Lessons from JOHNNY APPLESEED

These are sobbering times --- yet, there signs of hope, new possibilities and opportunities standing right in front of us. A new and different path for mankind must be forged, don't you think? A new global consciousness among all people would be a big start.

Where do we begin?

A while back, I happened on an amazing read =====A copy of the original story of the real Johnny Appleseed, an American pioneer hero written in Harper's Magazine - November 1871.

I always thought he was just a guy that planted apple trees and wore a funny tin hat. He was much more...

---- as a matter of conscience he never purchased a pair of shoes. When given a pair, he passed them off to a boy in a needy family moving westward who he felt needed them more.

---- he purchased animals that he saw were being abused and found them good homes.

---- he wore the tin pan he used to cook his meals as his hat, adding an innovative pasteboard visor to shield his eyes.

---- he was loved by moms, dads, grandma's, the Indians because of his kindness and interest in them.

---- he believed in eating only food from the ground and was a strenuous opponent to wasting it because it was a Gift.

---- he was well educated and took time to read to others in such a way that he created pictures for others to understand.

---- he respected all forms of life.

---- he was trusted by all...and courageously warned his neighbors of British and Indian attacks saving many lives with his prophetic message.

---- he gave his money away.

He lived a good life as a loving neighbor and friend.
When he was near death, it his recorded that his features were all aglow with a supernatural light.

If we could just live our lives with a little more care for our neighbors and our world ---- a little more like a modern-day Johnny Appleseed, the world would be much different.

What do you think?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
author and founder, President and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

New Book! Putting Our Differences to Work (June 2008)
Learn more: www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com