Notations On Our World (Special Friday Edition): On the Eve of #MLKDay Week-End.....

On this #MLKDay 2018 Weekend, we are privileged to share this compilation of thoughts courtesy of Jonathan Lockwood Huie and his team.  As we are disturbed by reporting of President Trump's comments as the immigration debate ensues, we remain hopeful that a resolution can be found regarding the #Dreamers (as we saw reporting that the Founder of Amazon and Owner of the Washington Post donated $ 33 Million Dollars to a Fund for the Dreamers) and a resolution on the Temporary Protected Status for The Citizens of El Salvador that we published a Notation here in our "ordinary faces" property earlier this week:

 
A generous heart, kind speech,
and a life of service and compassion
are the things which renew humanity.
- The Buddha

We cannot despair of humanity,
since we ourselves are human beings.
- Albert Einstein

One way or another, we all have to find
what best fosters the flowering of our humanity
in this contemporary life,
and dedicate ourselves to that.
- Joseph Campbell

 

Happy #MLKDay 2018 to all

 

Notations On Our World (Special Mid-Week Edition): On the Ending of Temporary Protected Status For El Salvador

The Trump Administration has just decided to end the Temporary Protected Status for the 200,000 Salvadorans (many of whom who have been in the United States for over 20 years and have children of their own).  This is as the debate and the uncertainty over the dreamers (some 800,000 of them) is still in the air.   Although President Trump conveyed a meeting at the White House with an aim to also address all 11 Million estimated illegals, the uncertainty is casting a dark shadow.

Our team is pleased to feature this petition thru MoveOn which we hope all consider signing:

As a New Week Dawns Here in Our Virtual Properties....

As a new week dawns and as we hope all embrace what we chose to feature above, we leave you with this further "Food 4 Thought" as we wish all the best of weeks:             

A genius:

1 does not respond to negativity
2 talks less, but says more
3 is a builder of consensus
4 let's their work speak for itself
5 judges less, helps more
6 chooses kind over clever
7 educates and inspires most
8 cares more
9 speaks the truth
10 lives a recommendable life

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) January 6, 2018

We leave you with this--what our implicit message is :

"The most important thing in all human relationships is conversation, but people don’t talk anymore, they don’t sit down to talk and listen.

If we want to change the world, we have to go back to a time when warriors would gather around a fire and tell stories." —@paulocoelho pic.twitter.com/bDoHQKrln4

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) January 7, 2018

On this 1st Week of 2018: Thoughts.....

As we wind down the first week of our deliberations, we wanted to share a compilation of thoughts we hope is motivation and encouraging for all:

 

Wisdom begins in wonder.
- Socrates

Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore.
There is always something to make you wonder
in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.
- Albert Schweitzer

From wonder into wonder existence opens.
- Lao Tzu

True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize
how little we understand about life,
ourselves, and the world around us.
- Socrates

Lessons from children:

1 be courageous

2 try new things

3 adopt a beginner's mindset

4 have fun

5 laugh more

6 make new friends

7 fall, get back up, try again

8 ask lots of questions

9 believe in miracles

10 color outside lines

11 wander around

12 love to play

13 sense of wonder pic.twitter.com/yuCTCM0YoM

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) December 31, 2017

On This First Day of 2018....

Happy New Year!!!

In celebration of the New Year, our team chose two of the thoughts "from the grid" with a grid on Failure we produced over the holidays that we present to you as our Virtual Gift for the New Year!!

Onward to 2018!!

Smart people:

1 change their mind*

2 read more

3 write more

4 talk less, but say more

5 stay teachable

6 show appreciation

7 ask lots of questions

8 work on problems longer

9 when stuck, ask for help

10 have smarter friends

11 seek feedback

13 collaborate

*this list will change

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) December 25, 2017

How to reduce your stress:

1 don't respond to negativity

2 go for a walk, be active

3 be honest

4 read, write more

5 give without expecting a get

6 breathe deeply

7 forgive first

8 write thank you notes

9 be a better friend

10 you are not your job

11 complain less

12 laugh more

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) December 21, 2017

As We Await 2018: On #AhedTamimi ; #Israel, #DemandPressFreedom & Other Thoughts

Our team has been reflecting upon the year as we gear up for 2018.     Here in our Ordinary Faces Property we have done our utmost to be especially attentive to all who have inspired us in more ways that one.     We wanted to pay tribute to those such individuals :

The story of Ahed pic.twitter.com/q5GLyD6nSF

— Ali Al Hussein (@AliBinAlHussein) December 27, 2017

She's the 16-year Palestinian Girl detained by Israel because Israel deemed her a "Threat" and as we went to press, extended her detention.    We are grateful to HRH Prince Ali Al Hussein of Jordan for This.   

As our team was finishing off its' daily curation/assessment on Social Media, we ran across this:

 

Our team picked this up courtesy of the team at History in Pictures on Twitter of this man playing a Piano during the 2013 Ukraine riots as he faced Ukraine Riot Police.     We salute him and all such courageous souls for the courage of their convictions--it reminded us of the Violin player on the Streets of Caracas.

Beyond such souls, we also wanted to pay homage to all Journalists who lost their lives during 2017 as we especially wish to make sure the World does not remember the plight of Al Jazeera's Mahmoud Hussein who has been in Prison in Egypt for over a year over False Charges:

Mahmoud Hussein (Source: Al Jazeera) 

  
We are with Al Jazeera as we say #JournalismisnotaCrime and we must all be unisom to say #DemandPressFreedom Now as today marks 372 Days since he's been in an Egyptian Prison.   

As we await 2018, though, we wanted to close out this notation with a bit of a more "jovial" note although what our friends @Futurism noted about a possible we must all guard against:

Onward to 2018 with all its' possibilities!!

As We Go Dark For 2017.....

As we embrace the Holidays, 
Please enjoy this compilation of thoughts courtesy of Jonathan Lockwood Huie during this joyous holiday season as our team will be "dark" to gear up for 2018: 

A new command I give you: Love one another.

As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

- Jesus of Nazareth (John 13:34)

An individual has not started living

until he can rise above the narrow confines

of his individualistic concerns

to the broader concerns of all humanity.

- Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Seek always to do some good, somewhere.

Every man has to seek in his own way to realize his true worth.

You must give some time to your fellow man.

For remember, you don't live in a world all your own.

Your brothers are here too.

- Albert Schweitzer


“You will meet many types of people in your life.
You will meet delicate flowers,
raging oceans, quiet forests,
towering mountains and colorful skies.
You will meet thunderstorms,
you will meet lightning.
They will knock you down,
they will leave you breathless.
You will meet sunrises.
You will meet gardens.
They will give you light,
they will take you on adventures.
Explore them.
Get lost with them.
They all have something different to teach you.”~ Author Unknown

From all of us at The Daily Outsider, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and Happy Hanukkah as we wish all the most joyous of seasons and a fantastic new year ahead!!! 

Onward to 2018 with all its'  possibilities...