TheListServe Blog

hello friends, tonight, i went to a TEDx event (if TED is new to you, google it). i thought, “what a perfect way to brainstorm ideas for my listserve email!” subsequently, i left completely and utterly overwhelmed (in the good kind of way). so many ideas had been shared, sparked my mind, challenged me, and inspired me that i wanted simply to share those messages with you all. but when i began this email, i realized i couldn’t, perhaps shouldn’t, do so. what i needed to say should come from me and my heart and mind and my experiences, not someone else’s, however inspiring and motivating they may be. so, instead you’re stuck with the ramblings of my wandering mind. sorry i’m not sorry. wherever you venture in life, whatever you find yourself pursuing, be an agent of change. change your friends around you. change the community you’re a part of. change the country you live in. change the world. change the way someone views the world, her religion, food security, his neighbors, architectu...

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life." - John Lennon "Broke the calm, strain in the back / I was born driven by fear / And I don't think I'll ever understand / But I know I'll be runnin' for years" - Heartless Bastards, "Runnin'" "Fear begets fear. Power begets power. I willed myself to beget power. And it wasn't long before I actually wasn't afraid." - Cheryl Strayed, "Wild" Lately I’ve been digging into some deeply rooted fears and thought patter...

I'm going to the South Pole. I'm a math teacher and I'll be participating in a research project. One of the goals of this expedition is to share my journey with students so they can see math and science being used in the real world. (The actual real world, not the "real world" of textbook word problems.) Students will follow my journey via a blog and a discussion board. And they're also going to design experiments for me to do while I'm down there. I'll also have a live chat with them sometime during my trip. And, one of the coolest parts, is that anyone can join in - not just my students. Other classes will be following me but so will business people, pilots, cops, pre-schoolers, grandparents, etc. It's exciting to share my experiences with everyone because I get to show people that it really is possible to do almost anything you want. (Also: Math and science can be really exciting!) T-37(ish) days and counting. "If you have the de...

I'm a software engineer by trade, but today I'm writing about a different passion of mine: Dancing. Six years ago, swing dancing changed my life. Now I dance tango, waltz, swing, and blues. I wanted to share dance lessons -- not the footwork, but the developmental ways in which partner dancing has helped me personally: * Resolve Few people actually have "two left feet". The first times you go dancing, it's awkward. Doubly true for guys, having to lead. Stick to it, and within about two months, that feeling passes. Practice, learn, get better. * Leadership Guys have to be confident and lead the dance, think ahead, and watch where it's going. But the best ladies will, given opportunities, lead stylistically. Sometimes slow, sometimes energetic; it depends on the song. * Listening Listening to the music is easy; you can practice by concentrating on one instrument in a song. Dances can be styled on those cues. Listening to your partner is the most diffi...

I, more recently than not, have this mindset that if I don't ask, try or do I will never know. I have kept so many things unsaid thinking that people can read my mind and have ended up disappointed in the outcome but really I should have just said what I felt or taken the next appropriate step before the disappointment came to sneak up on me. I have the “just do it” mindset now with everything in my life - whether it’s going up to someone new, asking for a promotion, or just being bold and trying to get what I want in life. A lot of situations shock me when it turns out in a positive way but of course there are things that don't turn out how I want them to but that just leads me to believe it is not meant to be. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and leads me to the next place that IS meant for me. Embrace your path, take the chance/risk (so long as it is in a positive way) and live your life how you want. Things left unsaid will always be unsaid; things lef...

Hello: As this is 'the list serve'; I will 'serve a list'. * I'm a 42 year old, legally blind, stay at home dad. * I am: funny, intelligent, open-minded, creative, memorable, anal, logical, and a survivalist. * 'And' should only be used in numbers with a fraction or decimal; e.g. two thousand twelve, NOT two thousand and twelve. * 'Saw', i.e. the past tense of 'see', happens once, and is done. I saw the shooting star last night. 'Seen' is the past participle, and requires an auxiliary verb, e.g. has, have, had. 'Seen' is something that is more than once, or continuing. I have seen shooting stars every night this week. * People 'lie', e.g. I lie on my bed to read. To 'lay' something requires an object. I lay my book on the nightstand before going to sleep. * I love my wife, Lenora, and my children: Simone, Malakki, and Terra. * Men are not all (created) equal. They should, however, have equal considerati...

