Day 120 – April 30th – Inspirational Quotes (General part two)

Today I thought that it would be nice to share some more quotes with you. Sometimes, if you are feeling a bit down, hearing or reading something inspirational can really lift your spirits. Once again, I hope that at least one of the following quotes has some sort of personal meaning to you:

• ‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined‘ – Henry David Thoreau
• ‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams‘ – Eleanor Roosevelt
• ‘The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence and educational advantages; the question is what he will do with the things he has. The moment a young man ceases to dream or to bemoan his lack of opportunities and resolutely looks his conditions in the face, and resolves to change them, he lays the corner-stone of a solid and honorable success‘ – Hamilton Wright Mabie
• ‘One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure‘ – William Feather
• ‘Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood‘ – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• ‘As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more‘ – Jules Renard
• ‘The great blessing of mankind are within us and within our reach; but we shut our eyes, and like people in the dark, we fall foul upon the very thing we search for, without finding it‘ – Seneca

Day 119 – April 29th – International Dance Day

Today, April 29th, is ‘International Dance Day‘, also known as ‘World Dance Day‘. It is an event promoted by the International Dance Council (CID), which is an umbrella organisation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The event was first introduced in 1982 and commemorates the birthday of famous French dancer Jean-Georges Noverre. The goals of the day are to raise awareness of the importance of dance, as well as to persuade governments globally to provide dance in educational systems, from primary to higher. They see that, as dance has been an integral part of human culture throughout the past, it should continue to play an important role nowadays. They therefore want more funds to go into supporting dance as a significant art form

Even if you don’t think of it that seriously, dance is an art form, and therefore should be encouraged, especially for younger people. It can be influential and inspirational and, at the very least, fun!

You can find out further general information about the day here.

Day 118 – April 28th – Push Your Head Towards the Air

‘Push Your Head Towards the Air‘ by Editors from their album ‘An End Has A Start‘ is an emotional and meaningful song about death. It isn’t morbid and dark, though, but has an uplifting essence to it, I feel.

I was unable to embed the official music video. To view it, click here.

Although quite poetic, the lyrics are very much ambiguous. The main message of the song, I believe, though, is that we should not be afraid of death as this dark and scary presence that looms over us our entire lives. Nor should we spend our whole lives grieving for those loved nes that we have lose. Even when the body is dead, their memory lives on inside of you, and they will “always be there“. Rather than focussing on death, we should look back at the good times that made us smile, and enjoy life while we still can.

It’s a beautiful and soothing song, telling you not to be afraid. It’s something rather special, and the track that got me interested in Editors originally, just over a year ago.

Day 117 – April 27th – Self-Appreciation

We live in a society where it is difficult to simply be yourself. People are judging you left, right and centre concerning your looks, hobbies, tastes and general personality. Expectations seem to run so high that nobody is happy to just be themselves, instead striving to be something more; something that they are not. People want to become what other people want them to be.

Peer pressure can be extremely hard to cope with at times. Bullying is a huge problem in this day and age, and people seem to get some sort of perverse kick out of making others feel bad about themselves; out of making others think that they are not good enough. This leads to individuals feeling isolated and, in the worst of cases, self-harming or even committing suicide to escape from the daily torment that their lives have become.

You are good enough, though. The only people whose opinions you hold in high regard are those who you care about. If a stranger on the street or at school hurls an insult at you, then it is best not to take it personally. That is easy enough to say, I know, but there is little more that you can do, except from ignore them. Take pride in the fact that you are not like them – that you do not feel the need to degrade others – and appreciate yourself for who you truly are.

People change so easily. People put on a face and act just to become accepted. The problem that arises from this is that then those other people do not like you for who you really are, but rather who you pretend to be. Once again, the only people who really matter are those who accept you for your true person.

The fact of the matter is that you are a beautiful person, and you speak and think and act the way that you feel is right to do so. Nobody can tell you that you are wrong, and nobody can take your personality away from you. It is what you have that makes you unique; that makes you special. Rather than feeling sad because other people do not understand you or want to hurt you, feel happy that you are who you are and that you do the things you do. Have faith in yourself. At the end of the day, you are worth that much, at the very least.

Day 116 – April 26th – Malaria No More

Yesterday, April 25th (sorry for being a day late!) was Malaria Awareness Day. The event was proclaimed by George W. Bush in 2007, and is a day when “we focus our attention on all who suffer from this terrible disease — especially the millions on the continent of Africa. We remember the millions more who died from this entirely preventable and treatable disease. As a compassionate nation, we are called to spread awareness about malaria — and we’re called to act. That’s what compassionate people do. When they see a problem, they act. And that’s what we’re here to talk about. On this special day, we renew our commitment to lead the world toward an urgent goal, and that is to turn the tide against malaria in Africa, and around the globe.” To find out the important information about malaria, click here.

An important charity regarding malaria is ‘Malaria No More‘. They are a nonprofit organisation who aim to end deaths by malaris in Africa completely by 2015. The charity was created from a simple insight: that ending malaria’s death grip on Africa is the best humanitarian investment we can make in the world today.

