An Invitation to Wishadoo!

The Wishadoo! Challenge -- It's Time!

From Wishadoo's Blog:

The only true gift is a portion of thyself. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are delighted to announce the full launch of Wishadoo! -- a place where people can connect in a New Way, a way based in integrity, responsibility and compassion; a place created to fill a void, to show that we're not alone and to encourage direct interaction; a place that creates a full circle of giving, receiving, and paying it forward.

In a nutshell, Wishadoo has been described as the "Craigslist of Compassion." It's where you can share your heartfelt, lifelong wishes that seem out of reach, as well as urgent daily needs of survival. Many of us have been conditioned to not ask for anything and to be embarrassed that we are in need, let alone have the audacity to ask for help making a dream come true. Our hope is that Wishadoo will change that.

We're asking you -- we're challenging you -- to start somewhere. Post your needs, wishes and offerings. Put it out there. Enable others to act as human angels, and empower yourself to do the same for others in ways you never could have imagined. (no personal ads, please. ;) )

A kind word, hug, $5, or 30 minutes of your time can be a grand gesture which can change the course of someone's life. And yours. We believe you'll find the simple act of sharing, even anonymously, can be profoundly liberating.

There is no judgment, no expectation, no requirements to 'qualify.' We simply ask for respect, for oneself and others. If you enter with an open heart, with positive intention and no expectation, you have nothing to lose.

When we learn to ask for help – and then graciously receive it, and if possible pay it forward – so much can change. It could create this New Way. Wishadoo is part of this New Way, which is about taking responsibility for ourselves and others; forming real communities again; learning that it's okay to ask for help; learning that it's okay to give.

We offer this well-meaning challenge to step outside of your comfort zone and post your dreams and needs. We're inviting as many people as possible who resonate with Wishadoo!, asking you to help us by doing the following:

· Register at Wishadoo! (it's free, no requirement or commitment), which provides more opportunities for wishes and needs to be fulfilled and helps the Wishadoo! Community grow, online and in the real world. We have big dreams but will take it one step at a time.

· Forward this message to your contacts; insert a link to the site in your blog or website; put it on Facebook and other networks; share it with co-workers, church members, school contacts, organizations, and neighbors (how many even know our neighbors' names these days? Wishadoo can be your excuse to meet them).

· Once registered, check out the Wish List at the Main Site, and our Wishadoo! Community where you can join groups (feel free to suggestion new ones) and discussions, create a blog, and customize the "my page" area to promote your business, organizations, or simply share about yourself. We can create customized Wishadoo! Community groups for organizations, schools and workplaces, each being one piece of the Wishadoo puzzle.

· This is as grassroots as you can get; this is the creation stage, and we're simply there to provide the space and help it grow to be what can help as many people as possible

Again, we invite everyone to the Main Site, and to please join the Community Forum. As you'll see, we've entered into Google's Project 10 to the 100th, so the more members, the better chance we have of getting noticed! We're aiming for 144,000!

We're all creating it together now, and we'd be honored for you to join us!

An Interlude

I still want to share my observations on one magnificent effect of Obama's win, but in the meantime I wanted to share something I found over the weekend.

I'm clearing out boxes and stumbled upon journals (I never succeeded in keeping one for more than two months, as evidenced by the lack of commitment to this blog...lol). I found a short story I had written about 14 years ago, to assure my then 2-year-old daughter that it was okay for adults to cry when they're sad. Her older brother, Joshua, was stillborn, so I was going through the intense grieving process while she was still a very small child. I didn't want to hide it, yet I didn't want it to frighten her, so I wrote Mommy, Why Are you Crying?.

I also found a poem I wrote at least 20 years ago; sadly, it still applies today, perhaps more so...and in the words of this poem lie the seeds of Wishadoo, the vision for which is to connect...person to person...and reawaken the best of humanity.

We're suspended in a culture of isolation, while drowning in a sea of souls;
like millions of pieces of an unseen puzzle, seeking to become part of a whole.

Our hearts reach out in love and compassion when we learn of the suffering of others;
yet somehow our actions and words are stifled, our feelings unknown to our sisters and brothers.

We are assaulted with a barrage of daily news, from local news to global weather;
but how many of us can say we know the names of our own next-door neighbors?

It's easy to despair and feel overwhelmed in this time of such uncertainty and chaotic growth,
but I believe we can find ourselves...by discovering others...always remembering the power of hope.

Do you know your neighbors?