For Luke, The difference between a fear and a phobia, fear is something you talk yourself into, a phobia is when people rationalise it by giving your fear a clinical name ( My justification Jk is that this is my opinion:P ), but fear/phobia will always stop you from doing the things that are fun and Interesting. I'm generally a scared person, I have a huge fear of ducks (Not a good story, needless to say being billed by a duck is very expensive lol), spiders, heights, disappointing people and not being good enough to be a performer. But I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by, and to share my life, with people who push me to confront my fears, they drag me through flocks of ducks, take me to tall buildings and encourage me to follow my dreams. Hence I am now starring as Audrey in ,and producing, a production of Little Shop of horrors. Moral.... surround yourself with people who push and challenge you and force you to think, feel and do things differently, things that scare...

Olá a todos os 21.588 que acabam de receber esse email :) Moro em Brasília, Brasil. Tenho 20 anos. Conheci o The Listserve no início do ano, por um post do Youpix. Coloquei meu email no mailing e desde então recebo diariamente várias história. Faço questão de ler cada uma dessas historias, elas me inspiram. Já sorri, chorei e até respondi alguns emails agradecendo pela mensagem que foi compartilhada. Uma dica que levo para a vida é que devemos correr atrás dos nossos sonhos, independente de quão grande ele é. Aproveite cada minuto dessa busca, mantenha o foco e não se esqueça de aproveitar a paisagem do caminho. Faça tudo o que você pode fazer, corra atrás das minimas oportunidades, mostre que você tem um sonho, corra atrás e seja feliz. Gostaria muito de saber onde essa mensagem chegou, se possível me envie um Olá e diga qual seu país. Abraço! Leo Maia / @LeoMaia _ Brasil

Hi! I've wrote down a bunch of things I want to say/share with all of you but of all those things the following are what I've picked out as my top 7. Why 7? I don't know I like the number. 1) Checkout the short story Mrs. Wienckus by E.B. White (really anything by E.B. White...it's all good!) 2) I believe everyone should use the Oxford comma!! Learn about, use it, and love it! (See what I did there?;) 3) Try Swiss cheese in quesadillas...and sweet and sour sauce with chicken nuggets. 4) Always forgive your enemies because nothing annoys them so much 5) The secret to making really good chocolate chip cookies is browning the butter vs. creaming it. 6) Lazy people fact #492,928,392,103: you were too lazy to read that number. 7) Fact: If you ask someone what a goatee is they will most likely stroke an outline of an imaginary one on their chin. I hope you have a spectacular day! Remember to stay classy! Jordan Alfaro TX, USA

I am writing this from my tiny apartment in Madison, Wisconsin. I have realized the low rent I pay is directly related to the fact that I overlook an intersection on the preferred street of emergency vehicles, which means they lay heavily on the horn, at all hours of the night, to cross through red lights. It does not bother me in the least. The sirens remind me that we are all emergencies, at one time or another. I’m also reminded to turn off the oven. I recently began my first full-time job working for the state. I am a man who thinks deeply and laboriously about where I am in life, where I could be, and how best to do the right thing at all times. I am surprised to find myself a civil servant, but I believe a government is only as good as the people who run it. I feel I am a good person, so I accept trading my spoken word poet’s cap for an oxford button down and a name badge. I leave work daily feeling fulfilled. Lastly, I know for certain only a few things. -My wife and I keep e...

I have 250 words and have already used nine. I would have loved to write a public love letter to my wife, to my two daughters and tell everyone why I have the greatest parents, in-laws, siblings and family. I wanted to discuss the physics behind Baumgartner’s recent free-fall from the edge of space, share the world's best pie and cookie recipes, debate survival strategies for the impending zombie apocalypse, and tell everyone why we should fight for capitalism, small government and a return to the gold standard. But I'm not going to. Instead I will share a handful of my father's rules of survival. Read them slowly: It is always my fault. No problem is bigger than I am. No one can offend me. No matter how much good you do in the world, someone will always be pissed off at you. How you make people feel will be remembered long after they forget what you say or what you accomplish. No matter how much money you have, once you are married it is never enough. Finally, an...

I hope you have a wonderful day today, all 21,517 of you. Christine Davis Montreal, Quebec

Look up my friend, look up to that night sky above you. Those stars you see, impossibly far from where you stand, are the same ones I see. Those stars, some have witnessed the birth of humanity, others burned out a millennium ago and all we see is an echo. Impossibly far away, yet impossibly close, I hope the vastness of the universe makes your troubles melt away and brings you back to another time, I know it brings me back. I see these stars over me, and I am comforted by that fact that the same stars shine over your head. One day, that may be the last connection we old friends have. It is a promise, a promise that as the years pass, we will never be completely alone. That we will always have this, a faded photo, a scribbled note, a memory of days gone by. A promise that us two weary travelers one day will meet again, and watch the stars together again, separated by neither mountain nor sea. This is something that's been evolving for a year now. I wrote the second half last yea...

