Several years ago I fell in love with a social enterprise in my home city of Melbourne called Lentil as Anything, a chain of restaurants run on a pay as you feel philosophy. The title of this blog is part of their ethos. A question for you: do you walk around thinking my contribution is a gift to the community or more like thinking I don’t really make much of a contribution. What is it that shifts you from the latter to the former.

When life pushes you over, stand up and push back even harder. When there is a fork in the road, make the ones your future self with thank you for. Today, start:

1.Choosing you.

2. Appreciating what you have.

3. Believing in yourself and your dreams.

4. Being Positive.

5. Taking Action

6. Letting Go.

7. Picking Yourself Back Up.

8. Ignoring Negative People.

9. Staying in touch with close friends and family.

10. Making Time for Fun.

11. Spread Love and Kindness.

12. Being the Change you want to see in the World.

I can imagine this is a battle that has gone on between our consciousnesses for a very long time, Let’s have a look at what people of note have said about it over the years:

1.I think this depends on who you ask?

2. Mr I am not your Guru who appears to be worshiped by his followers as a guru :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9lNbNGbo24

3. Reading his history Arthur Ashe, tennis player extraordinaire was a remarkable African American in a time at best they were called negro if not worse.

4. In history the first wise people were not remembered for what they achieved but what they contributed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMLChxRHnWM

5. The first female high school principal in the U.S.A., Ethel founded AARP, an elder activist organization which with membership of 28 million making its magazine and bulletin the two largest readerships in the USA.

6. Gautama Buddha chips in from 2,400 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzrCRDGctNE

7. I do not believe we have studied this one very well.

8. One of 15 surviving sailors on the battleship Arizona at Pearl Harbour, his book The Strangest Secret is considered one of the greatest motivational books of all time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc&list=PL3DDj3bwnjI1ywrjlCUY_9SX4OQgHr5KJ

9. The best remembered wife of a POTUS, Eleanor Roosevelt never began to die until she did.

10. And they left a word out of this quote, HER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLYqTZKEpvs

11. Live long and Prosper was made famous by Leonard Nimoy’s character Spock in his 50 year acting career.

12. No levels of government are contributing to their community if they have laws that do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpfpqsSALuY

13. Makes sense to me, but does it happen?

14. Another deep question to answer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtZrPDjyffI

15 And the most famous POTUS with a very obtuse question to finish.

This collection of quotes shows that we have thought about contribution being a gift for a long time as a human race, I think we will for a long time in the future and perhaps even resolve the issue.

Today’s playlist goes all over the place, contributions of spoken word, the 80’s, the East and a very education video on black music. We begin with none of these, firstly is Gang Starr, then followed by Marianne Williamson. My unknown is next the Isha Foundation. My favourite Black Eyed Peas song leads us to Darryl Hall and John Oates. The penultimate song is Massive Attack and we finish with Music is Black History: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJlQ3F9bKYrtUz0w9taVPwST5DJcBuhWd

I believe my contribution that is a gift to the community is my ethos: Love and respect for All, Everybody Included and my two Facebook Groups: Interculturalism: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Interulturalism and Thriving People – People who wish to make a difference to humanity: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1126100227764949 to allow anyone across the planet join our merry little clan. Until we neet again, my dear friends.