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Dear Reader A Different LookI have heard from a few of you that there is something amiss with the graphics in the newsletters. So I’ve taken out the variation of colour and hope that this plain background colour will prove sufficient to give a softer viewing experience, and keep the text in view! If you’ve had problems in the past, it might be because you are using Outlook – it seems to be a common factor. Let’s see how this new format works for everyone. An Update for Suraya’s ProjectI gave a shout out last newsletter to my daughter Suraya. The buzz is heating up for her presentation in Sydney next week.
She is shortlisted as a top 10 finalist for the 2024 Uber x Rare Birds Business Booster program. I’m particularly impressed that there were over 4000 applicants for the program and she made it into the selection of 100 to now be one of the top 10. Feel her excitement in her post about the program on Facebook Remember there will be a people’s choice prize awarded to the applicant who receives the most likes for a special video to be posted on her social media channels around mid July. If you follow her on Facebook, she will let you know when she posts this second video and you can decide then whether to support her further by clicking the like button. (Hope you do) KindnessRandom acts of kindness – remember that phrase? It still echoes in my heart at times. Like lately. I’ve been revisiting some special times where people were kind to me. I still feel a quiver of joy when I remember a chance meeting back in 2003. I was visiting the USA to attend a conference in Portland, Oregon. To get to Portland, I took the Amtrak train from Los Angeles.
The man seated next to me for the most of the journey was Cloy, an 80 year old man who was travelling from San Antonio, Texas, to visit his cousin in Bend, Oregon. Cloy generously shared his story and soon we were chatting like old friends. I learned from him how possible it is to have a passion for adventure all the days of our lives. (I’m getting close to his age and still feeling adventurous!) When his journey came to an end at Bend, we were reluctant to say goodbye. But – we had exchanged contact details. Subsequently, with his daughter and son-in-law, Cloy came to visit me in Auckland and when I went to live in the US, I visited him in San Antonio. Precious memories of a chance meeting. And I often think of his kindness to a stranger from another country. But what came into my mind as I’m reflecting of meeting Cloy is the conversation I had with the Conductor as I left the train. He asked if he’d chosen my travel companion well. Was I happy with being seated next to Cloy. And I realised that kindness isn’t always in the interactions right in front of my eyes, but that it can come from an unseen, and unacknowledged, place, an event perhaps started a long time ago in that conductor’s training, or childhood, or a life experience he’d had himself. And wherever it comes from, I’m aware now to be grateful not just for the Cloys of the world, but for all those people who work behind the scenes to make my life the joy it is. QuotesI came across a collection of quotes I’d gathered over the years and thought you might enjoy seeing what takes my fancy! And what thoughts inspire me to live a better version of myself. Birth, ancestry, and that which you yourself have not achieved can hardly be called your own. – Greek proverb. This one reminds me that, although I have a ‘goodly heritage’, that does not mean I am not able to extend myself and add to that heritage for those who come after me. Take care, and whatever your means of self care, enjoy the process! Till next time, My thoughts for Living Life in 2024 and beyond: “Write it on my heart that every day is Ralph Waldo Emerson “Remember that sometimes not getting “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave [person] is not [the one] who does not feel afraid, but [the one] who conquers that fear.” Nelson Mandela Read past Newsletters and, if you enjoy them, please share with your friends and encourage them to subscribe http://www.StephanieHammondAuthor.com Join my Reader’s Group on Facebook. FOLLOW ME Like, post and comment at any of |
Random Acts of Kindness – still give joy
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