Hello

I've just got to share two things with you before you start reading this issue which again is full of stories.

Firstly, we would like to thank you for reading the last issue. We were stunned to see how many encouraging messages we received within 24 hours after sending it out. And it was quite long for a single newsletter.

Many people even asked us if they could send it out to their own contacts. WOW! Thank you. Every message from you in reply to our newsletter feeds a child (and supports education). So, please keep writing to us!

There was another thing that came out of 2 spelling mistakes in the last emails I wrote. Yes, spelling mistakes.

In the last newsletter, the company name of the blind company that makes massive differences in children's lives was spelled ‘Blinds Culture'. It was supposed to be ‘Blinds Couture'. I also missed out on adding their URL there, so, here it is. www.blindscouture.com You can get beautiful window coverings from this company and you get to light up thousands of children's lives! By the way, I did not do this on purpose!

AND, I even made a spelling mistake in our own company name in another email following the newsletter. ‘Buy1GIVE1Free' was spelt ‘Buy1FIVE1Free'! Thank you for spotting it.

How embarrassing could that be? A spelling mistake in one's own company name!? Even Paul Dunn (people who know him regard him as the most generous man they know) said, “It is unforgivable!!”. And he said it with lots of energy around the word in bold.

We actually had a great chat at our team meeting afterward about saving our time and reducing mistakes by setting up AutoCorrect for many of the words we frequently use. And Paul told us how he always uses just b1 to insert Buy1GIVE1Free and even fm to insert ‘from' (plus SO many others).

Actually the lady who spotted the spelling mistake was a professional proof reader. And she kindly offered her business service to us as a sponsor. She is now working on our new book ONE (you can download the first e-book version from the link on this newsletter). Things often happen in unexpected ways. But everything can bring its own gift when we see it.

So now we can be more efficient. Yippee!

We also received many wonderful tips from others about mailing out newsletters effectively (as I ‘proudly' disclosed in the last newsletter that the spam rating for that issue was 23—unbelievably high!). Thank you again!

So, thank you again for your generous contributions and sharing your thought with us.

We look forward to hearing more from you so we can together make a difference. You can just hit your reply button now and say, “I am happy to share more smiles”.

Masami Sato
Founder, Buy1GIVE1Free

Jrn Middelborg from Thavibu Gallery is a person from whom we can learn the Heart of Art.

Jrn's got a fascinating background. He moved to Thailand in 1994 to take up his position at UNESCO (United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization).  He worked with UNESCO for a number of years in the area of non-formal education. His work involved developing programs and materials to improve adult education in countries in Asia and the Pacific. 

Jrn observes that there are millions of adults who are illiterate and semi-literate in the region. “It's so important to have programs and materials that cater to adults who have not been included in the formal education system.  We had much success, especially in countries that had been rather isolated and started to open up,” he says.

His decision to establish Thavibu Gallery was born out of a long-term interest in  art in its widest sense, not just visual art. Working for UNESCO took him around Asia, and he saw art by many promising artists whose works he wanted to bring out to a wider audience.  When the internet started in mid 1990s, he saw it as a great opportunity. 

Thavibu Gallery ( www.thavibu.com ) has been a pioneer on the gallery scene in Bangkok in three areas. It was the first gallery that specialised in contemporary art from the three countries—Thailand, Vietnam and Burma—hence the gallery's name. The second area is the early adoption of the internet.  From the very beginning, Jrn recognised the potential and power of the internet, and the website has been an important and integral part of the gallery all the way.  The third area is the publication of high quality books on Southeast Asian art. 

Jrn's Buy1GIVE1Free experience is up-lifting. When you invest in a work of art from Thavibu, you're automatically giving to St Nicholas' Home for the Blind to provide one blind person with accommodation for at least one month during their training. People who've lost their sight suddenly cannot really live a normal life without this training.

Jrn puts it this way:

“Some times art is about beauty,
at other times the conceptual part is important.

The messages that conceptual art conveys often inspire me.
Other times, it can be intellectually challenging art,
or art that conveys pure beauty.

Every piece of art has a message.

I am glad that Thavibu Gallery decided to be a part of Buy1GIVE1Free where each art work sold
makes a real difference to someone
who cannot see through their own eyes.”

The real heart of art can be the expression of each one of us. We are all artists in our own lives, painting the picture of each moment.
The moment we start sharing the real art of giving with others, our own picture becomes more clear, even more colourful and even more inspiring.

Flight SQ236
A Bucket and Finding Something Very Special

Right now I'm on Singapore Airlines SQ236. We took off at 2:45 this afternoon from Brisbane.

For me, planes are special places. There's something magical about flying. And to do it these days with great meals, great service and great things to do on board makes it even more special for me.

I'll remember this particular flight for a long time. 30 minutes into it, I decided to watch a movie. And I'm always amazed how story-writers, producers, directors, editors, cameramen, technicians and actors can combine to tell stories that open your heart.

The movie's just finished. And I'm writing this now because I'd love you to share the experience of watching it that I've just had. I've no idea whether the movie is in your part of the world yet, either in the cinemas or in the video stores or even online.