Right, sooo.. I am a social scientist - a communication scientist - a media psychologist - a game researcher and an expert on mediated motivation So I should know a thing or two about human behaviour Apart from that (or maybe intertwined) I have had quite an eventful life > it often feels like I've had two or three and when I have your collective attention for a moment I would like to share something with you that could possibly improve your life After trying to discern what seperates the happy people from the unhappy people I come up with one piece of advice: Fail.. Fail big and fail harder Unafraid and Unashamed Do a thing you want to do and fail at it Once you have failed, notice how things basically stay the same.. Your friends will still be your friends, the sky will still be blue, mornings will still mean getting out of bed After your failure only ask yourself only two things: > What can I learn from this failure? > Would I like to try again? Any answers you hon...

Scout's pace means moving at a brisk pace by alternately walking and running. Baden-Powell himself recommended alternating every fifty paces, but I prefer twenties as it's easier to count. My perennial optimism about how long it takes to walk somewhere makes me do it, and I enjoy breaking records for regular trips. I like the control that comes from having a number of "gears" at my disposal--easy strolling, brisk marching, an unpressured trot, the truth of a life lived under my own steam, and feeling... fit and well. Scout's pace is obviously only the English term: do it a bit harder and you're speaking Norwegian: a fartlek. As for what the technique's most legendary exponents--the nomads of the Kalahari--call it, I have !kno idea! It is only the blink of an evolutionary eye since we were all hunter-gatherers; and yet we have forgotten Scout's pace, with dreadful consequences. Many ills of the Western lifestyle--obesity, high blood pressure, heart dis...

I'll keep my submission to the listserve short and sweet, for your viewing/brain scratching pleasure. Your boss can thank me for getting you back to work about two hundred words sooner. I'll just share two of my favorite quotes. "In the end, the universe tends to unfold as it should" and "There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds." Think about it. Oh, and if by any chance any of these subscribers are NHL players and/or owners; End this damn lockout. I miss hockey. Go Sharks! Go Niners! Go SF Giants! Go Earthquakes! And if you've actually taken the time to read this; send me a shout back! I'd love to know where in the world this message ends up. -LB P.S- Follow your heart and be patient. Good things come to those who wait. Leon B San Jose, CA

We all have desires. We want to to eat, enjoy sensual pleasure, make money, gain recognition. None of these are bad per se, but often these desires are misdirected towards not-so-great ends. We as a race have sought to control these desires from the very beginning. It's perhaps what Plato referred to as Justice, Aristotle as eudaimonia, Hindu's as moksha, Muslims as Sufism, or spiritual elevation by many. At the core of all of these philosophies is the idea that Mankind is Free. Not freedom in a democratic sense, freedom in a spiritual sense. Man is free to control and direct the desires of the heart. If you start the process of restructuring yourself to be truly free, you may be plagued with painful Socratic questions. Are you in startup land to 'make it big' or are you there to have others see you make it big? Are you paying attention to your friend so that he or she may pay attention to you later, or do you truly care? As you keep rising above your own self, you m...

When my gmail popped up and said, congratulations, you've won the listserve, I knew exactly what to say, yet I didn't know how to say it. Treasure your friends. Nearly 30 weeks ago, I was forced to cut ties with some of my best friends. The friends that I really knew, they were gone to me, and the friends that I could still go on with, expected me with my other group. So it is this I say, treasure them. Treat every day with them as it could be the last. I didn't know that lesson before this, and it still haunts me. I've spent nearly 30 weeks more or less alone, and I wake up each day forgetting that I'm alone, and I go to sleep missing each and every one of them. Anonymous California

As an American I've always believed in the pursuit of happiness, but happiness is difficult to define in this situation. Being "content" is increasingly my definition. I am entirely content in my life as it is in this chapter, I imagine this is what most people are looking for and hope they find it. This doesn't mean life is perfect, winning the lottery would be helpful, but I accept and love where I am. I realized my luck during a regular walk through Central Park in NYC. There were so many memories there, where I fell in love with my husband, where we eloped before our crazy East meets West wedding in New Zealand, where I've enjoyed many a Saturday with a picnic and people watching. I came to this city at 18 and feel like I was raised by her and her people. I am grateful for the mistakes I was allowed to make in the general anonymity and the celebrations shared with complete strangers (go yanks!) Of all of the lessons New York has taught me, I am grateful the ...

