Our Collective Good

When you can spare five minutes, please use it to watch this touching video.  It shows interaction between Naomi Feil, who developed what she has termed Validation Therapy for older people with cognitive impairments and dementia.

In this video she is administering Validation Therapy to Gladys Wilson, an elderly Alzheimer's patient who is non-communicative.  The basic principle of the therapy is the concept of validation or the reciprocated communication of respect which communicates that the other's opinions are acknowledged, respected, heard, and (regardless whether or not the listener actually agrees with the content), they are being treated with genuine respect as a legitimate expression of their feelings, rather than marginalized or dismissed.

On a rainy afternoon, Tamara Litke hands out seeds to Ms. Collins's Grade 3 class at General Wolfe Elementary.

There's a trend in the startup world toward combining business and smartphone apps with altruistic goals. From human trafficking to helping farmers in Uganda, experts say, there's a market for doing social good with technology.

The don’t have a home, and most just own the clothes on their backs, but a group of homeless men at a shelter in Missouri have raised hundreds of dollars for a little girl with cancer.

About a century ago, a beautiful tradition emerged in the Italian city of Naples: Cafe-goers would buy a cup of coffee anonymously and in advance for a less-fortunate stranger.

Boston doctor's kindness helps save homeless
CBS News
"It's not a system, it's a giving of human kindness to people who just need to be acknowledged and validated and appreciated," she said. Donna O'Connell.

Deseret News Accidental hero: Human kindness in the midst of Holocaust horror Deseret News Jerry Meents pins on the original star that he received as a 12-year-old Jewish boy living in Amsterdam in 1942 at the Holocaust Memorial Commemoration at...

Playing to Inspire, Engage and Create Change: Eco-Gamification
Justmeans
I love being a staff writer for 3BL Media/Justmeans on topics - Social Innovation, Social Enterprise and Social Entrepreneurs.

Good News: Playing Outside is Incredibly Profitable
Care2.com (blog)
The outdoor recreation economy is big business in America.

As the year comes to an end and we reflect over the past year many of us consider the things that we would really like to change in our lives, it maybe to lose those extra
kilos, drink less, eat more veggies or take that evening class that has been
delayed for years. There is one resolution that is probably not on our lists, and it should be, it's a small change but it can make our lives and the lives we touch
substantially better. In 2012 resolve to be kinder.

" Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the
potential to turn a life around." Leo Buscaglia

Here is a list of 10 ways that we can be the change we would like to see in the world.

Give-Be generous with your time; invite that stressed mum to go through the check-out before you , let that car in during peak hour traffic ,say " you first " more often.

Listen-Listen attentively to the chatter of the kids as they run in from school, to the stories of others, to the elderly lady next door who wants to share the pleasure of her new roses

Grow- Plant a tree that produces food for the birds to eat, work with the local Land-care, get a plot at the community veggie garden.

Smile!- at the bus driver, the girl in the lift, the man you walk past when walking the dog, your kids , workmates, strangers.

Praise- Give positives and encouragement often and sincerely

Respect- Offer tolerance for difference often and sincerely

Share- your knowledge, your skills, your home , your possessions, your feelings.

Care -for the planet, don't forget the shopping bags, do turn off the computer, read manufacturers labels to see if the products are made in an environmentally friendly way, choose fair-trade coffee more often.

Speak - Take an active part in getting those in power to be more compassionate. Send emails to politicians, offer support for causes close to your heart, be outspoken when
you encounter injustice.

Hug - Often