Malaris Awareness Day is an opportunity to get together many prominent companies, organisations and celebrties, who declare initiatives to join the fight against malaria. It is a partnership that allows more to get done, resulting in a more significant impact.

To find out more about ‘Malaria No More’, click here. To better understand their approach, click here.  For information as to how you can get involved with the charity, as well as further information and donation options, click here. lastly, to sign up to their mailing list, you can click here.

Day 115 – April 25th – When You Wish Upon A Star

‘When You Wish Upon A Star‘ is a small charity, whose main aim is to grant the wishes of children who suffer from life threatening illnesses. They believe that all children have wishes, but for the children that they help, the wish is even more precious, as it allows an escape from their normal lives of hospital appointments and medical treatment.

The charity wishes to provide ill children and their families a chance to do something amazing. They want to give once in a lifetime opportunities to people who really deserve them. Considering that there is a high chance that a lot of the children that they help perhaps will not live very long, it is the ultimate act of kindness, and is extremely worthwhile.

One event in particular that they do is to take families to Lapland each December. For so many children, it is a dream come true, and a chance for them to forget about their illnesses and the pain and suffering that they go through all too often. I think that this is an excelent example of the work of the charity, and a great reason to get involved!

To find out how you can help, click here. To learn about events to raise money for the charity, click here. To read about some of the wishes that have already come true, you can click here. For contact details of the charity, click here. lastly, to access the JustGiving ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’ charity page, click here.

Day 114 – April 24th – Electrolite

‘Electrolite‘ by R.E.M. from their album ‘New Adventures in Hi-Fi‘ is an ode to the 20th century and the people who made it great. It is a farewell song to the era, as well a ballad to Los Angeles, which they saw as ‘the city that came into its own throughout the 20th century‘. The song looks at how the world is changing, through society, along with ‘modernism’ and ‘futurism’. They saw the last century as a symbol of how all that came before is being replaced by by ‘something better, more civilised, more tolerant, fair, open, and so on…‘

I love how simple and pleasant the song is, yet how obscure and deep the lyrics are at the same time. It is an absolute masterpiece, both lyrically and melodically, and is one of my favourite R.E.M. songs because of it.  The video is, admittedly, slightly obscure, though.

Day 113 – April 23rd – World Book Day

World Book Day is an annual event held on April 23rd, designed to promote reading and publishing. It is organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizarion (UNESCO) and the day was first celebrated in 1995. In the UK, World Book Day is celebrated on the first Thursday of March – this year being March 4th – to avoid clashes with Easter holidays,  but the official, international event is celebrated today.

What we view as World Book Day here in the UK is ‘a partnership of publishers, booksellers and interested parties who work together to promote books and reading for the personal enrichment and enjoyment of all’, the main aim being ‘to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own’. Children are given £1 book tokens and a selection of £1 books are published to coincide with the event. To find out more, click here.

For the international event, the focus is much more on literature as a whole, paying tribute to book and authors and encouraging everybody to discover the pleasure of reading. There is also large celebration of the great writers, whose contributions have ‘furthened the social and cultural progress of humanity’. For information on the 2010 initiatives, click here.

Day 112 – April 22nd – Earth Day

Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day. The day is an event designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment, and was founded by U.S. Senator G. Nelson in 1970. The ‘Earth Day Network‘  have adopted the event, being set up on ‘the premise that all people, regardless of race, gender, income, or geography, have a moral right to a healthy, sustainable environment’. These are some core issues that they wish to address:

• Advocacy
• Climate Change
• Conservation and Biodiversity
• Education
• Energy
• Food and Agriculture
• Green Economy
• Green Schools
• Recycyling and Waste Reduction
• Sustainable Development
• Water

To find out more about the Earth Day Network, click here. For information on the Earth Day 2010 campaign, click here. For an overview of the various events taking place this year, click here. If you would like to make a donation to the EDN, click here. Lastly, for contact details of the EDN, click here.

Day 111 – April 21st – Inspirational Quotes (General part one)

There are so many amazing quotes that have been recorded throughout history; things that people have said that either have a lot of meaning or have had a large impact on people and their lives. Just as a bit of positivity today, I would like to share with you some great, inspirational quotes:

• ‘Try not to become a man of success but a man of value’ – Albert Einstein
• ‘Inspiration and genius–one and the same‘ – Victor Hugo
• ‘The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be’ – Horace Bushnell
• ‘Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true’ – Leon J. Suenes
• ‘First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do‘ – Epictetus
• ‘If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes‘ – St. Clement of Alexandra
• ‘The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible‘ – Arthur C. Clarke
• ‘Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall’ – Confucius
• ‘We are still masters of our fate. We are still captains of our souls‘ – Winston Churchill

I hope that there is at least one quote here that has some sort of personal meaning to you, and has helped to enlighten you in these dark times. More quotes will likely follow in future posts, so keep a look out!