change lives for the better

Just found 3 websites that publish only good news from around the world. (www.goodnewsnetwork.org, happynews.com, positivenews.org.uk.) I think this is a great change from the ‘normal’ news, which tends to be highly negative. For one of these sites, only the most popular articles are free but for the other two, all are free!! IMO this is a great way to change one’s perspective on the world, for instance this article: http://www.happynews.com/news/12182012/why-2012-best-year-ever.htm Unsure of how true it is, but if it is true, thats awesome!

EDIT: actually 4. www.hooplaha.com is the final one :)

I love my Mum, but it gets on my nerves that she’s such a charity cynic, her and my Dad. Whenever they hear I’ve bought a Big Issue (magazine sold by homeless people in the UK as an alternative to begging) they come up with some reason why I shouldn’t bother, the latest excuse was ‘some of those people selling the Big Issue earn a 5 figure salary.’ Maybe true, but really?! I’m betting its very very few who earn that much.

Then I bought some things from Traidcraft (the UK’s largest fair trade shop) as a present for a friend, when I showed it to my mother she just commented on how I could have got it for much cheaper elsewhere. Whatever cause I try and support, barring one or two she comes up with some lame excuse as to why I shouldn’t give money to them. She keeps telling me I’m not rich but I have everything I need and that makes me feel rich, plus I get joy out of giving anyway.

She also told me a few months ago that ‘I used to think it was good that you didn’t want to be normal, now I’m not sure if it’s such a good thing.’ I’m feeling quite angry and sad about this. Hmm…

awesome stuff :D :D Last time I went into a Swarovski shop I wanted to buy half of it (well, maybe not literally lol, only if money was was no object) so I am thrilled at this news :D

I was watching the Olympic closing ceremony last night, and I’ve got to say, it was spectacular and awesome. However I couldn’t help thinking how is it that we can afford to hold an amazing ceremony like that but yet there are so many in the world starving- shouldn’t they be our first priority? For the amount it costs to hold the Olympics, spectacular as they are, a huge amount of good could be done in the world. But then on the other hand, life would be boring if we never celebrated anything, and its nice to go all out on an occasion once in a while. What do you think?

how easy is it to significantly improve, or even save, a person’s life from a third world country. I feel a bit of a hypocrite saying this, as I don’t give that much to many charities at the moment ( just £2 a month to Amnesty International and £2 a month to WaterAid.)

However, when I start earning, I’m hoping to give around £5 a month to a landmine clearing charity. I think a lot of people (myself included) get discouraged from giving away more to charity because you are rarely informed where your money’s actually going, so it takes a real leap of faith or considerable trust in a charity before you donate a large sum. However, like my dad says, if everyone just gave a little, say £1 or £2, it would work wonders. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi: ‘Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is most important that you do it.’ Or to paraphrase another person: ‘What you do may only be one drop, but together it makes up the ocean.’ :)