Ahhh, another Monday and another month is blooming on the horizon. Is summer really slipping away already?
Regulars here on BA may be checking in to see what sort of mission I’ve set forth for us this month. Will we be cutting consumption of plastic? Or saving our change for charity? Or maybe we’re giving up toilet paper? Well . . . no, not quite.
Dearest readers, this month I need to ask of you a favor. I’m asking that you allow me a self indulgent interlude. And if you love Bonzai Aphrodite and you believe in what we’re doing here, then I’m asking for your help.
See I’ve always dreamed big, big, BIGGER for this little webspace. Now it’s time to begin the process of, er, biggering! I’m ready for BA to grow! (a bit) And of course, I want you to be a part of it.
Thus, I’m officially declaring September 2010 as “Get Out The Bonzai!” month.
I need you to Get Out The Bonzai! I’m hoping you’ll help to spread the word about BA and what we do here. I’ll be tasking you with outreach projects each week, as well as unveiling some exciting, new, reader-supported features. It would mean so much to me if you would join me this month in my effort to take this dream to the next level!
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The first mini mission is an easy one. Do you have a Twitter? If so, I’d love it so much if you’d follow me. Then, at some point this week just tweet about BA – maybe link to an article you like, or talk about why you dig the site, or just encourage your followers to check it out. That’s it! Easy peasy!
And stay tuned for updates, announcements, and all sorts of news as the month progresses. I’ll be setting forth a framework for the future, as well as introducing new additions and facilitating discussion. We’ve got so much excitement coming up!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Wow! Two whole months of intentional, active kindness. So amazing! And if that’s not enough time to form a real habit, I don’t know what is.
This month I’ve been especially focused on two joy-promoting techniques: setting a smile as my default expression, and being a super mellow super thoughtful driver. These have not been easy for me! I’m often deep in thought while walking my dogs or running my errands and this results in a tense face. It’s been sooo interesting for me to [try to] maintain awareness, relax my face, and smile while I do my deep thinking. Let me tell you, not only does it change how strangers regard you (they smile back!) but it also changes your thought process. Really, amazing stuff.
Okay, I admit it – I *may* have a little bit of road rage. I think it stems from my Hyper Productivity Disorder™ and my desire to go! go! go! all the time. So this month I’ve been forcing myself to relax behind the wheel, by driving slower, waving the other car ahead, and *always* giving the right of way to bicyclists. (I sure do appreciate it when I’m on a bike!)
I feel like these two things have worked wonders on my psyche, and I KNOW I’m putting more goodness into the world this way. Of course, I’ve also been dropping love bombs all over Portland (like inspiration notes, illuminationPositive! cards, butterflies) Love it!
But enough about me, what I really want is to hear from you guys! What have you been up to in our quest to make the world grin a bit bigger? Tell me tell me, I just can’t wait to hear!!!
Butterfly on the bus!
When I first announced our 13th monthly mission, I didn’t imagine it would be met with such enthusiasm – but I should have known better. You guys never cease to amaze me! It was pounced upon by all you awesome readers, and you being the industrious ingenious people that you are, have taken this little idea and RUN with it. From the stories shared in the first wrap-up, to the unanimous call to keep it going another month, to the partnership with illuminationPositive, it’s all of YOU who have really driven this project forward.
And now it continues to grow! All the way from down in the Yucatán (one of my very favorite places on Earth), Bonzai reader Ero San has been spreading all sorts of love. This is so delightfully creative, when he shared it with me I just couldn’t wait to get it out to all of you. I know you’ll be as inspired as I am!
Origami butterflies. But not just any origami butterflies! These guys are made out of Post-It Notes, so they’re stickable! Quick to assemble and simple to spread, Ero San’s been sprinkling them all over Merida. Each one has a little love message written inside, too, for whoever is lucky enough to find and unfold it. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?
