So it it’s pure joy to be able to tell you about a family here in British Columbia who believe — truly believe — it’s better to give than receive.

They have a site called Guerrilla Giving which represents “one family’s adventure in philanthropy.”

“We are a family of four — my wife,  two boys and myself,” says Dad, going on »»»

We have a modest income that is sufficient for our needs (most months).  We live in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

What?

Guerrilla Giving is (r)evolutionary–at least it feels that way for us.

Revolutionary because in today’s world, freely giving of our own resources on a mostly daily basis subverts many of our silent agreements (e.g. capital equals security, give as a tax write off, save for a rainy day, etc.).  It calls into question our ego’s insatiable appetite for self-gratification.  It lifts our sights to a higher vision.

Evolutionary, because Guerrilla Giving emboldens us to step into a current of grace that draws us forward as a global community.  It opens our hearts and hands to each other, especially to the stranger.  It employs a model of trust in the benevolent spirit of life.

As such, Guerrilla Giving is, in truth, a kind of guerrilla marketing for a life of connection—between ourselves, our neighbours, and the transcendent (God, Universe, Spirit, whatever name you choose).  There are, of course, countless ways that people nurture their spirituality, whether it’s through yoga, meditation, prayer, or commitment to a spiritual community.  All of these are fantastic.  We have also found that giving on a (mostly) daily basis is one of the most exhilarating disciplines to teach non-attachment (for me–a daily struggle) and the interdependence of all of life.

When and How Much?

Just as we are blessed in innumerable ways each day, our plan is to give on a daily basis whenever possible.   For a year (a lifetime?), we’re committed to giving away 10% of our annual gross income in daily increments to mostly random recipients.  We have had experience with tithing in the past (10% traditionally)  but it was often done as an after-thought, at the end of the month or at the end of the year–written as a cheque or dropped in an offering bowl.  Giving like that was rarely joyful for us.  Guerrilla Giving, on the other hand, is fun, adventurous, and immediate.

Do we have any second thoughts, doubts, fears, anxiety about all of this?  Absolutely.  We’ll share some of these thoughts as we go along–but go along we will.

Where?

Wherever the Spirit leads.  The gifts will often be money–randomly planted in places throughout the city.  Other times, gifts will be things (food, clothes, flowers etc.) given usually to random people.  Finally, some monetary gifts will be given to underappreciated (usually out-of-pocket) organizations, groups, movements, individuals whose mission resonates with our own values and who could use a bit of help–not only financially but also with the raised profile this blog may provide them.

Why?

Good question.  I’ll write a post sometime soon about how this “calling” came upon us.  But that’s what it feels like–a call.  A call to trust.  A call to risk.  A call to adventure.   AND, it’s a ton of fun!

The truth is that few other things give us as much joy in life as giving does and we want to enter more fully and intentionally into that joy.  We don’t need to be rich to be philanthropists.  Giving is something to be enjoyed by everyone regardless of income, class, or status.  Just as we breathe in and  breathe out, we were made not only to receive but to give.  And here’s the thing–giving is always the more rewarding of the two.

Now you know how …

Cheers!
Jon

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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi

October, 2009

I usually use a different program for chatting but why use different ones if you could have it in just one window. Yes right you too can enjoy chatting with Ares and if you wanted to, you can also manage or create your own chat room. Now, if you would like to start using and enjoying this kind of program, just click on www.aresdestiny.com and you could get started in no time.

While I was browsing the net for some cool stuff and hardware I could install or download on my beloved computer, I came across this software which at first did not even sound like one. So I tried to read more about Ares and there I found out that it’s a software that people who loves file sharing will surely be pleased of. Well, as a matter of fact I am one of the many people who are into file sharing and even belong to virtual community of individuals who are into this stuff. Here are the good things that one can enjoy from using the Ares :-)

  

Ares is a dedicated client  which has been developed by downloaders for downloaders and is well supported by a large community of very conscientious downloaders.  The use of the site to download music files is already well established and there are many seeders and leechers and because of the way Ares is designed the speeds you get are best in class for any client.  One of the best things about the client is that it has been developed to be open source and therefore does not rely on a server or management which can be targeted by the MPAA or any other organisation bent on the punishing of file downloaders and the like.  It is one of the safest and most untraceable ways of sharing and maintaining files.  It is designed to be used by people regularly without any fear of detection.  The download Ares and you get a client that is also one of the most well designed and because it is open source it will continue to change and improve over time as more and more people contribute to the code.  Much like other open source software, like WordPress it is becoming recognised as the best code out there for downloading files.  It is facilitated by a great community who abide by the principles of share and share alike, and who regulate the community by consensus. 

 It is the only client I will use for music and ebook formats now and as soon as they open the format up to video files I will be using it completely on its own for all my downloading needs.  It is a perfect answer to my downloading needs and is for many others in the file sharing community.

