TED Community » Fred Reibin

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About Me

Location:
Canada, Saskatoon, Sk
Gender:
Male

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    A reply on Conversation: What if we measure our progress with Gross National Smiling instead of GDP?

    Jan 25 2012: This reminds me of the quote by the Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh - “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” When I'm in an off mood, I practice smiling and I find within a minute or less my energy has totally changed. Smiles are the new drug!

  • A comment on Conversation: What if we measure our progress with Gross National Smiling instead of GDP?

    Jan 25 2012: I really like the tangibility of smiling! At any given moment, you could look around a room and judge the 'GNS'. If it became widely accepted, I bet you would see more individuals taking responsibility for putting smiles on the faces of others - volunteering, paying it forward, etc....
  • +1

    A comment on Talk: Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness

    Oct 6 2011: Ryokan, a Japanese Zen master, lived alone in a hut at the foot of a mountain. He lived in abject poverty, eating local plants and the rice that neighboring farmers would sometimes give him. One evening while Ryokan was out, a thief entered his home looking for something to take. but discovered that there was absolutely nothing to steal in the hut. At this point Ryokan returned from his walk and caught the thief searching the room.

    He approached the thief and warmly shook his hand. The thief was so surprised. Ryokan told the prowler, "You must have come a long way to visit me, and you shouldn't leave empty-handed." Ryokan looked around the empty room, but he too couldn't find anything to give him, so he took off his only robe and handed it to the robber.

    "Please, take my clothes as a gift," Ryokan said.

    The thief was too astonished to say anything, and he took the robe and slunk away into the cold night. Ryokan sat naked and gazed at the full moon through the window. "Poor fellow," he mused, "I wish I could have given him this beautiful moon."

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