Music for Kindness

Hello beautiful people!!! 

So ive been thunking a lot about music that inspires kindness. Songs that look beyond just the repeditive lyrics of some degrading songs, or past songs about pain & suffering (dont get me wrong i do enjoy lots of songs in this category - particularly ones by Adelle &Taylor Swift - I mean "Hello"!), But What I am most thinking about are songs that inspire us to be better people. When I was about 17 I was introduced, by a friend, to the CD Spirit by Jewel. If you already know it, it is challenging and inspiring. I love her songs "Hands" and, the one that resonates most with me, "Life Uncommon". 

"Lend you voices only to sounds of freedom. No longer lend you strength to that which you wish to be free from. Live a life of love and bravery and you shall lead a life uncommon." - Life Uncommon by Jewel.

I have worked hard to lead a life of love and bravery. And I have failed as often as I have succeeded. But that is okay. I am not afraid to fail here. I have learned so much through my failings. Kindness often requires a bravery that I am not sure I have until after the fact. Bravery is feeling the fear and doing it anyway. 

The song 'Life Uncommon' has often been the song I would listen too when I was needing to reinspire myself to keep going. When I needed freedom from my fears or freedom from whatever I was struggling with at the time, this was the song I clung to. 

Today I was serching the YouTubes. I know its not actually called that, but I can't think of the right word. Anyway, i digress. I came across a Song and a video that was simply so beautiful that I had to share. 

For those of you who do not know, every year Life Vest Inside host the "Dance For Kindness" and the song below just happens to be one that is on a soundtrack for that event. I follow these awesome kindness advocated on Facebook and definitely on YouTube. I have even shared their videos before. "The Kindness Boomerang" video is a must see!  I just thought I would share the one i only saw today. It moved me. The lyrics are beautiful and the sound is amazing too. But the video is a tear jerker. Or maybe it just is to me! hehehe.  

What i would like to know from you is: 

What songs inspire you to live a compassionate life? A life of kindness? 

What songs or music do you put on to give you courage to face the day? Or energy to keep going? 

I would love to know, I have a little kindness playlist of songs. So if you have any songs you love, and think i might like, please let me know. ANd dont worry about genre, although it appears i only love female artists with ballads, i have a super eclectic mix of music in my collections. SO no matter who it is played by or sung by, not matter what style, please let me know and i will check it out! :)

Sending love and kindness to you all,
Love Daena xx

Sharing my first video for kindness...

hello my lovelies,

So I am keeping as busy as ever!

If you read my last post you know that in February mum and I moved house. So I have been a little chaotic. They say the inside of your house reflects your mental state. So chaotic is a very good description at the moment! hehehe.

When Mum and I moved house into my sister & brother-in-laws house, we basically had 3 houses worth of posessions. I have put aside a bunch of stuff for when i eventally leave the nest. Mum had her little house full of stuff. And also, my sister also had an already full house. So things have been a bit squished.

Recently we have been working to reduce down the large number of "things" in our large combined house. I mean we dont need 3 sets of dining chairs & tables for instance. Mum and I lived in a small house before moving into my sisters, and the move has given us both more and less space. For me there is SOOOOOOOO much more space in the bedroom!!!! And yet we have a lot less in the communal areas.  All 6 of us share the communal areas, which is great for a big family, it means we are always around and communicating with each other! However, when you have at least 2 sets of couches and dining settings and fridges/freezers etc, it can be quite squishee. Hence the reason we have been working to get rid of a bunch of it, to make life easier for all of us.

So how do you turn something you NEED to do into a Kindness?

You give your "stuff" people who need it.

Some of  it is going to a womans shelter. They have very specific needs and wants and we have a trailor full of stuff waiting in the Carport to be taken down the hill to the organisers. The trailor just isnt quite full yet, so i dont want to send it until it is!

So one of the things i did this week (friday actually) was take a huge load of our "junk" to an op-shop. Or as many of you call them, Thrift stores. I love op-shopping! I am sure any one who has read the "Sustainable September" posts, will already know. It is so much fun! :)

Anyway, to share a little bit of what i did, i actually made a video. A VIDEO!!! i know... a bit exciting! So much technology. It has helped that I recently got a new phone so i actually have a decent camera now that goes on adventures with me.

So I hope you liked it.    

I appologise to those who are not native English Speakers. I do talk a bit fast! Sorry!

One of my favourite Kindnesses is Op-shopping. Not only is it recycling clothing and goods and helping the environement but it is also providing services to the community. Often the money that comes from the sales of second hand goods goes to a charity or donated to a good cause. It often gets poured back into the community. Not to mention it is a great place to get rid of your things that are good quality and that have life in them still. It is so much better than throwing them in the rubbish bin/trash.

The little Church run community Op-Shop that i went to has so much for sale at really good prices. They had so many books, hats, crockery, washing baskets, storage tubs, knitting supplies, couches, bookshelves, doggy coats & beds, blankets, plants, clothes (i went back and bought 3 brand named t-shirts for my brother in law and it cost me $6 or $2 each!!!!), plus they have wedding dresses, formal gear, leather jackets, shoes & slippers, bedding... and well a bunch more stuff I mention in the video. and it is so affordable.

I hope you like the video! I wanted to do a "welcome to Daena video-blogging" video... but I havent gotten that far yet, and i couldnt wait to see what you think of this one. It is often hard to capture kindness without it seeming super contrived or intrusive. So i thought an "after-kindness action report" was the best plan!

I hope you like it. If you want to know anything more, or can think of a kindness you would like to see in action, let me know! :)

Love and hugs to you all,
Love Daena