 
Delivered fresh on March 24th, 2014
Greetings!
They have this tradition. They call it Sweet Friday. Every Friday they put together a casual spread of cakes, cookies and whatever sweet goodies that they might pick up at the market on the way home from after a busy week. They put a table cloth on the table. It doesn't matter that the table cloth is often wrinkled. They surround the center piece with the tasty treats. The centerpiece always coincides with the time of year - a pumpkin, a wreath, a vase filled with flowers - and then they welcome friends and neighbors to stop whatever it is that they are doing for just thirty minutes or so to come and have a little something sweet. When I heard this story on NPR it touched me. I love little rituals and I'm faithful to my own traditions because I like being able to look forward to things. But that's not what touched me about this story. What touched me about this particular story is that - A mother of four kids, ranging in ages from four to ten, working to put herself through medical school while going through a painful divorce, would carve out time every week so that she and her children can make happy memories. What touches me about this story is that what those children will remember along with the hurt and confusion of their parents splitting up, what they will remember along with the tears that they shed late at night, is that on Fridays - there was always cake. Dana DANA DELIVERED! User's Guide: 1) Open up your Dana Delivered! email. 2) Choose an article from the menu on the left hand side or just start from the beginning and read all the way through. 3) If you are reading an article and want to finish, Click on "Read More..." and you will be taken to our website. You can finish reading and while there, have a look around. Note: Dana's Dailies changes, well, daily so come back often. 4) Click on any of the words highlighted in red and you will be taken right to our site, DanaRoc.com. In INSPIRING PEOPLE: Dana talks with Author, Teacher and Autism Pioneer, Soma Mukhopadhyay. Her education technique, Rapid Prompting Mechanism (RPM) is a groundbreaking technique that empowers non-verbal autistic children to "talk." Read Dana's EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Soma and discover her winning approach to overcoming life's challenges! Take a minute to read DANA'S WEEKLY INSIGHT and make sure that you listen to the AUDIO VERSION as well. There may be someone who needs you to pass that along. Check out DANA'S DAILIES for no other reason than to hopefully smile. And come back and visit the blog all week at www.danaroc.com/dailies. The special article FROM DANA'S GUESTS: Dalai Lama: Timeless Remarks. Read this speech, delivered in 1989 by Nobel Prize winner and spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. His words ring louder today than ever before and beckon a response... Check out AUGUSTE ROC'S MY TWO CENTS (For Whatever It Is Worth). There is something in it for YOU! While it may be "Two Cents" but you'll find it's worth a whole lot more. Feel free to email your comments to Auguste at auguste@danaroc.com. This week's THE GOOD LIFE : BOOKS selection is On the Street by Amy Arbus. A fascinating photographic study on urban beings... Something useful in THE GOOD LIFE : WEB SITES is Media Storm this week. Check it out! And there's more so sit back, grab a cup of coffee, relax and enjoy. As always, thanks for reading! Stay cool. Be hungry. Never look back. Always reach back. Fear not. Believe always, Dana Cry Freedom
The horizon leans forward, Her use of words is masterful and she speaks of them as things; as power and as creative. Words to her are alive and like the air that we breathe they go into the very fabric of her existence, finally inhabiting her body so that she can live. I was lost the other day; caught up in a series of appropriate questions and concerns about living in this world and who I will become. Then, in the midst of my subsequent and predictable need for inspiration, I was grateful to have found myself in the middle of a Maya Angelou poem and I listened and obeyed as her words dictated hope: The horizon leans forward, Maya Angelou is poet and her reverence for words is the access to her genius. Deprived of her willingness to speak at age seven as a result of having been raped by her mother's boyfriend, she remained silent for five long years. Contemplating for five years in silence, the serious consequences of the words we choose to use, clearly contributed to her respect for words and has earned her the right, for as long as she chooses, to talk about the ways that people speak. Contemplating Maya Angelou for just a little while, has re-ignited in me a dissatisfaction with the way that I have, far too often, refused to speak up. To be able to talk is a gift. To be allowed to speak up is a privilege, to be sure. And, to keep quiet when you have something important to say; when you believe in something from the bottom of your soul, should be counted among those things that cause us great concern and warrant our most serious consideration. It happened in April 2003, just weeks after being awarded another Grammy that The Dixie Chicks, performing in London, decided to speak up because they had something important to say. Passionate about the stand that they took, they were no doubt driven by their convictions, fully aware of what the consequences might be, yet willing however, to let the chips fall where they may. Almost immediately after they spoke up they were met with the intense criticism of a disapproving public. Radio stations stopped playing their songs, sales dropped and their popularity plunged. As a direct result of their willingness to speak up, The Dixie Chicks found themselves paying a very heavy price - demands from the disapproving masses for them to "Shut up and sing", death threats and a lot of second guessing. Imagine. Ultimately The Dixie Chicks would go on to recover and regain the favor of their fans as their once unfavorable position started to catch on. Another Grammy was their reward for the song that they wrote to express their unwillingness to back down from the stand that they took. But more than a Grammy, the example that they have become as a result of their refusal to shut up and back down, has inspired a nation, lost and caught up in a series of appropriate questions and concerns about living in this world and who we will become. There have been many times when I have taken a bold and unpopular stand for what I have believed in, and yet there have been far too many times when I refused to speak up, silenced because I thought it best, at the time, to behave. And you? When so much talk in this world is cheap and while people still enjoy the priceless privilege of freedom of speech - you have the right to remain silent but you also have the opportunity to talk about something that really matters! You are inarguably entitled to keep your convictions all to yourself, but, when keeping quiet comes as a direct response to the fear of retribution and our "rights" and "entitlements" undermine the possibility that we might become who we really are, can we authentically claim to be free? There is definitely something to be said for quiet contemplation, especially when we pause to consider the consequences of the words that we choose to use, but when we allow ourselves to be silenced because we believe that to behave is to be left alone, and to be left alone is to be allowed to keep on getting by, we lose a little bit of our precious humanity, and humanity loses out on the contribution that will only be as a result of our courage and as a product of our sacrifice. Words will inspire and words will also provoke with the power to create and the ability to destroy; to give life to something or to cancel out its very existence. Maya Angelou speaks in shades of wisdom and people listen because her choice of words and her arrangement of thought invite the consideration of what could be. The Dixie Chicks spoke up and earned the right to challenge a lost world to ask the questions and express the concerns; to pick words responsibly and with full acceptance of the consequences unforeseen. Allowing others to hear the words that we have yet to say, the words that long to linger in our collective consciousness, graciously responds to that horizon that so generously offers itself up as the space for change - with the hope of a better day. Dana Have a great week!
