Tag Archive for 'SuperForesters in Action'

SuperForesters In Action! – SuperForester Vital Akimana

mathew published on April 16, 2010 in celebrity and zeitgeist. 3 Comments Tags: , .

(Image courtesy of Shavu’a Tov!)

Hey all!

I recently received this story from SuperForest Vital, and immediately asked him if I could share it here!  He humbly accepted to share it to you all.  So here it is:

“today i experienced something wonderful. i was walking over to the social lobby of my hotel when i noticed a disabled lady with a walker. She seemed down so i stopped to talk to her. I asked her how she was and she seemed so contemplative at the question. She informed me that she was not doing well because she had had a bad experience with the police (there happened to be a police conference in the hotel so naturally I wanted to know if she had experienced this bad experience at the hotel, and to offer to do something about it). So she informed me that there is not that much we can do except to listen but at the moment she was sorting through some bad feelings and feelings of betrayal and mistrust of the police. So i told her that i will be close by if she wants an ear to listen.

(Side note, this woman is a very sweet lady who is usually in a wheel chair but wants to show that she is independent so she uses a walker form time to time. She seems to be around 28 or 29, 30 at the most. Completely paralyzed on one side and partially on the other side, so she is hunched on one side. But she moves with such urgency that you cant really tell until she has to perform fine movements like reaching for the O’henry bars that sit in a jar on the front desk, which she loves. Moreover, it takes her about 2 minutes to formulate a short sentence. She is very alert and could probably repeat a whole conversation she had with someone several months before where it not for her speech impediment)

so walked by again and she did not say anything but i noticed that she was almost brought to tears, which is strange for her because she is usually in high spirits as the front desk tells me. so I decided to get her some water, the very least i could do. once i placed the water on an adjacent side table (she was sitting down) she turned to me almost in tears and said i think i am ready to share with you.
so she told me that on one of here walks from the shopping center, near the hotel, she was crossing a street and was almost run over by some teens who were speeding. This was a shopping center street so the speed is reduced but she apparently almost got crushed. As this was not the first time this has happened to her she decided to take this matter to the police. She told me that she was not asking for much, just for someone to listen to her and be understanding. but the receptionist at the municipal building was so uncaring that it brought her so down. When she finally got to talk to an officer he seemed to not be concerned and did not even take a note or write a report about how dangerous this place can be. So this whole ordeal really brought her down. She asked me how people could be so uncaring or choose not to understand. she told me that she was hit once before when she was three and still have memories of this experience so anytime something close to this happens she has some really bad memories. She also asked me why it seems that she must get crushed with her walker before anyone can do anything about it.
It was so sad how much pain she had experienced at the municipal building, and even more sad how much it had brought her down. Finally she said that she called a friend of hers who is a police officer and asked him whether or not the police would finally respond to these issues if she got flattened with her walker.
How sad!!
I shared with her a little and in the ended we talked about how it seems that we need to put people who are more caring in positions of authorithy. She responded that maybe she could do that job. I expressed how much i appreciated that she talked to me and how much i would be sadened if she was flatted by a car. She smiled a big smile and told me that she really was happy that i was able to listen and hear her. I left for the airport with her still beaming.

I am so happy that i had this opportunity. It was so wonderful how she opened to share her experiences with me. I am so amazed at her resiliency.

If you get a chance to hear someone out take it. You might be surprised at what they can share with you, and how much brighter these moments can make your day.

peace,
V”

Truly beautiful, thank you allowing me to share this Vital!  You are an inspiration to me, and now SuperForest!  Keep doing what you do!  A big thank you from all of SuperForest!

Peace, love, life,

Mathew, and Team SuperForest

p.s. SuperForesters! Are you out in the world doing great things and looking out for one another? We want to hear about it! Email SuperForest!