 

There is a massive choice of files, pretty much anything you can think of and the performance of Ares is amazing.  Torrent clients work by connecting you with a net of people who are sharing the same file, these are seeders, who have the complete file and leechers, who have a part and are actively downloading the rest.  The Ares community is one of the strongest of the torrent communities and the people really believe in the golden rule of torrent etiquette, sharing.

 

I found my Ares application to have loads of seeders and leechers, which makes the connection work so much quicker.  The speeds I got were amazing and files were of great quality.  Many torrent clients, because the support pretty much any type of file are open to serious abuse by malicious up loaders and I had my fair share of virus and spurious files.  I have never had any of these problems with Ares downloads and I don’t think I ever will.  One of the most impressive features, however, is the simple fact that Ares is an open source client, so it is even harder for the fascist copyright organisations to track and punish downloader’s,

 Download Ares: it is a new breed of file sharing technology and is the future of sharing music and other smaller files.

 

When it comes to a file sharing software, there are certain things that should be very important to you. Speed and dependability are two things that you want to make sure that you can always count on from the software that you are using. Ares is the right file sharing software to provide you with these things. You will be able to enjoy a variety of aspects of this amazing file sharing program. It offers a chat room where you can connect with others that enjoy the aspects of file sharing just as much as you do. You will also be able to use this software easily and quickly.

 When music is an important part of your life, you will want to know that you will be able to locate and receive what you are looking for. With the largest network of users, Ares will astound you with the amount of files that are there for your choosing. You will have over 100 million titles available to you. If you know a lot about file sharing, then you realize how impressive this number is. If this sounds good to you, then you will want to get on the Ares bandwagon today and begin taking advantage of everything that this great file sharing software has to offer you.

Cuando la musica es una parte importante de su vida, usted querrá saber que usted será capaz de localizar y recibir lo que usted está buscando. Con la mayor red de usuarios, Ares se sorprenderá con la cantidad de archivos que existen para su elección. Usted tendrá más de 100 millones de títulos disponibles para usted. Si usted sabe mucho sobre el uso compartido de archivos, entonces te das cuenta de cómo este número es impresionante. Si esto suena bien a usted, entonces usted tendrá que subir al carro Ares hoy y comience a tomar ventaja de todo lo que este gran software de uso compartido de archivos que tiene que ofrecer.

The popularity of the Ares file sharing software has enjoyed a surge in popularity of late. With the demise of sometimes illegal and often spyware-ridden peer-to-peer platforms such as Napster, Kazaa, Limewire and Vuze (formerly Azureus), Ares appears as something of a knight in shining armor.

 

Ares software runs on the huge Ares and BitTorrent networks, and this means that its users have access to a massive library of shared files. Not only is the implementation of the software novel and efficient, the use of the interface has been carefully thought out and caters for experts and newcomers alike. The software is well maintained by a group of enthusiastic programmers, and the fact that Ares received awards from prestigious on-line magazines comes as no surprise to anyone that has used it.

 

The decision to download Ares has being taken by many millions of people, and it is thanks to user friendly software like Ares that this is possible. Older methods of file sharing were – by virtue of them being complex, technical and rather unfriendly – only within the grasp of those people, normally younger members of society, who were willing to invest considerable time to learn. With Ares this is not longer the case, and the proliferation into more diverse areas of the population has only served to  fuel Ares’ skyward trajectory.

 

Sales of downloaded music are set to overtake CD sales in 2012, according to official reports. It is notable that these reports do not take into account the sharing and downloading of music from peer-to-peer networks; many sources suggest that if these figures were considered then overtaking maneuver would have come and gone some time ago.

 

File sharing once had a rather bad reputation, especially amongst the media whose opinions were funded by those who thought that they stood to lose most from free music downloads. Opinion across the board has now changed and some of the biggest opponents to the file sharing movement – Sony BMG et al – have leaped into business with organizations seeking to develop free music into a financially viable industry. Make no mistake: file sharing is here to stay, and Ares will no doubt be leading the charge well into the future.

Thank God that Captain Phillips has been freed.  I am so happy about the outcome.  Yes, three men have died, but how many more will not be killed and how much suffering will not happen due to these 3 deaths?  Maybe, some of the pirates might think next time –Hey, I might actually get killed for doing this?! Yes, Captain Phillips is free but what about the other 200 hostages and ships that the Somali pirates have?  If we as Americans are going to police the world (which in my opinion we are) why don’t we use our true might!  Should it have taken three US Navel vessels a helicotor and 5 days to free the captain of the U.S. flagged Maersk Alabama?  I feel as if nobody thinks like I do, and I feel as if I just want everybody to be a little safer… Maybe I just need to smoke salvia and chill!