In Life, things go wrong.
In Life, when things go wrong, people can falter.
In Life, when things go wrong and people falter, they can
feel lost.
In Life, when things go wrong, people falter and feel lost,
they can always bounce back.
Second chances are available to those who look for them. The
upward curve becomes visible to those looking for it. The stories illustrated below
simply prove the inevitable manifestation of this beautiful and redeeming
truth.
News from the public domain
Confiding in a crowd
Tenth-grader Elijah, a boy who is feeling suicidal, throws a
challenge to the universe. In other words, he challenges his classmates to empathize with him. "I want everybody to stand up.
If you really care about me and care about my issues, I want you to stand
up."
And his fellow students respond to his call. They stand up. Elijah
decides to live on.
The boy is just another recipient of empathy, kindness and
love in a school in West Philadelphia that allows children to share
their most profound grief with a crowd of fellow students. This most
unusual form of “counselling”, if one may call it that, is working wonders. And
the premise of this model is simple:
Violence grows out of a sense of
isolation. And calm is restored when one belongs meaningfully to a space. That’s
the learning in this ecosystem. Those who share their deepest, darkest secrets feel
accepted and therefore valued.
Life becomes better. Smiles get
broader.
An Eagle named
Freedom, a man named Jeff
Man helps broken eagle. Eagle rises from the ashes like a
phoenix.
[Same] Man faces his mortality after being told that he is
suffering from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Eagle helps him rise from the ashes of
his disease like a phoenix.
This video
gives but a glimpse at the intense relationship shared between the man and the
bird. For more detailed narratives, please search for Freedom and Jeff. You’ll
have to piece together the details, but it’s a journey worth undertaking.
A haven for sobriety
People who’ve never been addicted
to a chemical substance – be it alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, food etc – often
tend to look down upon those who have or have had such an addiction. But truly
introspective people will understand this journey if you ask them
how difficult it would be to give up their lying/manipulative/judgmental
attitudes. After all, don't we all possess these traits in smaller or larger measures? And, well, de-addiction is the act of shedding one way of thinking
and embracing another.
This seemingly
ordinary journey of a cocaine dealer from substance abuse to sobriety is a
clear proof of the infinite capacity of the determined human being. Enjoy it
with a tall cool glass of… lemonade.
Do I too solemnly
swear?
Ram Subramanian, the man behind the
viral Mute video, is back with a
bigger bang. This time, he wants to give a
collective message to the new leader of the world’s largest democracy. Through
this message, he beseeches the powers-that-be to become aware of the commonplace
compulsions of the ordinary Indian citizen. This stirring, challenging message
ends with an oath. Because oaths aren’t reserved for high offices. Anybody,
anywhere can swear to be genuine and true to himself and society.
So moving, this!
Differentiating
between Ego and Calling
Ego manages your fragile identity
while you figure out who you are. (Wow!)Whereas the primary function of calling
is to be a conduit for expressing your true self to the world.
Despite these differing
responsibilities, Ego and Calling can often resemble each other. Sometimes,
they become miscible ideas that leave you confused. Thankfully, there are huge
points of divergence. These will help you understand how to respond to your
calling instead of your ego. I especially loved the definition of the term burnout in this context.
And the second definition of Calling bowled me over. Towards the end
of the article, Calling is defined as “the place where your deep gladness meets
the world's deep need.”
Second chances, anybody? You bet.
Sex workers get a new lease of life
Sex workers get a new lease of life
Not many will want to read this story
of retired sex workers in Mexico City. But even for the uninterested
readers, the pictures in this link tell a thousand stories.
Sex workers lead a surreal life, and what happens once that life ends is anybody's guess. Well, here's a peek at what happens. This is a story that will encourage you to revisit ideas you have about sex workers. In it, you will find women who have, for far too long, been treated as mere
bodies… and are now finding ways to become whole human beings again. The past
intrudes, but the placid present helps them stay anchored in the space of
non-competition.
The desire for redemption, a new lease of life, dots every
picture shown to us on this page.
In conclusion
The next volume of Positivity Weekly will be released, NOT NEXT WEEK, but 2 weeks from now.
Hence, we tried to ensure that this volume was packed with an extra dollop of
goodness. We hope you concur.
Till next time, we hope you get plenty of opportunities to
redeem yourselves. :).
To read the previous volume of Positivity Weekly, please click
here.
To read the next volume of Positivity Weekly, please click here.
To read the next volume of Positivity Weekly, please click here.
And as always, do write in with story ideas and personal
contributions. You can reach us at positivityweekly@gmail.com
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