SuperForesters In Action! – SuperForester Rob Angelitis And Mrs. Needsahug!

jackson published on February 25, 2010 in celebrity and zeitgeist. 9 Comments Tags: , .

screen-shot-2010-02-18-at-41845-pm(image via flickr user jamimages)

Goood Morning SuperForest,

We just got in a heartwarming letter of friendship and compassion from SuperForester Rob…

“Dear Superforesters,
Hey there. I’ve emailed you folks a few times before thanking you and whatnot. I wanted to share a story with you that I think you might like. It was brief and subtle but it changed my life tonight. I was sitting on the floor of a large empty hallway of a hotel talking to my friend on the phone. Sometimes we “Therapist” each other, this was one of those times. I noticed an older-ish woman, maybe early 60s, walking very slowly down the hallway towards the exit. As soon as I saw her I could tell something was off, I could feel it. As she got closer I could see she was trembling and mumbling to herself. She seemed to be approaching me so I greeted her and she responded in a mumble of “are you okay?” I told her I was fine I was just chillin out and asked her the same. The incoherent mumble and body language said no. It was strange and awesome, I couldn’t understand what she was saying but I could feel it. I asked her if she needed a hug. She was reluctant but then accepted and once she did she held on so tight. I could feel her relief. It felt like she had been craving some kind of love for a long time. I asked her if she needed to sit down. She said yes. We sat down on some odd couch-like furniture. We sat together and I asked her some questions and used listening skills. She didn’t tell me what happened tonight but I could extract from the scattered words that she was rejected somehow at the hotels nightclub/bar/restaurant thing. She was wearing a black old fashioned dress. She was frail. You could feel her loneliness. We held hands and tears were in her eyes. I think she was aware of the oddness of the situation because she would say something as if she was going to take her leave but then remain next to me. I got the feeling she wanted me to take her away from whatever was hurting her but I realized that it was just my feeling of wanting to do so. I remained alert and present. I knew that all I really needed to do was be there with her. It felt like I had been training my whole life for this. I’m not sure what we laughed at but we laughed at some point. It was a soft laugh. We shared several more hugs and held on tight each time. I told her she seemed like a wonderful lady and not to worry what anyone says. She smiled. Teary eyed. She said something like “this helped.” I hope it did. She then decided to go back to the club/bar thing to get a ride from a girl she knew (I don’t know what she was planning on doing before). As she walked away, just as slowly as she came, trembling, mumbling, I wanted to do more for her – but what? This was so spontaneous. Her obvious brokenness made my little problems seem even smaller. The whole time it felt like – this is so real. This is so what we’re here for. This brief human experience. We’re here together. Two forms of the same thing. What else is there to do but love? I do hope it helped, it sure helped me. Thank you older-ish lady. I will keep you in my heart. My friend was still on the phone. I picked it up and told him what happened and we talked about how everyone wants to be loved. And that’s my story. Once again, I love the site. Thanks.

Sincerely, Rob Angelitis”

Dear Rob, consider yourself a member of the Team! Bravo to you, good sir. For your compassionate action and selflessness, we salute you.

Love,

Jackson & Team SuperForest

SuperForesters In Action! – SuperForester Mathew Harreld

jackson published on February 18, 2010 in celebrity and zeitgeist. 9 Comments Tags: , , , .

screen-shot-2010-02-18-at-24319-pm(image via flickr user marius.haugen)

We just got an email from SuperForester Mathew who tells a tale of generosity and compassion on a cold Winter’s night.

“Team SuperForest,

After reading SuperForest for nearly a month and half I find myself at home.  A place to share humanity and all of the hope it shares.  Living in a world littered by media stories about death, destruction, cheating, and other negatively infused stories, I find myself often at odds with the person I want to be, and the world I live in.  Even at a school that brags of liberalism, and openness, and acceptance there is far too much negativity and stress endusers.  Our arts department, for example, is currently fighting censorship on the works it produces.  This leaves the arts bone dry in creativity and colour.  One of our directer’s will tell you the world we live in demands perfection in mathematics, science, sports, and test scores.  But it fails to call for, and yearn for, creativity and openness to all things (this is another story all together, something else we are trying to share with the community around us as we work to truly allow for openness and allowance of full thought.  And if you are interested I’d be willing to share with you all).

