Inspirational Saturday

The weather is sticky and hot, and I sit baking away in my un-airconditioned apartment in Philadelphia. Today, I am posting two stories (submitted by Sally T., San Francisco, CA):

A heartwarming tale about a father's gift to his daughter on her high school graduation:

And Maurice Sendak, in all his glory, in his interview with Fresh Air on May 8, 2012:

And with that, I send refreshing air your way, wherever you are. 

Cheers to a happy Saturday,

Anna 

Buzzfeed does it again.

In a world that continues to struggle with homophobia and anti-gay sentiment, when people still post horrifically closed minded and offensive views on a happy Oreo ad, celebrating pride:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-krafts-gay-pride-oreo-draws-20000-comments-some-flak-20120627,0,490983.story

When a teen lesbian couple was found attacked in Texas, one of them killed, and the other in serious condition in a nearby hospital: 

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-texas-lesbians-shot-20120626,0,5851118.story

Buzzfeed still manages to instill hope: 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-most-inspiring-gay-pride-pictures

The world still has a lot of growing to do, but this selection of photos fills my heart with so much warmth and happiness. 

Thank you. 

Cheers,

Anna 

Capturing Philadelphia.

Inspiring for the beautiful articulation of what it's like to be young and living in West Philly. Inspiring also in the beauty it captures of Philadelphia as a city, its imperfections contributing to its authentic character. Also inspiring because it is written by a fabulous writer, who also happens to be a dear friend of mine from Haverford. This piece will likely be one of countless future ones. Please read: http://therumpus.net/2012/06/the-last-city-i-loved-philadephia/

Cheers,
Anna

Thank you, buzz feed...

For more inspiration:  http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/pictures-that-will-restore-your-faith-in-humanity

Inspirational Tuesday...

http://www.scribd.com/doc/92082253/Vogue-Up-Front-with-Jessica-Posner-of-Shining-Hope-for-Communities#fullscreen

A story about a young woman who dreamt to create a school for girls in Kenya, that could provide not only a promise of education, but access to improved healthcare, clean water, and a way to "fundamentally change the way people would value girls and women" (p. 4).

Submitted by Lauren, NYC, who has worked at Chapin School in Manhattan, the school mentioned in the article that partners with this project. Very cool!

Happy Father's Day, everyone :)

In honor of this day: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/438/fathers-day-2011

And, a much-delayed inspirational campaign provided by Lauren, NYC: http://vimeo.com/41060431

And, finally a fifth grader with a powerful message: 

Cheers till next time :)

A story about stopping and noticing.

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed... there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

[submitted by Lauren Davis, New York]