Did you really think we would overwhelm you by posting all 1,001 Ways at once? Every week or two we add (at the top of the list). As you send in your ideas, and as we come up with more, we'll add to these, and eventually, who knows? There are probably more than 1001 ways to heal the world. (Scroll to #1 at the bottom of this page to come up with yours.)
45. Share the short film, The Story of Stuff, with everyone you know.
44. Watch a film that can change how you see yourself, others, and the world. Jehane Noujaim, dreamer, filmmaker, and founder of PangeaDay says films can't change the world, but films can change people; and, people can change the world. Help us add to our list of films by clicking on the comments on this post. Or, read what Stuart is doing for refugees with film.
43. Check out your local Slow Foods chapter for local growers in your area. Buy fresh, buy local. Read about sustainability and Alison's soup.
42. This year, plant something you can eat in a pot, in a small garden, in a windowsill.
41. This one's from HumanKind reader Mark R. McCarter, who in 2000 was filling out the race section on the U.S. census forms and did this: "I chose to check the 'Other' box and then wrote down the word 'Human.' We are after all only one race." When given an option for "other", mark "human." In your own way, practice letting go of division and embracing community.
40. Pick your impossible thing to do this lifetime, this year, this month or today. What step(s) could you take today without worrying whether or how it will all work out in the end? For inspiration, check out Saoirse's story and the five steps to doing the impossible.
39. Put yourself on the HumanKind map. Our HumanKind Challenge #3 aims to put thousands of people on the map for peace, love, and/or to show your support for our mission: change your media, change your life, change the world. Please join us, and remember to put your location (and preferably any picture you like) up so you don't become an unknown in Kansas.
38. Visit justfortheloveofit.org and sign up to Freeconomy in your area. Share your skills. Or, check up on Saoirse's pilgrimage and send him an encouraging comment.
37. Give a very small gift to an unsuspecting someone today. (Hint: could be a book you finished, a flower from your garden, a note of appreciation, or an e-mail photo.) Visit helpothers.org to see how thousands around the world are practicing generosity in millions of small ways.
36. Visit A Million Ideas for Peace for the latest ideas for active peace. Check out Chris's idea for active peace: Transform your to do list.
35. Watch the Story of Stuff with your family. Brainstorm additional ways you and your friends and families can contribute to a sustainable world.
34. Consider helping a Rwandan orphan attend college or helping Braden with his school.
33. If you have resources, contribute, volunteer, or invest in education. Help a child. Check out this UNICEF video , visit the Global Fund for Women, or look locally for organizations that support programs in your local schools.
32. If you -- like me -- are a hoarder of Internet bookmarks, take two minutes now and glance through the list. Is there an uplifting article you meant to read? An inspiring web site you meant to revisit? I just went through mine and found I'd bookmarked this TED talk from the founder of Acumen but never listened to it. So I did. It changed my outlook for the whole day.
31. Play the "How is This Moment Connected to World Peace?" game. Actually, I just made that up. But after a recent hip hop competition gave me new insights into peace, I am a firm believer that this is a game that can be played anywhere, even in subway stations and on freeways: Just ask yourself the question whenever it occurs to you and see what happens.
30. Subscribe to Camfed's audio and video blog (that's the wonderful Campaign for Female Education, whom we wrote about here) and listen to the awesome stories of girls whose lives -- and the lives of their friends and families! -- have been utterly changed by this opportunity for education. Then, give of yourself to a young woman or girl in your life who could use a boost. You could tutor, or praise her schoolwork as a job well done, attend a school event with her, or brainstorm with her about future career goals. Or, volunteer for organizations like Girls Write Now, professional writers who mentor high school students.
29. Create your own contribution to citizen media: send us your ideas to include in the 1,001 Ways.
28. Connect with others who are active in exploring possibilities for peace in the world.
27. Learn about someone somewhere else in the world. Hometown Baghdad, OnBeing, LinkTV, or even travel books by people who have travelled through other countries are good sources for "meeting" your fellow global citizens.
26. Bring peace into your own life one conversation at a time. Check out Marshall Rosenberg's Non-Violent Communications organization, view their concepts, and check in on your own feelings and needs inventory. Read his book.
25. Stop once a day, and imagine--world peace, a calmer work environment, a cleaner desk, kinder words between you and someone else. It's the imagining that's the first step.
24. Consider some alternative, conscious ways of giving for the holidays--gifts that go beyond the giver and receiver.
23. Subscribe to the Daily Good and watch your mood shift to gratitude. What possibilities lie in the mood of gratitude for you?
22. E-mail a friend who'd like a little inspiration the Happiness Project blog, or the HumanKind Media blog.
21. Host a dinner, bunko night, scrabble night, lunch, or bicycle ride and use it as a fundraiser for a cause you care about.
