One Ripple: A Celebration for Peace Day 2017

The One Ripple Movement to SPREAD GOOD Celebrates International Day of Peace with 7 Inspiring, Real-Life Stories about Peace and Kindness from our core-team.

It was a week or so before Christmas of 2012. I had been off work for 5 months and was just declined coverage from my disability insurance. My diagnosis with a rare condition called Mastocytosis was one my insurance company hadn\’t heard of. I was in the impossible position of having to prove my case, and worse, had to do so without an income.

I had no idea how I was going to feed my children let alone have any form of Christmas for them. That evening, I had a visit from a special work friend claiming she wanted to check in on me before the holiday. To my absolute awe, she showed up with boxes of food, gift cards and everything I would need to give my family a lovely Christmas meal. There was even enough for a few gifts!

My work friends all got together and created this amazing gift for me. I never dreamed that I would be on the receiving end of such generosity and love. I was, and still am, humbled and eternally grateful.

It forever changed me.

— Jenny Tasker, WU Twitter Manager, The Lounge Manager, and Community Support

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Several years ago, I was referred to a new Neurologist. He was so upset at the way that I had been treated from some of the other doctors in my area, that he paid out of his own pocket for some tests that I needed to have done. At that time, my husband and I were running our own business and didn\’t have health insurance. Dr. Landrio was so amazing and generous with his time and patience with me. I was truly overwhelmed by his compassion and generous spirit, and will never forget his life-changing act of kindness.

— Kim Bayne, WU Social Media and Marketing Manager, and Community Support

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I have been blessed to have many angels cross my path. Although I am known to preach empowerment and assure you that self-belief is the key to happiness and wholeness, and you can do anything on your own, nothing beats the feeling of being supported. Even people who seem to have an amazing life need a hug. I have to honor my best friend here. No matter what is going on in her life she always shows up for me.

The one act of kindness that stands out was when she stayed up all night with me to help me complete an order of about 90 shirts that needed to be hand custom painted and embellished that needed to be in NY that morning. I was in full panic mode. This was the largest one-shot order I ever got! The blank shirts arrived late which got my order started late and I had slept about 4 hours in 4 days. I was bordering on delirium, the event planner who placed the order was freaking out on me and I was about to crack. With her young daughter sleeping on the couch, Jeanne helped me finish airbrushing, heat-setting and applying Swarovski crystals to the shirts. She was truly selfless and helped rescue me. Covered in glitter, she drove into NYC with me and helped me stuff the goody bags for the party.

I love you, Jeanne! The literal \’hand\’ you lent me that night was life-saving.

— Anna Pereira, Founder of The Wellness Universe

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My life has been truly blessed with so many loving, kind, caring and compassionate people, who have helped me, stood by me, believed in me and given me so much. The one story I\’d like to share is from January 2015. I\’d already lost my job the year before and was struggling to find myself again, or what became the new me after my boyfriend of three years left me.

I was devastated when I came home to find him having packed up his belongings and already moved out. He explained to me why he was leaving. I lost it. Every anger, sadness, hurt, betrayal and pain I\’d endured came flooding out. He left, and I was totally lost with NO idea what to do.

My first thought was to call my sister. She had just arrived home from a long day, but was ready to come and get me so I wasn\’t alone. Now, this small offer, this small act of kindness, this sheer act of love helped like nothing else could have. My sister\’s complete and total devotion to me as a friend and as a sister was one of the best things to happen to me. She reminded me how much love I still have in my life. Without actually saying a word, she reminded me that love exists everywhere, that I matter, that I am worthy of love and that I am Love. This brought me comfort and peace during the days, weeks and months to follow.

More family, friends, and others helped me during this difficult time in my life, too. I went through another massive healing, awakening, transforming and empowering situation in my life. I healed a lot in the following months. It took one person to leave me, and my sister to remind me how loved I actually am. What a beautiful act of kindness from her heart to mine.

