Have You Met TED?

Ok, so I'll admit my title is a tad misleading. The first thing that pops to my mind, too, is that first episode of How I Met Your Mother where Barney and Ted are in the bar playing the "Have you met Ted?" game. That's not what I'm talking about here...but it is funny.

What I'm talking about is TED ~ as in the small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading ~ the conferences featuring speakers addressing topics from Technology, Entertainment, Design. {See? TED.} I am just a little bit addicted to TED.com. From their site:

Our mission: Spreading ideas.

We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.

The TEDTalks are videos, freely shared under a Creative Commons license, on any number of topics. Ideas. And good ones. Want to hear Taylor Mali break it down for you on "What Teachers Make"? It's there. {and it's good!} JK Rowling's thoughts on what's good about failure? It's there too. Why is Annie Lennox such a passionate activist for HIV/AIDS? I'll let her tell you. You want inspiration? Why not spend an hour with Randy Pausch, his last lecture is PHENOMENAL, and it just might change your life.

To whet your appetite for Ideas Worth Spreading, here's Viktor Frankl on believing in others.
It's here on TED.com, but I embedded the video from YouTube for you to see it.

Well, Do You?

It's Almost Time!

BOOK REVIEW: Everything Christmas by David Bordon and Tom Winters

I love books. And I love to give books for Christmas ~ ESPECIALLY Christmas books ~ but it can be difficult to find one that will appeal to many people. At first glance, Everything Christmas by David Bordon and Tom Winters appeared to be one that could do just that.

Formatted as a daily read, Everything Christmas has a selection of Christmas-themed short stories, songs, and poems, combined with recipes, gift ideas, and scriptures to enjoy each day of Advent. In addition, there is an quick reference index in the back to help you get straight to whatever it is you're looking for {need a quick Christmas quotation or bit of trivia to include with your Christmas cards? Check the index ~ you've got plenty to choose from!}.

I personally loved the recipes and Christmas Dinner features that highlight the tradition meals enjoyed by families in Europe, the Caribbean, South America and all around the world. We enjoy learning about other cultures and this made for fun discussions around our table ~ who would have thought the Curried Goat and Oxtail from Jamaica would fare better than the Borscht from Poland in terms of the kids' willingness to try a dish?

Despite my best intentions, time got away from me this year. I can not believe that Christmas is less than two weeks away! The holidays always bring a flurry of activities and obligations and things to do and make and prepare. Lucky for me, Everything Christmas had lots of craft and decoration ideas waiting for me!

I was glad to see that Everything Christmas held up to my initial impression and really does have a little something for everyone. Check out this SNEAK PEEK from the Publisher Everything Christmas « WaterBrook Multnomah and see what treats you can find too!

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::DISCLOSURE ~ I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. ::

The Invitation ~

::Sometimes you read something that resounds in you forever. This is one of those things for me. Enjoy::

The Invitation by Oriah

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.


It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.


I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.


I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.


It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.


I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.


I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”


It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.


It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.


It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.


I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.


by Oriah from her book THE INVITATION (c)1999. Published by HarperONE, SanFranciso. All rights reserved. Presented with permission of the author. http://www.oriah.org/