Another newsletter?
Deep breath, everyone. The holiday season is nearly over. Your inboxes will get a rest soon. (Or this is what I'm hoping, at least. I think I've got more 'special online shopping discounts' in the past week than I have during all of the past year. ;)
Anyway. Onwards. Community news.
First, a bit of history. Remember thinkArete? Sure you do. Brian posted the
thinkArete manifesto ("What would you do if you weren't afraid?") on his blog back in 2005, and that energy and vision is still at the very heart of the site.
Well, guess what?
thinkArete is back.
Brian's spent the past few months recording his 'Big Ideas' podcast—imagine over 500 inspiring and practical little lessons from teachers ranging from Lao Tzu to Wayne Dyer to Emerson to Dan Millman—and now you can sign up to have each one delivered straight to you. They're free, you pick the schedule, and I can't really think of a better jolt of inspiration than Bri's voice.
Go listen! And
sign up! You can thank me later. :)
What else is going on around the community? Well,
Colin's one of those who's living the answer to that thinkArete question. His wife made an
incredible video about his experiences as a trans youth, and posted it
here. It's powerful and moving and a picture into a world most of us never experience.
And there's a long conversation here about our values and community guidelines—which provide another little reminder about what it means to live according to your most authentic self. :)
Wendy and Laurel both have important messages to share: Wendy's written about
the flood victims in Washington, putting out a call for awareness and support about the devastation there, and
Laurel's story about her classmate (who is running for parliament in rural Kenya) is fantastic. (I know we've got enough to think about when it comes to politics in our own countries, but these stories of grassroots efforts in other nations are a beautiful reminder of how it really is possible to make a difference.)
This note started out with a bit of history, so it ought end with a peek at the future. If you've been keeping up with the
Team blog, you probably know that we've got a site redesign coming up in early 2008 (including a more intuitive navigation, the launch of a new, personalized home page, and our transition into the Gaia Community). And, we'll have a few mockups from our
excellent new designer to show you soon. We'll be posting them on the
Gaia Community pod over the next few days, so make sure you join and contribute your voice to the vision for next year.
See you there... and 'til then, happy merry everything!
Siona and the
Zaadz Team 
