Human Rights Day "My Voice Counts", December 10

Established by a United Nations resolution in 1950 encouraging member states to set aside December 10th as Human Rights Day.  This date was chosen to commemorate the day when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948.  This doctrine is one of the core fundamentals of the United Nations and it's goal for world peace.

This years theme is "My Voice Counts", the intent of which is to work on including all people in the conversation about their lives.  With the recent uprisings in may parts of the world people have been taking to the streets to show that they do count, those few who try and subjugate the many need to take warning that the people matter and their voices need to be heard.  We have even had progress in some of the bastions of totalitarian societies with the military rulers in Burma (also known as Myanmar) allowing more freedoms and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

There are still many hard roads left to travel as well as difficult situations to resolve.  The one the comes most quickly comes to mind is the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis.  Conflict has escalated recently (though I did a quick search and it looks like there is a cease fire at the moment) bringing to light we have a lot of work to do yet.  I certainly do not have the answers for something like this but we need people much smarter than I to do the work of solving these sort of issues. We also need to show our support in the peaceful resolution of these events.

Of course it is not just in other places we need to look for examples of the subjugation of Human Rights. I would bet that within just about every community there is some sort of Human Rights failures. Just being aware of what is going on around us can help to start to change things. In the United States there was a huge debate on if intentional voter suppression was occurring. When debates like this happen in the oldest democratic nation are occurring we need to question how to ensure "My Voice Counts" in all parts of the world.

I encourage everyone to stand up for the rights to have their voice heard. We need to take all our voices into account and make the world a better place for us all.

Happy Human Rights Day!

Links:https://www.facebook.com/unitednationshumanrights

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Pages/WelcomePage.aspx

http://storify.com/UNrightswire

Bodhi Day, December 8th

The day that Siddhartha Gautauma attained Enlightenment and became the Buddha while sitting under the Budhi Tree is said to be the 8th day of the 12th month.  Now this would have been the lunar calendar and in some places that is when it is celebrated but in places like Japan where many of the festivals have converted the dates to the more regular calendar it is celebrated on December 8th.

For the none monks among us we can take today to reflect on the teachings of the Buddha and if you are already celebrating the Christmas season your not far off from a good way celebrate Bodhi Day.  Putting up multi colored lights and the lighting of a candle both ways to recognize enlightenment.  You can try meditating on the ideas of Buddisum as many of the practitioners will do.  If you happen to have a Valentines Day cookie cutters you can always make a couple heart shaped ones in honor of the day as the leaf of the Bodhi tree is heart shaped.

Links:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Day

http://familydharma.pulelehuadesign.com/bodhi.htm

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/bodhi-day#b

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, December 7th

The 7th of December is marked in the United States as a day to remember those lost during the attack on Pearl Harbor to ushered the country into to World War II.  While not much is done by the public at large, government buildings and many private ones as well fly their flags at half staff, the traditional sign of a tragic loss.  There are ceremonies attended by members of the government, from the President down to local officials to recognize the day.

Today I got to be a part of a rather special event that while not actually commemorating the remembrance day it's self, could not be more fitting.  I have a friend who is in the United States Navy and had her re-enlistment ceremony today.  To witness someone committing the next 6 years of their life to the organization that was most directly impacted during the attack in 1941 was very special and one I will remember for a very long time.

Happy Birthday to H.M. Bhumibol Adulyadeji, December 5

Today is the birthday of the longest reigning monarch, the King of Thailand also known as King Rama IX.  Ascending to the throne on 9 June 1946, he has lead the country through a very tumultuous time while gaining the love and admiration of the Thai people.

The day is marked by the closing of the streets surrounding the royal palace, fireworks being set off all over the country, the color yellow and portraits of the King adorning houses and buildings every where.

Turning 85 today I would like to wish His Majisty many more wonderful years!

Links: http://www.thailand.com/travel/festival/festivals_bangkok_king.htm

http://www.thaifestivalblogs.com/festivals-of-thailand/thai-king-birthday-celebrations.html

World Kindness Day, November 13

Today is World Kindness Day, a day to remember to do acts of kindness to those around you.  While I am having a difficult time finding who actually started this (the website credited as the source is not working) I love the idea.  I have found a number of references that seem to indicate that in some areas this is a widely known day though I believe this is the first time I have heard of it.

I find that some of the stated goals of today mesh very well with the concept I have for this blog.  My hope is to bring to light other people we may not know much about if anything.  Through this knowledge I hope we can start to appreciate one and accept one another.  Some of the ideas I have read about today is we should see past race, gender, culture any of these differences and see the person.  By doing this we will be more apt to be nice, i.e. kind to one another.  This can cause a contagious effect, when you are kind to someone they are much more likely to be kind to someone else.  There are also health benefits, specifically even if you are in a bad mood by being kind to someone will bring you mood up.  You can even do this anonymous.  

The articale I read from the Gulf News out of the UAE had interviews from a number of people from around the world and they gave their deffinitions of being kind which I thought was very interesting.

So I hope you get the chance to show a little more kindness today and maybe we can make the world just a little better.

Links:

http://kindness.com.au/world-kindness-day.html

http://www.pbs.org/parents/supersisters/archives/2008/11/10-ways-to-celebrate-world-kin.html

http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/gulf-news-readers-celebrate-world-kindness-day-1.526824

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Kindness_Day