Hi! I’m a 32-year-old Karachi girl living in Dubai. I dance a lot, even though I’m terrible at it. But that’s ok, because I’d rather be bad at doing something I enjoy, than be good at doing something I hate. I believe life is too short to spend doing things - or being with people - you don’t really like. So just focus your energy on the people and things that you love. It’s important to work for a living, but not live for working. With the exception of the lucky few who have found a way to make money doing something they truly love and enjoy, most of us work fulltime jobs just to make ends meet, and there’s nothing wrong in admitting that. So come in to work on time and leave on time, and enjoy real life. Contrary to what a lot of people say, money is not evil. Money is great. It gives you the freedom to do as much or as little as you want, for yourself and for others. It gives you the power to help other people. It gives you the luxury of exploring your own self. So don’t be embarr...

I'm so not ready for this. I'm going to try to just be as honest and in the moment as possible. This is a first-take sorta thing kids and kid-ettes, so buckle up and try to bear with me :) I don't know if any of you have heard about Harsha Maddula these past weeks, but if you Google his name the story you will find is a heartbreaking one. He and his family have not been off my mind for over a week. His family wants answers. I just want them to not feel pain anymore... I wrote the words above ^^^ yesterday, and then completely blanked. My mind was muddled mush. I came back to writing this today after music cleared my mind. I was able to jam with some friends of mine and the whole process from beginning to end sort of reset me. So here it is: Find something in your life that allows you to return to being you, so that you can face the world clear-headed. I had no idea i should have even been looking when i found music. What helps you/what have you found? Jai Sen N...

These five songs have shaped me as an individual, they have shaped the way I look at the world around me, and they have shaped my vision of the future I’d like to live. Sébastien Tellier // La Ritournelle – I think I was already in love when I first heard this song, but in this song I disappeared deep into our life together. It’s possible this is the world’s most perfect song. Brother Ali // Rain Water – I first saw Ali perform almost 10 years ago in a dive bar above a movie theater in St. Louis. Last week he sold out the Bowery Ballroom in New York. I hold close his music and life story as a reminder that greatness takes years to achieve. Air // Run – To my dearest sister Emma. Your artwork is a gift to us all. I have come to accept that there are complexities and emotions behind it I may never understand – but this no longer gets in the way of me enjoying it. Jay-Z // Beach Chair – “I said from not being afraid to fall out the sky.” Disrupting my comfort zone has never failed me ...

Hi, I am second year medical student. This is not my first time being in second year. Yes, I failed my examinations. And I chose to redo the year rather than re-sits. Why? Maybe I was/am crazy. It was just a lot culminating at me losing my footing. I forgot to stand up and fight back. I forgot to do what I had to. Anyway, I know better now. I don't see it as a failure anymore. It is just everything never to do again for me. My parents don't know I am repeating my year of study. In fact, most of my family and friends don't. Instead, I chose to tell you guys. 20000+ strangers, few I know and have met, but mostly strangers. I like to write in my spare time. Very very few people know this about me. I also love teaching. Here is something I wrote the other day. Parallels or crossing paths? Which one do you pick? On parallels you are equidistant yet unable to meet. Ever. Temptations teasing so close by. Fights and flailing at a distance. With cross paths you just meet once to ...

I just graduated in May with a MS in biology, focused on animal physiology and biomechanics. I learned many things about myself during my graduate education; in particular, I learned that I truly don't want to continue in biology. Suffice to say, killing my research animals made quite an impression. Throughout my studies, I had a growing interest in pointing my biomechanics knowledge less toward animal systems and more toward robotics. My interests grew until finally I broke biology ranks and took an introductory robotics course through the computer science department at my university the semester before I graduated. I didn't have the background everyone else in the room did, and I spent a lot of time outside of class catching myself up on unfamiliar material. I loved every second of it. My new goal is to develop this interest to the point that I can pursue a graduate degree in robotics and make contributions in that field. Since I'm now out of school, a lot of this devel...

