A Meaningful Bold Life: From Me to We

by Tess on March 5, 2009


Cambodian child
Creative Commons License photo credit: venetia joubert sarah oosterveld

I’m reading an incredible book, “Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World.” The authors are Marc and Craig Kielburger. They are two young men, one founded Free The Children  and together they founded Leaders Today.

Marc and Craig describe their philosophy  Me to We as “A way of living that feeds the positive in the world–one action, one act of faith, one small step at a time. Me to We has the potential to revolutionize kindness, redefine happiness and success, and rekindle community bonds powerful enough to change your ife and the lives of everyone around you.”

Don’t you love that?

In the introduction Marc and Craig state how they have spend time in more than 40 contries meeting with people from all walks of life. They have met spiritual, political and social leaders including the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and Pope John ll.

The book answers 4 questions the authors asked themselves:

Why are so many people dissatisfied and seeking a different approach to life?

What lessons have we learned about the shift from Me to We?

How do people stand to benefit from adopting this way of life?

How can people start living Me to We right now?

Included in the book are true stories to inspire, studies and statistics to persuade and tried and true advice for getting started on your own journey. Some of the contributors are Richard Gere, Dr. Jane Goodall, Kim Phuc, Her Majesty Queen Noor, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Oprah Winfrey.

Over the last few months I’ve been thinking about doing some serious volunteer work. And about a week ago I saw on a televison program that we now have tent cities in the United States. As people lose their jobs and homes they have no place to go. The homeless shelters are all full. Sacramento CA is thinking about leagalizing tent cities because of the need.

This sealed the deal. I am currently searching out volunteer work. I haven’t volunteered since spending a week in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. It was an experience of a life time.

The book will take you out of yourself and put you in touch with just how much we really do have in the United States. Yes even in these difficult times. All profits from the sales of this book go to Free The Children.

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    { 8 comments… read them below or add one }

    Jannie Funster March 6, 2009 at 5:26 pm

    Good for you looking into volunteering, Tess. There are so many ways we can get involved.

    I WILL be reading that book.

    Speaking of which, I was overjoyed to receive your book in my mailbox today!

    I will send you one of my CDs when it’s ready.
    xo

    Jannie Funster’s last blog post..Seriously Weird!

    Reply

    Tess March 6, 2009 at 5:38 pm

    Jannie,
    Do enjoy the book, you winner! I got the Me to We book at the library. (Remember all of my ways I was cutting back!) So no knew books for me!

    I can’t wait to hear the new CD and would gladly pay you for it. Because I didn’t win any contest!

    Reply

    Lance March 6, 2009 at 10:13 pm

    Hi Tess,

    I think this is wonderful. And I do, because it shows deep care – your desire to volunteer. What a wonderful gift that is to give – your time to another – freely.

    “Me to We” – getting to ‘we’, to where WE all live in harmony…not just looking out for ourselves, really caring about all those around us. That is a great place to work toward. Thank you, Tess, for sharing about this book, and what it has meant to you.

    Lance’s last blog post..Be Yourself, Share Freely

    Reply

    Matthew Dryden March 8, 2009 at 5:17 pm

    Wow. I am floored by the idea of tent cities. I don’t even know how to approach the subject.

    Matthew Dryden’s last blog post..Preparing for the Night

    Reply

    Tess March 9, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    Matthew,
    I was floored as well. I approached the topic by blogging about it.
    Thanks for stopping by.

    Reply

    Barbara Swafford March 10, 2009 at 12:39 am

    Hi Tess – Kudos to you for volunteering. It would be wonderful if you share your experiences on your blog.

    I love the me to we concept. The subtitle of the book makes me wonder if with the economy the way it is, if more people will realize material things really don’t hold much weight after all.

    Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..Where Or Where Do The Bloggers Go

    Reply

    Tess March 10, 2009 at 8:16 am

    Lance,
    When I get excited I love to share!

    Barbara,
    I will share my experiences Barbara! The book was published in 2006 so these young men were ahead of the game.

    Reply

    Cath Lawson March 15, 2009 at 5:53 pm

    Hi Tess – Thank you so much for sharing this book. I will be ordering it very soon.

    Many of us are fed up with the uneven distribution of wealth in the world. And it’s difficult to watch one part of the world waste so much on materialistic crap, while the rest are starving to death.

    Trouble is, it’s difficult for those who really want to help, to even know where to start.

    Over here in the UK, we have events like Comic Relief – they are good in that they raise awareness of the problems that folk in third world countries – and also some people in the UK are facing. And they also raise money.

    But they don’t explain properly how people got into these difficulties to begin with and what can really be done to help them to help themselves. Many other events like Blog Action Poverty day are similar. Most participants mean well but their understanding is far too limited to empower other people to make a difference. And that’s a shame because many people really want to see a huge change in the world.

    It sounds like this book will help a lot. Thank you.

    Reply

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