UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?

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An anthropologist proposed a game to the kids in an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told the kids that who ever got there first won the sweet fruits. When he told them to run they all took each others hands and ran together, then sat together enjoying their treats. When he asked them why they had run like that as one could have had all the fruits for himself they said:
”UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?”

‘UBUNTU’ in the Xhosa culture means: “I am because we are”

Filed Under: Love People Tagged With: culture, love, love at work, Love in action, sharing, teamwork, Ubuntu

Love Works

Love

It's not a word that currently sits easily in the vocabulary or ethos of the typical working environment. In fact, it jars the sensibilities of many when used in association with the workplace.

But it's becoming more and more obvious that Love is a key ingredient (if not THE key ingredient) to successful, sustainable organisations of all kinds.

Caring, compassion and a greater regard for the whole environment, with evidence that companies are taking a genuinely responsible position and are actively seeking to be better places and be a contribution to the world, rather than a drain on limited resources.

I have done two years of research into the meaning of love in organisations, finding out about love at work, and love working, with leaders, workers and other stakeholders in many different environments from prisons to universities, global corporations to local charities – research which has revealed that whether the word 'Love' is acceptable terminology or not – it is undeniably present in successful workplaces with happy employees and supporters. In fact, it is present in every aspect of our lives, and it is the fuel that can fire the transformation to a world where there is balance, happiness and fulfillment.

"Without love, there is no life."

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Filed Under: Articles, Who Cares Wins Tagged With: christine miller, love, love at work, loving kindness, transformation

Lovebirds

Violet Masked Lovebird

(Agapornis) Their name stems from the parrots' strong, monogamous pair bonding and the long periods which paired birds will spend sitting together.

I was thinking of an emblem or motif for the 'LoveWorks' project and book, and Lovebirds sprang to mind as a little messenger I could have decorating the pages and drawing attention to particular points.

Here's the first I've created.

And another in sketch form

Filed Under: Articles, Coaching Tagged With: christine miller, love, love at work, loveworks, servant leadership, transformation

Featured People

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An Audience with HH the Dalai Lama

His Holiness The Dalai Lama –
The Embodiment of Compassion

Listening to the Dalai Lama sharing His experiences and thoughts, one of the aspects which most impressed me was the amount of laughter – both from himself and from His audience. There is warm heartedness, humility and a lightness of spirit which is very apparent in His way of speaking, and His words are aimed directly at the hearts of His listeners. His message of compassion and loving kindness is based on common sense and practical living, and he is clear in asserting His belief that:

“The purpose of life is for happiness, to survive happily”

One of His central teachings about the development of compassion is based on the importance of childhood influences, particularly the effects of parenting. He reflects on His own childhood, and says he believes that mothers are the starting point of loving kindness. He describes His own mother’s simplicity, an uneducated village woman from a farming background, and immensely warm hearted. Contrasting her love and gentleness with the more disciplinarian approach of His father, he concludes that had he spent more time in His early years with His father he would probably not have been the same person.

“I believe that my altruistic mind and my compassion – the very seeds of that mind I got from my birth and the next few months and years with my mother – that was the real starting point to raise my model of loving kindness.”

He goes on to say to parents:

“What I say is this – give maximum affection to your children. That is very essential to bring us a happier humanity. The main hope for humanity relies on our future generations. So families with children have a special role – to give maximum affection to your children.
And parents – particularly mothers – spend more time with your children

Filed Under: Love People Tagged With: affection, altruism, christine miller, compassion, Dalai Lama, happiness, heart, love, loving kindness, mother, parents

Inviting Love

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The Three Old Men

A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard.

She did not recognize them. She said “I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry.
Please come in and have something to eat.”

“Is the man of the house home?” they asked.
“No”, she replied. “He’s out.”

“Then we cannot come in”, they replied.

The Husband Returns

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. “Go tell them I am home and invite them in!”
The woman went out and invited the men in. “We do not go into a House together,” they replied.
“Why is that?” she asked.

One of the old men explained: “His name is Wealth,” he said pointing to one of his friends,
and said pointing to another one, “He is Success, and I am Love.”
Then he added, “Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.”

Wealth Success and Love

The woman went in and told her husband what was said.
Her husband was overjoyed. “How nice!!” he said. “Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!”
His wife disagreed. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?”
Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house.
She jumped in with her own suggestion: “Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!”

Choosing the Guest

“Let us heed our daughter-in-law’s advice,” said the husband to his wife. “Go out and invite Love to be our guest.”
The woman went out and asked the three old men, “Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.”
Love got up and started walking toward the house.
The other two also got up and followed him.

Which Comes First

Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?”

The old men replied together: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him.”

“Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success”

Filed Under: Love Stories Tagged With: christine miller, love, love at work, loveworks, loving kindness, success, wealth