Hello! Bye! Probabilmente queste sono le uniche due parole che so scrivere e leggere correttamente in Inglese :) Devo confessare di non aver letto con attenzione tutte le email scambiate con Listserve, ma mi è sembrato di scorgere un mosaico bellissimo di diversità, vite e sogni squisitamente "normali". Davanti questa grandezza, un ragazzi italiano di 23 anni cosa dovrebbe volere? Cosa può fare? Ho iniziato a sognare! Con "normalità studio e costruisco la mia vita, ho incontrato una persona che amo e tante, molte a cui voglio bene. Tra piccole crisi e gioie desidero che questa stupenda vita "normale" diventi speciale, unica! A presto ;) Inviata dal mio Windows Phone Aquino Fulvio

I don't really like running. I don' like to wake up early in the morning. I could list a couple of more things that I don't like. This is limiting. This is what I say to myself. It doesn't make my life easier or happier. Then why do I say them? I go running anyways. It's much more easier if I enjoy it...or at least tell myself (out loud) why it's good for me and why I like it. I like running because I'm in control not my body. Going for a run is good for my self-discipline, it also helps me to get out of my comfort zone. It's amazing how much power our mind (and through it our self-talk) has. Use it for you not against you. Just listen to what you say - are you helping and supporting or exhausting yourself (and others). You’re in charge to control what you say. If you don't like some qualities that you have, change them. Through changing self-talk and self-image you can become the person you have always wanted to be. It's not easy but comple...

hi everyone i'm a huge fan of the band Fugazi. in April 2002 they played two nights at my school. i had the privilege of editing the video footage from the first show this past spring, 10 years to the month. you can find it if you search "Fugazi Live Massachusetts College of Art 2002". i'm working on editing the second night (4/20/02), but i'm missing about 30 minutes of footage. were you there videotaping? do you know someone who might have footage? i would love to get in touch with anyone who might have video of that night so the documentation can be complete. thanks for any leads. one more thing. my partner and i moved from boston > nyc > sf > luray, virginia, a rural town about 90 minutes from washington, dc. if you ever have the chance to move to a rural area, i highly recommend it. i love spending time in urban areas, but we've been able to afford a house with a few acres here, something that was impossible in the city. i drive down the road...

Alright, here's what we're going to do: I want all of you to tell me about the things that make you feel awe. By awe, I mean a sense of wonder at the mystery of existence or the size of the universe--a sort of overpowering ecstasy mingled with just a little bit of melancholy or existential dread. So for example, maybe awe is what you feel when you look up at the stars, or into your child's eyes. If you're religious, maybe you experience awe when you feel the presence of God. Whatever awe means to you, and whatever shape it takes, I want to hear about it. Your answer can take the form of a straightforward explanation, a story, a poem, a drawing, a video, a photograph, a song, or whatever else you want. It doesn't even have to be your creation; if a Beatles song makes you feel awe, then send me a YouTube link to that Beatles song. If someone said or wrote something which inspires awe, then quote them. Your answer can be anonymous or not, but I do at least want to kno...

I have two requests of the Listserve— First, I have been reading the listserve every day for a few months now, and I want to express my disillusion at what I've seen. Far too many of the messages I receive from the listserve spew the same clichés that I have been listening to my whole life. Please, if you're given this gift, tell me a story, introduce me to your favorite musician, tell me about your startup, tell me a joke! Show me what makes you individual. My second request is this: read more poetry. Scheherazade Tell me about the dream where we pull the bodies out of the lake and dress them in warm clothes again. How it was late, and no one could sleep, the horses running until they forget that they are horses. It’s not like a tree where the roots have to end somewhere, it’s more like a song on a policeman’s radio, how we rolled up the carpet so we could dance, and the days were bright red...

One day in 1999 I stood on a subway platform in Boston as a banjo player named Bob Sundstrom played "Pennies from Heaven". I was mesmerized and I bought his cassette on the spot. The songs were old Tin Pan Alley numbers from the 1920's that were chock full of wit lyrical inventiveness. A few years later when I heard John Lithgow's "Singin' in the Bathtub" I had the same giddy feeling. It seems like there is a doughnut hole in access to some historical music. Classical radio stations mostly emphasize music made up until 1900 and rock stations never play anything made before 1950, but there are many great songs from 1900-1950. Maybe you're like me and you sometimes get tired of the same three chords and the same story about couples breaking up. Maybe you also yell at your radio when you hear that Franz Ferdinand song that is ripped off of Led Zeppelin's "Talkin' 'Bout Love" or the One Direction song that is a copy of Sheila E...

"Only a life lived for others is a life worth living" (Albert Einstein) It is easy for each of us to get caught up in the minutiae of every day life. I have pursued posessions and sought answers in religion and in learned books but have returned to one simple truth - true bliss exists only in being of service to others. It is not about any particular set of morality. We are all part of a global community. Our existence is made easier by that community and we are beholden to it and to each other. John Hobbes wrote about the state of nature being "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short" and in order to avoid that we formed communities. Your life is made easier and better by your connections to each other and it is our duty and our privilege to support one another. The more we become connected and help one another, the more we all benefit. Call it selfish selflessness. I find bliss in working with disabled individuals to help them find dignity and respect...