From Bitterness To Gratitude

[Steven]

Way to go, Mirka. Very good to hear of your generous act of kindness to
Hesperides23. The spirit of this is something we all can be thankful for. Yes!

[ladydi]

Dear Mirka,

You are so very special. This is what Karma is all about. You have given from your soul to someone who was not just wanting/needing, but someone who has been beaten down by the system and the situation in the US today. He was initially bitter but you have turned that around. Extra wings are awaiting you in Heaven!

Namaste,
Diana

"Random Acts of Kindness"....let's all give it a try!

[ladydi]

I just want to publicly thank our forum member Mirka, who in an amazing act of kindness and generosity, has paid for a ticket so that I may have the rare pleasure of seeing Leonard Cohen in concert next month at one of his sold-out shows in Oakland. This is surely one of the most magnanimous gestures I've ever been blessed with from someone who is practically speaking a total stranger. When I initially posted here, it was to vent some bile and resentment, and I hardly expected to be rewarded by a free ticket. I had in fact resigned myself peacefully to not attending. I'm so very happy now that I will have this once-in-a-lifetime experience of seeing this artist perform, who I've loved and listened to for over thirty years now.
Thanks also to those of you who extended your sympathy and supportive goodwill to me in my current plight.

Thanks again to Mirka and to all of you...

Welcome to the Forum, hesperides23!

You have seen first hand how very generous many on the Forum are! Mirka has been an angel to you and I know you will find the concert an evening of a lifetime! Leonard's concerts are so magical and touch everyone on a deep, spiritual level.

I personally wish you all the best and hope that things may turn around for you. My positive thoughts will surround you.

Take care, and may you have all the best,
Diana

[ladydi]

Hi Jarkko,

I don't know how to do this but I think that since this thread started out with such hostility and bitterness and ended with generosity and gratefulness, that perhaps we could change the awful title of the thread. What started out negative has become positive in the plus....thanks to Mirka, and maybe it would be nice to indicate this.

All the best,
Diana

[News Gal]

Hi Jarkko,

I don't know how to do this but I think that since this thread started out with such hostility and bitterness and ended with generosity and gratefulness, that perhaps we could change the awful title of the thread. What started out negative has become positive in the plus....thanks to Mirka, and maybe it would be nice to indicate this.

All the best,
Diana

Isn't that just cool? What nice people, I haven't ever seen such a thing happen online in my life. This is a very special place...

[hesperides23]

It's fine with me if you change the thread title... What about "From Bitterness To Gratitude"?

[ladydi]

Hi hesperides!

Sounds good to me! I've contacted both Jarkko and Marie and think they will change it!

I am SO happy for you!

Diana

[sue7]

Me too. I'm so pleased for you, hesperides23. It'll be an extraordinary concert.

Mirka, just checking: did you receive a message from me? I'm not sure if it went through successfully.
Sue

[friscogrl]

Oh Mirka, I just read the post from herspides23 and just about cried. I was so touched by your act act of generosity
and his response to it . You did such a nice thing for him, giving him the ticket and through that touching his heart

Frisco

[mirka]

oh my, it's ONLY MONEY !

I was helped many times in my life when I was in dire need, I'm just returning what I've received.
Hope that it'll bring Herspides good luck

ps.
Sue: no, I haven't got any message from you. Pls check your PM box.

[RainDog1980]

oh my, it's ONLY MONEY !

I was helped many times in my life when I was in dire need, I'm just returning what I've received.
Hope that it'll bring Herspides good luck

ps.
Sue: no, I haven't got any message from you. Pls check your PM box.

HA! So true, it's only money. Just a damn piece of paper. It's amazing, unfortunately, just how much it can control what we do and the choices we make.

As hesperides23 said, a large majority of us are forced to live with that looming debt, and kudos to you for making someone's dream come true. You truly are a generous person, and carry the spirit of Leonard with you. It is very inspiring, and shows that there are people out there who understand what it means to be part of a community.

[mirka]

IMHO money is needed as a way to measure everybody's contribution to the common good. Unfortunately lately the concept got distorted, greed, excess and selfishness took over, and as a result we have a global recession (depression ?).
I was raised in a different country, at different times, when greed wasn't that common and people helped each other. Our parents generation went through WWII, when families often lost everything.
I guess this heritage makes me look at money differently then most people in US (?).

[hesperides23]

I hope it will not seem crass or self-indulgent of me if I mention at this point, for those who might perhaps be interested in learning more about my own activities as a musician, that I have updated my profile here and there is a link to my website (where unedited streaming audio tracks can be listened to for free, or CDs purchased if you are inclined to do so). My music is a far cry from the greatness of Leonard Cohen, certainly, but perhaps a few of you might find it to have some merit. Just click on my name or icon image to view my profile and find the URL link. Don't think for a minute that I make any kind of living from my music - just the opposite, in fact it is the reason for almost all my credit card debt, as I've funneled expenditures into my music production over the years with scarcely any return (a labor of love, something I am sure any of you out there who are recording or performing musicians can relate to, no doubt)...

[a.ephroni]

Wow. I feel humbled and opened by this discussion. Hesperides23, I so empathize with having places (in me) where I feel righteous rage and, yes, the tight and painful grip of bitterness. And Mirka, though yes, it's "only money," it isn't. It's an extension of good faith that offered a brother the space to open up... to, as LC puts it, "the masterpiece" (you lose your grip and then you slip...)

Thanks to both of you... this is beautiful.

[mwaldman]

hesperides23 -

Thanks for sharing your music. I have only had time to sample it so far, but I will go back for more. You are talented, and I have enjoyed listening to your "labor of love".

Enjoy the concert. You're in for a fantastic evening. And keep hanging around this forum. It's a special place, and it can bring out the best in people, as both you and Mirka have demonstrated.

Best wishes,

Mike