our living room, but I really wanted to offer them to somebody.
And this is what I learned: you cannot walk around with presents in your pocket all the time, and also cannot expect that once you have something to offer, somebody will be interested in receiving it from you. And that's the order of things.
To let the feeling of willing to give fill you, even if your intention cannot materialize. Maybe next time.

Professionalism in bike repair

Not using bikes as one's primary means of transport in Amsterdam is no fun. With having and using the bike comes the occasional theft and regular repairs. I have my favourite bike shop. I always buy and get my second hand bike fixed at this particular shop. First I was a student and they had great prices, cool reputation and surprisingly good quality. Until one day the quality of services sterted to decline and the prices crept up. So that last time I went there I was already thinking of looking for a new bike shop, since they messed up again. I got there, ready to voice my frustration over the decline in the quality of services. But I was faced with a guy leaning over the bike and apologizing for any possible delay. My brake was not working. He was fixing it by taking the whole brake structure apart to really see where the problem was. While doing so, he said it's like working on an instrument, listening to it, taking care of it, understanding the problem and reconstructing the thinking of the previous bike repairer to really come to the core of the issue. He said it's like preparing to play the instrument, to play a symphony. Only a good and fit instrument can play well.
Needelss to say, my anger vanished. All I could see a guy passionate about what he was doing. He is an artist in fixing bikes. Of that I was convinced. (And my bike works pretty well now, too.)
Once the brake was fixed and I got a bonus bell ( I did not have one before, which was painful at times of cycling through downtown) I asked how much I owed him. And he said that the least he could do for having to put up with the recent decline in quality is not to charge me.
Now this really got me. I forgot I ever thought about leaving this bike repair shop. If you ever wonder about what authentic marketing is, this is the best example of it I have seen in a loooooong time!

Go, save a child....a voice from Darfur

I just watched on TED Emmanuel Jal's talk. When in doubt about the future of war children, watch this one: a former war child who received help and never forgot what happened to him, but is asking us all to understand that the most horrifying news never reach us. That we are not fully informed. He gives an account of his "big picture" and despite his recent fame remains humble and thanks those who helped him get his life back after the terrors of war. And he sings...he sings his pain since talking about it is too painful.
The simplicity of the message is powerful: give us the tools, educate people, give them the chance to decide. I cannot replicate his message, but can ask you if you have 18 minutes to watch his message. Do you?

Global Oneness Project

What are we one with? Are we nothing but cosmic energy? Maybe by definition...but for our every days, this may be a bit of a stretch.
So what are we one with? With ourselves. Our family? Our friends? Our neighborhood? All humans of the world? Even with animals? And plants? With the whole living community?
Hm...ok, let's say we are. By definition.
An abstract definition, that is.
Despite not feeling every day connected to all people we meet, the ability to "zoom out" and think about others inhabiting this planet as us, as parts of a bigger whole that we are all part of is a very enriching experience. It helps me understand that as long and we'll be striving to maximize the well being of one part of the whole whereas the well being of the whole is increasing slower, we actually cause a decrease to the well being of the "non privileged" part of the whole. Nevertheless, we remain a whole. Thus we are damaging ourselves in the long term. Simple as it is, we often forget this and only believe what we can see or count right away.
The Global Oneness Project is about connectedness for me. For you it may be a message of harmony, tribalism, sustainability or something completely different. You can always find out more at www.globalonenessproject.org. But remember, pass it on, do not keep the inspiration to yourself only.