 s  Author, Teacher and Autism Education Pioneer, Soma Mukhopadhyay
Soma Mukhopadhyay is very matter of fact about the results that she produces with the work that she does. However, the children and the families that she works with do not take for granted the gift of communication that Soma provides. Soma is a portrait of courage. Her work produces miracles. Her contribution is priceless. DR: Tell me about your work. SM: My work began when my son was diagnosed with autism... The work that I do is a continuation of the work I begun with my son. In addition to working with my son, I have other clients that I also treat. In working with not only my son, but other children diagnosed with autism, I have become much bigger. I am part of a documentary project on HBO that is about a mother's journey as she looks for a pathway for her son. While she was on this journey, we met and I became involved in the project. DR: I know that your work has the power to change the course of a child's life and consequently the lives of their families. Can you share with me in detail about the work that you do? SM: My work begins with education. I teach children how to learn and I empower them to be able to reason. I teach them how to communicate and how to express their ideas and thoughts so that can let people in and let people know who they are. DR: What is the experience of witnessing a child communicate for the first time like for you? SM: For me it is no big surprise. I have seen it happen many times. My main focus is how to improve his skills, how to improve his speed and stamina. I have to keep my emotions out of it for the most part so I can...
 The Dalai Lama - December 10, 1989, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech
War and more war is the unsettling topic of many conversations these days, providing an opportunity for the world to reconsider –
His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech Your Majesty, Members of the Nobel Committee, Brothers and Sisters: I am very happy to be here with you today to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace. I feel honoured, humbled and deeply moved that you should give this important prize to a simple monk from Tibet. I am no one special. But, I believe the prize is a recognition of the true values of altruism, love, compassion and nonviolence which I try to practise, in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha and the great sages of India and Tibet. I accept the prize with profound gratitude on behalf of the oppressed everywhere and for all those who struggle for freedom and work for world peace. I accept it as a tribute to the man who founded the modern tradition of nonviolent action for change - Mahatma Gandhi - whose life taught and inspired me. And, of course, I accept it on behalf of the six million Tibetan people, my brave countrymen and women inside Tibet, who have suffered and continue to suffer so much. They confront a calculated and systematic strategy aimed at the destruction of their national and cultural identities. The prize reaffirms our conviction that with truth, courage and determination as our weapons, Tibet will be liberated. No matter what part of the world we come from, we are all...
 Free Speech
I'd rather take a stand and risk being on the unpopular side of an issue, than to remain quiet, especially when somebody needs to know what I think. And, in a situation where my opinion is the one that is supposed to matter, I feel a particular obligation to speak up. It's confusing, counter productive and chaotic when the voice that is designated to make the call chooses instead, to be silent. Imagine having to wait and wait and wait and keep waiting for the umpire to call "you're out" or "he's safe" at the end of a critical play. What would happen if a quarterback kept his team in the huddle indefinitely because he was unwilling to say what he thought about what he wanted to do? Everyday, people everywhere are faced with the often uncomfortable prospect of having to take responsibility for an outcome by having to take a stand. And everyday, people everywhere choose to take the easy way out because - "I'd just rather not". Complacency doesn't work, not when courage is what is required. When we choose to make the call we draw the line by saying out loud what it is that we think, based in part by what we stand for and why, regardless of where the chips may or may not fall - stuff gets done. That's my two cents (for whatever it's worth), Auguste Roc
a name="dailies"/>  The 100 Years Project - Phil Sullivan
Name: Phil Sullivan Age: 25 years old: Where are you from: I'm from the The Berkshires in Western Massachessetts Occupation: I model 100 Years from now what do you want to be remembered for: Putting smiles on faces  Media Storm
Why I am recommending this website: This is an incredible website. Stories of everyday people from around the world - suffering and celebrating life in the most profound and simply beautiful ways - captured in pictures taken by some of the most talented photojournalist, guaranteed to touch your heart and encourage your spirit. Stunning! Awesome! From the Website:
 On the Street
Why I am recommending this book: This book is an anthropological masterpiece... This kind of stuff fascinates me... Click here to purchase this book. Amazon.com: Click here to purchase this book.
 
Go ahead and get tough! If you give up being easy on yourself you might find out just who you could become... Dig down and find it so you can show up and - BRING IT!
 
DanaRoc.com is a multimedia Internet destination featuring Dana Delivered! -- an ezine filled with interesting stories and fun tidbits delivered fresh to your email inbox first thing every Monday morning. Both entertaining and informative, Dana Delivered! is packed full of sound advice, inspiring perspectives, great original interviews with influential and successful people, insightful and interesting guest articles, regular columnists, Dana's recommendations and more.
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