Create your own St. Joseph Day Tradition

The feast day of Saint Joseph has a strange history of changing dates according to the whims of Popes. Originally, it was a day declared in honor of Joseph, husband of Mary, mother of Jesus. As the story goes, it was a busy time of year when the couple set out on the journey to escape the mass killing of babies by King Herod. Joseph and Mary were turned away at the door of several inns until finally one offered shelter in the stable.

St. Joseph's Day is traditionally celebrated with acts of kindness, and is observed on March 19th, however, the Pope still allows the celebration to take place on another date if March 19th falls within Holy Week (the days surrounding Easter). Saint Joseph Day is celebrated in pockets around the world where there is a large Italian demographic. Originally a religious feast day, these celebrations have become community-wide events in those areas.

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Bertrand Piccard next adventure: Solar Flight around the world

In a hot air balloon, Dr Bertrand Piccard circled the world. He, and partner, Brian Jones, did this in twenty days in 1999. The trip broke records and was called the "last great adventure of the twentieth century." But that's not all.

What I found most interesting about Bertrand Piccard's TED Talk (below) is how Piccard expressed the adventure of the balloon flight as metaphor for his spirituality. The title of one of his lectures is called, Adventure is a state of mind: the metaphor of the first around-the-world balloon flight.

Bertrand had an interest in human potential before he embarked on the balloon flight. He was influenced by his mother's interest in philosophy and spirituality. He became a doctor specializing in psychiatry and psychotherapy. His father and grandfather were adventurers. His father reaching the deepest waters of the ocean and his grandfather being the first to reach the stratosphere in a balloon.

In this metaphor of life, the balloon is prisoner of the air currents, just as man is prisoner of his convictions, problems or fate. But in the same way as a balloon changes altitude to find the currents that will drive it in a new direction, man can rise professionally, psychologically, philosophically or even spiritually, to become responsible for the direction of his life.
- Bertrand Piccard

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We are what we choose to think.
- Louise Hay

I met Louise Hay in the mid 1980's. I'll always remember her warm and true presence. I was teaching a class called The Onward Path at the time and using her book, You Can Heal Your Life, as the guide for the class. I had come up with the idea for the class just before her book came out. When I met Louise, I told her that I was using the book in the class. Shortly after that meeting, Hay House sent me a case of the books.

This link takes you to a video interview with Louise Hay on PBS

Garry Tan, a co-founder at Posterous, found a study by the American Psychological Association and posted an article with a similar title, You Are What You Think. So science is catching up.

I cried when I saw this:

This year’s procession is dedicated to our friend Brother Blue

This year’s procession is dedicated to our friend Brother Blue, beloved storyteller, who died on Nov. 3, 2009. This will be the first First Night ever without him. A fixture in Cambridge and Boston for many years, Brother Blue was loved and admired and will be missed. He personified the spirit of First Night.
- firstnight.org

I remember Brother Blue in Harvard Square telling his rhyming stories, barefoot and dressed in blue with ribbons and rainbows, butterflies and bells. But before that, I remember Brother Blue on the radio. I used to listen to Eric play jazz on WGBH. I learned about jazz from Eric. The program started at midnight. Sometime between 2 and 3 A.M. Brother Blue would come into the station and Eric would let him tell his stories of beauty, and rainbows, and wonder. I would sometimes set an alarm so I wouldn't miss Brother Blue come on the air. His stories are still with me. I used his storytelling style when I worked with a developmentally disabled population.

I ran into Brother Blue in Central Square in 2001. He would have been around 80 years old. He was with his "Lady" wife, Ruth, who was watching out for him. I didn't know he had passed away until I read the statement on Boston's First Night web site. Yes! I want to Read the rest of this post ...

Focus on what's dignified, courageous, and beautiful and it grows

Focus on what's dignified, courageous, and beautiful and it grows.
Ryan Lobo
photographer, filmmaker, storyteller

Watch and listen to this beautiful message from Ryan Lobo from TED India, 2009. Yes! I want to Read the rest of this post ...