— Heather Corinne Lang, WU Community Support Manager

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When you come from a background like mine, peace isn’t a word that is familiar, and acts of kindness are non-existent. My life has actually been the very opposite of peaceful because I chose to live according to flawed rules for more years than I care to admit. In the school of hard knocks, we were taught that when someone does something nice for you, it’s because they have expectations attached. Now that I’m older and clear-headed, I can clearly see how untrue that statement is. I strongly believe in my heart that this misconception is why there are so much divide and lack of peace in the world. We mustn’t assume that people are kind because they expect something in return. On the flip side, we also shouldn’t hesitate to be kind to others and always give freely from our hearts. As I travel along my recovery journey, I’m learning more and more about what it means to create peace within in order to reflect peace outward. “As within, so without.” Pass the Pebble today and have it returned to you tenfold, because that is exactly my experience.

— Ashley Brewer, WU Executive Assistant, Blog Manager, and Community Support

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It’s not an easy thing to talk about abuse, but hell, it exists and it has happened to so many. I share with you because out of all the moments in my life that stand out to me, it was the day I had to testify in court to put my abuser in jail. I was 7 years old and terrified. I spent the day with two paralegals in their office. They were there to do their ‘job’, but what they did that day for me changed my life. They sat with me and played Barbie’s. They made me laugh and feel safe while I waited to be called up to the stand. They didn’t have to. Their job description wasn’t to take care of me. But that day they extended a human kindness and love to me that I will never forget. It reminds me that you and I don\’t have to find the cure for some disease or end poverty in the world to make a change in it. Just being a loving human being is enough. Special thank you to the women who will never know the light they provided for me that day on such a dark day.

— Shari Alyse, Co-Founder of The Wellness Universe

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The year was 2012. My son was to begin his studies at a vocational school for young adults on the autism spectrum. My husband drove us from the East Coast to the West Coast and unceremoniously dumped us in California to fend for ourselves. With barely enough money to pay the rent food quickly became a luxury. After a few days, the instructors and school officials noticed my son showing up for classes without lunch. What they did blew me away. They all took turns taking him out for lunch (they still do on occasion). And for Thanksgiving that year they brought us enough food to last us six months! They packed our freezer with perishables and the cupboards with non-perishables. Even though we\’re not out of those murky waters just yet, we try to pass it forward as much and as often as we can.

— L.E. Saba, WU Blog Editor, and Assistant

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Today, people all over the world are celebrating and honoring International Day of Peace, and we have come together to create a movement to spread good – One Ripple. It is the official launch day, and a chance to give back to humanity and to our planet. Will you join us today in spreading this ripple by doing at least ONE act of kindness and/or love today for somebody else? We are sharing this all over social media to create a ripple of good throughout the world and online.

3 Simple Steps:

1. Promise

Create an act of good in the world today.

2. Play

Swap your social media profile pic for the image posted below.

3. Pass the Pebble

Share! Copy and paste the comment status below with the image and tag everyone you know. We hope that you will join us RIGHT NOW and create one, huge, feel-good ripple to spread to all parts of the globe!

Act Now. Be Love. Spread Love.

The world needs YOU!

– The Wellness Universe Team

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♥ For Participants ♥

PROFILE PIC for Step 2:

(TEXT to COPY and PASTE for STEP 3)

I #PassThePebble to you! It’s super easy to talk about wanting a better world, but lets, you and I, create it together. I hope you will join me as we create One Ripple of good across the world for #PeaceDay.

THREE SIMPLE STEPS to CREATE ONE RIPPLE:

1. Promise (Promise to commit to an act of kindness, love, compassion, and peace towards somebody else.)
2. Play (Swap your social media profile pic for 24 hours on 9/21 sharing that you helped create One Ripple. Profile pic provided for you!)
3. Pass the Pebble (Copy and paste this image and status update on your wall and then tag someone(s) to join you and help you spread the good!)

That’s it! Remember, every choice creates a ripple. Here’s a bit more info on One Ripple and a list of 100 ideas to get you started on your acts of good.

Happy Peace Day 2017!