20. Order your Smile cards here and use random acts of kindness to pay it forward.
19. Give yourself a 5% media treat--5% more that gives, and 5% less that takes away, and spend a little time browsing the world of good. What are the possibilities?
18. Hug someone. Or better yet, ask someone for a hug. Free hugs, here.
17. Help a woman--in your house, on your street, in your neighborhood, in your community, in the world, somewhere. Check out Liz's blog about how helping a woman can help the world, and join us in HumanKind Challenge #2.
16. Audrey writes: While I am responsible for many things, it helps me to continually heal/take care of myself by remembering this quote, and therefore remember that it is not wise to take things entirely personally.
"Beneath the sense of ourselves as being separate and preoccupied so much of the time with concerns about our individual self and our own personal gains and losses, we might see that we are part of a flowing movement of wholeness that is larger than we are and to which we belong."
15. Read our Invitation or Liz's Want to Heal the World... if you're new to our blog.
14. Make a wish, say a prayer, send love--however you like, to all the people you know who are suffering from an illness or a loss at least once a day.
13. Subscribe to HumanKind Media, so we can write to you often.
12. Find some quotes you like that support your intention to participate in the not-so-impossible task of healing the world and post them where you can see them.
11. Repair something that is broken: replace a shoelace, get your neighborhood together to spruce up a fence or sidewalk, call a friend that you're feeling prickly with, apologize for something. Repair and rejuvenate.
10. Ask a group of friends to join you in the HumanKind Challenge #1 or HumanKind Challenge #2 or a cause that especially touches that longing in your heart to do something.
9. Send us your ideas for content, challenges, or contributors.
8. Do one thing to beautify your corner of the world today.
7. Perform a small kindness in the next hour. There's something really wonderful that happens to people when they do a small kindness. You know what we're talking about. More kindness = more awareness = more possibilities.
6. Send a quick e-mail to five people telling them about a) mosquito nets and inviting them to purchase a bednet to end the poverty trap, here; b) micro-financing; c) our site, or one of the sites we link to or d) how much you love them, or e) all of the above. More love = more possibilities!
5. If you're in a position to ask a group to raise money for a cause, ask them to contribute to the HumanKind Challenge together for a month or two.
4. If you're in a position to have a little mad money, contribute 10 percent of it this month to one of the fine causes mentioned on our site or linked to it, or better yet, participate in our first-ever HumanKind Challenge. No mad money? Ack! Then you get to invite a friend to take you out for a coffee.
3. If you like the idea of a media outlet devoted to healing the world, forward the HumanKind link to every friend, relative, and colleague in your address book. Bonus points for recipients outside the U.S., those in non-profit organizations, and members of benevolent e-mail groups. More people = more awareness = more possibilities!
2. Set an intention to find your own unique way to contribute to making the impossible possible.
1. Start noticing what problems in the world you personally define as "impossible" to solve. Are they really?
Stumble It!
Let's launch global public television! Living Earth TV wants to create an international, noncommercial channel to show programs made by and about local communities all over the world. Please visit our website at www.LETV.org - and contact me if you would like to be involved!
[email protected]
Posted by: Martha Foster | May 15, 2008 at 09:28 AM
I've had this idea since the 2000 U.S. census. It might not heal the world, but I think it could help what ails the United States.
The census is all about statistics that the government uses to quantify and categorize the population. They use this information to their advantage by pigeon-holing entire demographics. I found a weak link in their questionnaire. Under the category of race there was a box that one could check that indicated "other". The person then could print what they wanted. I chose to check the "other" box and then wrote down the word Human. They could no longer categorize me as white, black, Hispanic, Asian, etc. We
are after all only one race. Regardless of our pigmentation. The one thing we all have in common that we can rally around is our race. Human.
If a campaign could be started to persuade all individuals that fill out the next U.S. census for 2010, maybe we can make a slight dent in the governmental control over our lives. The Human Race Project should be launched. I am but one individual, but maybe through this organization and web site a movement can be started.
Posted by: Mark R. McCarter | March 13, 2008 at 07:05 PM
As a new parent with, um, tons of time to read, I picked up a copy of "Everyday Blessings" and wanted to share this quote and idea:
"Beneath the sense of ourselves as being separate and preoccupied so much of the time with concerns about our individual self and our own personal gains and losses, we might see that we are part of a flowing movement of wholeness that is larger than we are and to which we belong."
While I am responsible for many things, it helps me to continually heal/take care of myself by remembering this quote, and therefore remember that it is not wise to take things entirely personally.
Posted by: Audrey Kallander | September 17, 2007 at 09:29 AM