I find myself being a person who demands for more creativity, and I find SuperForest as a beautiful medium for exploring the unexplored, and sharing hope and creativity.  I believe what I am saying, and the reason I am going to share the following story, is that far too often we fail to celebrate humanity to its fullest.  The art of friendship and love, I feel, is being left behind.  I know there is a desire for these things, and SuperForest, I believe, is a large part of this desire, especially for its followers.  The following story has to do with two of my very close and great friends and myself.  The actions we took had no benefit to us except feeling good about who we are as people and knowing we made a difference.  For me what we did stemmed from the beliefs I discovered from a man named Bryan Nurnberger.  He is the founder and CEO of Simply Smiles, a non-profit org.  He works in Oaxaca, Mexico and his story and actions are truly inspirational.  I highly recommend contacting him.  His beliefs on community service is to only do it if you have created a friendship and a bond with the people you are to help. It isn’t about helping people just because we can, its because we are there for them because they are friends and fellow human beings.  So for me this story is very much a story of humanity, something we need more of on a day to day basis.  So finally…

Yesterday two of my close friends went into New Haven, CT.  We set out with the plan to enjoy ourself, and get a break for school.  And in doing so we ended up helping three human beings.  We were looking for a place for dinner, and it was freezing cold.  We saw this man asking for change and we said no, as giving away money is often far too risky a business.  But my friends and I decided we’d buy him something from the restaurant we ate at.  We got pizza for him, but he had left, so we wandered around looking for him or anyone else.  We stumbled upon a man who was asking for food!  He asked us, and we walked up and he said again, “Could you give me some food please?”  I held up the box of pizza and he says, “Please, I haven’t eaten all day, and the soup kitchens are closed.”  I look down at the pizza then up at him and he said “No! Really??”  I say, “Of course.”  He gets this huge smile and God blesses us.  He opened the box up and his face just lit up even more.  He turned and hugged each of us saying, “Thank you, thank you!”  We then saw another man asking for change on the same street, so we decided to at the very least to get another pizza.  We get a cookie and margarita pizza, but alas that man had left too!  So, we wandered about looking again.  We found one man and he said, “You’ll laugh, but I’m allergic to tomato sauces.”  So my friend says “How about cookies?”  He informs us he is a diabetic, but will take it nonetheless.  We find one man and offer our pizza, and he happily takes it.  But keeps asking for change telling us that what he would love more than anything is a hot coffee to keep him warm, and be able to sit in a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts until they close.  We offer to walk him there, just to make sure where the money goes.  He is very excited, and I ask why he is limping and he tells us he broke his foot falling down the stairs.  Helping him into the Starbucks we have him sit down while we order two coffees.  We also get two Starbucks gift cards.  He initially didn’t know what they were for.  When I explained, and told him how much money was on it, he exclaimed, “I don’t need that much!”  I told him it could last him for at least a month, and probably longer if he is careful.  I have utmost faith he will use them wisely.

I do apologise for any typos and for the length.  But alas words never seem to satisfy me.  I would love to share this story as widely as I can, and that is why I am asking for help.  Is there anyway you can insert in to one of the daily posts?  Any amount of it would make me highly grateful.  Keep up the amazing work and I look forward to seeing more!

Peace, love, life,

Mathew Harreld”

Thank you, Mathew! Thank you for caring for your fellow man and truly making yourself the environment. You are an inspiration. Here’s to hoping that your exemplary behavior catches on.

Much love to you,

Jackson & Team SuperForest

p.s. SuperForesters! Are you out in the world doing great things and looking out for one another? We want to hear about it! Email SuperForest!