...why I am happy!

A few weeks ago there was this huge blackout in Brazil, caused by a technical problem in Itaipu dam, the second-largest hydroelectric power producer in the world ( Yahoo news here ). It was very weird and a bit scary to realize how dependent we are on eletricity. For hours there was no TV, no radio, no computer. Some cellphones weren't working and despite my notebook being ok, it seemed useless without internet. I was at home when it happened and I prayed for those people who were out of their homes at that time. I imagine how many of them were in the subway, in the elevator, at the office, alone on the street. I remembered people in hospital and all kinds of situation in which people are highly dependant on electricity. I took that time to think and I realized we should be always ready to live with little, even though the media keeps saying we need more and more, in this endless consumption world. I remember the day after the blackout some people would complain about missing a...

Interested in Indian recipes? Curious about the success of twitter? Studying for GMAT test? Need a business presentation template? It doesn't matter what you need, make sure you check Scribd website first. It's absolutly fantastic! First, because there are lots of good materials for free! It's simple to create an account and you can start downloading right away. Second, it gives everyone a chance to share their content and make it available to the world. Scribd is definitely an example of what publishers should be already thinking about. Let's share!!! :)

Today is Earth Day, and among my emails and tweets I found this really cool post, written in the website " Matador Change ", which name I found kinda interesting and weird at the same time, but that nicely gives us 6 ways to celebrate Earth Day . Enjoy!

Wow! A touching video that shows us how we can get wrong by judging.

It doesn't matter where you are right now, the main topic of the moment is the world's economic crisis. A few days ago, while attending a seminar about innovation, the presenter made his point showing the crisis from another perspective, where people see it as an opportunity, a good time to innovate, to create, to change, to grow. Even though the word "crisis" is usually not associated to good stuff, if we think twice about it we can find a lot of positivity in there. Just like these... "In the best of times, our days are numbered anyway. So it would be a crime against nature for any generation to take the world crisis so solemnly, that it put off enjoying those things for which we were designed in the 1st place: the opportunity to do good work, to enjoy friends, to fall in love, to hit a ball, and to bounce a baby." Alistair Cooke, American, journalist and commentator. The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis'. One brush stroke...

This is just a short post to invite you to turn off your lights tomorrow (March, 28th), at 20h30, local time, no matter where you are, in order to support the WWF cause, the "Earth Hour"! For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. (Source : Earth Hour website ). By the way, what will you do in the dark hour? Take a nap? Enjoy a candlelight dinner? Let your imagination fly! :D

Well, we all know that violence is out there, in different countries, cities, neighborhoods. We also know that sometimes the violence goes inside people's home, as we read in daily newspapers. Today the city I live (Rio de Janeiro) got the world's attention, after a shoot-out between Brazilian police and gang members in famous Copacabana ( Read news ). I believe when we face such situations our first reaction is to feel discouraged and hopeless about the humanity, as we see the world getting worse in so many aspects. But I also realized it is exactly the moment when our faith should get stronger, so we can turn things out positively. As long as we trust in people, as long as we hope, as long as we fight for the good, we shall win. As said by Mahatma Gandhi ( wikipedia ): "You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." Source: Wisdom Quotes Todos nós sabemos que a violência está aí for...

Today is a day to hope. Kenya police destroys more than 4000 arms, apprehended since 2007, that had been used by criminals in the country. You might think that's nothing comparing to all bad news we read everyday. But I believe we should celebrate the good news, no matter how relevant they are, so we keep our hearts warm and full of hope. I haven't found much more in the web, but these two pictures from Associated Press caught my attention. They were posted in G1, a brazilian news website. Check them out! Hoje é um dia para ter esperança. Polícia do Quênia destrói mais de 4000 armas, apreendidas desde 2007, que vinham sendo utilizadas por criminosos no país. Talvez você pense que isso não é nada diante das notícias ruins que lemos todos os dias. Mas eu penso que devemos celebrar toda notícia boa, não importa a sua relevância, para assim mantermos nossos corações aquecidos e cheios de esperança. Não encontrei muito mais sobre essa notícia, mas essas duas fotos da "Associate...

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) Aww, what an amazing love. Imagine all men in the world being able to love each other this way! Now take time to examine the love you nurture in your heart. If it is not that great yet, and we know how difficult can be to get there, encourage yourself to take it step by step. Start with forgiveness. Hope things will get better, if this is what you've been missing. Believe, dream, trust. Be patient still, but do your part to make things happen. And be happy!