But do please watch it whenever you can.

It's not about a ‘bucket' as the sub-head would suggest. Rather it's about kicking the bucket. And it's called simply, ‘The Bucket List'. As you watch, you'll see a wonderfully simple story unfold and Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman really living the story magically on the screen.

About 20 minutes before the end, you'll get the key message. And when you do, I'd love you to share it with us here at Buy1GIVE1Free. The key line goes like this: Find the _ _ _”.

Just drop us an email to admin@b1g1.com telling us what that missing word is AND, if you like, your own thoughts on the movie. For every email we get back, we'll also feed a child. And we'll also publish the stories you tell about what watching the movie meant to you.

Really looking forward to your emails and to your thoughts.

Well, now it's 'official'; Giving DOES share the Joy

Australian Buy1GIVE1Free member (and massive supporter) Liane Simons, sent us a fascinating report from the BBC about research on giving.

The researchers first carried out a survey of 630 people which asked them to rate their general happiness, report their annual income; and provide a breakdown of their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and donations to charity.

Professor Elizabeth Dunn (no relation) who led the research, said: "We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn."

"Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not."

The team then assessed the happiness of 16 employees at a firm in Boston, both before and after they received their profit-sharing bonus, which ranged between $3,000 (£1,514) and $8,000 (£4,039).

It appeared it was not the size of the bonus that mattered, but what the employees spent it on.
Those who gave more of their bonus as gifts to others, or to charity, consistently reported greater benefits than employees who simply spent money on their own needs.

In another experiment, the researchers gave 46 people $5 or $20, asking them to spend the money by five that afternoon. Half the participants were instructed to spend the money on themselves and half were assigned to spend the money on others.

Those who spent the cash on others reported feeling happier at the end of the day than those who spent the money on themselves, no matter how much they had been given.

Dr Dunn said: "This study provides initial evidence that how people spend their money may be as important for their happiness as how much money they earn. And spending money on others might represent a more effective route to happiness than spending money on oneself."

So it looks like our motto at Buy1GIVE1Free of ‘Sharing the Joy' is capturing the spirit of giving in exactly the right way. And as you'll see from other notes right here, we're making that even easier (and more fun) to do.

Living in Beehives

In large cities like New York, Tokyo, London, Shanghai etc, many of us live in multi-level tower apartments.
Have you ever thought they almost looked like beehives?

We do not know if bees are aware of their role in maintaining the global harmony with all other living beings. But synergistically, naturally and instinctively, they carry on what they do every day— collecting honey and spreading pollen to pollinate more flowers. If there were no bees, the nature would look very different. It would even affect many other lives.

Bees communicate with each other to find the source of more flowers. They have leaders, different job positions and laws to govern the community. Somehow, it sounds familiar… If you have not yet, watch the recent ‘Bee Movie' from Dreamworks with your child one day to see the comical view point on this.

The difference we have in these beehive apartments we live in is that most of us do not know many other people living in the same block. We do not feel comfortable to look into each other's eyes and say "Hello" when we are in a small lift. We do not even know much about our next-door neighbours. We do not feel secure when our children play outside on their own. We do not ask others to look after our houses while we are on holiday. We have separate households with different financial and family situations. We do not work together or communicate where the honey is in this beehive.

The less the connections we have directly within our own community, the more ways we try to find to connect differently, because this ‘connection' is a very fundamental need of any living things besides food, water, air and rest. We have to find it somewhere, if not with the person living in the next-door.

So, we have computers and the Internet now. We have mobile phones. We do social networking online and chat with someone we do not really know. We feel safer telling them our problems than to our own family. We could even fall in love with someone we have never met. We now have virtual beehives. How imaginative and creative!

But can we still taste the REAL honey? Can we still build our community together sustainably—the world full of REAL flowers?

One way to do that simply is to find more ways to connect, give and share. The connect part is great now. There are so many ways we can connect. But are we sharing and giving enough? Are we naturally giving back to the nature and to the world when we receive gifts? If bees are only taking and taking, there will be no more flowers in the world. The more we give when we receive, the more abundantly we will receive. And because this comes from a very ‘selfish' mission of just collecting honey for our own family, it is even more sustainable. Bees are not giving with a conscience or trying desperately to solve a problem!

Pollinating and looking after the natural balance as a part of our lifestyle is becoming a necessity in our life. Bees may know less than us, but they do not need to remember such a simple thing. They never forgot it.

If we all were bumblebees, we could dream big as well. Because we are all miracles then. Bees never doubt that they can fly regardless of the scientific proof that says there is no way that they could fly with the size of wings and weight of the body. Miracles are possible when we just know it.

If we ever doubted that we could transform our world in the way we want, it may become impossible. But the moment we start taking actions for the simple belief and sense of purpose we have within, and for our own 'selfishness', we really could make anything happen. What would we like to see in our world?

Let's pollinate all the beautiful flowers because we want to share the JOY of giving—every second, every day and in every way.

"Coming together is a beginning,
keeping together is progress,
working together is success"
—Henry Ford

Welcome to the world of Buy1GIVE1Free — B1G1