I just love this idea and I can’t wait to start making butterflies of my own. If you want to join in the fun, Ero San made an instructional video to teach us all the technique :
Thank you SO MUCH to Ero San for sharing your endeavors with us. It’s truly inspiring! And to all of you out there, please share your stories too! We want to hear about all the ways you’ve been spreading the love. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate at all, so no need to be shy.
Can’t wait to hear from you all!
*** all images by Ero San
Well, after overwhelming support, I’m keeping last month’s mission going for another round. Yay! After all, the whole point was to spread the love, and who couldn’t use more love?!
A lot of you reported that you were unable to fulfill this mission as completely as you’d hoped, so now’s your chance! Others posted their accomplishments and – *WOW* – what an inspiring collection of stories! You guys are AMAZING. Definitely check out the comments in the wrap-up post for a ton of great ideas and a goodly dose of motivation.
“I Have Everything I Need“, “This Is The Sign You’ve Been Waiting For“, & “You are ready. Calm your self. You are gaining in strength“
So that’s the extension, but what about the expansion? Well, I’m so thrilled to announce that Bonzai Aphrodite has teamed up with Shango Los of illuminationPositive! Shango began the project in 1993 and has kept it going, underground and in some form or another, ever since. This INCREDIBLE endeavor is very similar to the little handwritten messages I made last month, except way cooler and on a much grander scale. The project has run over 15 years and has participants around the world, but it’s always been kept underground. Now, illuminationPositive is going BIG, and I for one am more than happy to help!
What an amazing concept, right guys? So simple, so elegant, and yet profoundly impactful. If you’re excited by the project and want to be a part of it, there’s a couple of things you can do. You can friend them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. And, for my readers, the first TEN people to email me (info at bonzaiaphrodite dot com) will be sent their own little bundle of illuminationPositive cards to pass out! Yay!!! (Okay, ten emails and ten winners! All gone!)
I want to give a huge THANK YOU to all of you guys, who inspire me more than you’ll ever know. I can’t wait to hear about how you ‘Spread The Love’ this month!
And of course a huge THANK YOU to Shango and illuminationPositive, for all the love you’ve already spread and all the love you’ve yet to give. You’re awesome dude!
*** all images credited to illuminationPositive
I’m so excited to hear how your month went! The mission was straightforward – do something nice for someone. Straightforward, yes, but not necessarily simple. Just finding a chance for kindness can be quite the challenge! I spent a lot of time searching for opportunities, but in the end I pretty much had to create my own. Here’s what I did.
This is the coffee stand at our Farmer’s Market where Damian gets his Saturday fix. They’re awesome and there’s always a long line. The baristas are great and they serve fancy fair-trade coffee, dripped to order.
A few weeks back we waited in line as usual, Damian ordered as usual, paid and tipped as usual. But when Damian stepped away, I stepped forward. Plunked a twenty on the counter, leaned in close, and whispered, “I’d like to buy coffee for the next few people in line.”
Barista: “What?”
Me: “Yeah, I want to buy coffee for everyone.” *big grin*
Him: *smiling as he gets it* “Really? You know, I’ve always wanted to do that.”
Me: “You should!”
And then I quickly scurried away. Just barely heard him beginning to explain it to the person behind me, as I disappeared into the crowd. It was AWESOME!
After that, I spent a few weeks slipping these little cards into the purses and pockets of unsuspecting strangers. Just a sweet simple little message, with the hope that it would be found at some later date, and make the person happy. I never got busted by the person I was targeting – but I did get caught by passers by! Whoops! This one was tougher than you’d think, and a total rush. When I pulled off a good drop it was so fun!
Tonight I’m going to the Last Thursday street art fair, and I plan to do another good deed while I’m there. I’ll tweet about it when it’s completed!
But enough about me – I want to hear all about what you’ve been doing! I can’t wait!
Also, Bonzai reader Melisa has requested that we extend this mission for another month. I’m totally down, but I’m wondering how you all would feel about that. So I’m putting it to a vote! Continue this mission? Ready for a new one? Let me know either way!