I can only imagine what goodness can from writing, drawing, creating and learning, can you? It is such a lovely and simple idea, with so much hope wrapped up in it.

I’m inviting you to join us in a challenge... Do you think we can collect 5,000 pens and pencils by Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 10th)? I think we can do it!

Let's help Nortehanon and KindnessGirl meet their goal! More details here: http://kindnessgirl.com/2009/03/31/pens-of-hope/

D.Billy of I Am Not Lying was walking through the Times Square subway terminal "when I spotted three identical payphones, side-by-side on a clean tile wall, just begging for something to be tacked on. So I pulled out a Sharpie and some manila tags that I’ve been carrying for just such an occasion, and designated one phone each for calls to the Past, Present, and Future." [ Full article here » ]

This morning's inbox included some great words of thought:

Back in the day, I had a “frenemy” who, as it turned out, was pretty hell-bent on taking me down. This person really did what they could to hurt me. I was deeply upset, I was angry, I was all of those things you feel when you find out that someone you thought you liked was venomous and dangerous. I restrained myself from fighting back. I tried to take the high road. But one day I heard that something unfortunate and humiliating had happened to this person. And my reaction was deep relief and…happiness. There went the high road. So, why does it feel so good to hear something bad about someone you don’t like? Or someone you DO like? Or someone you don’t KNOW? I once asked the editor of a tabloid newspaper why all of the stories about a famous British couple had a negative bent. He said that when the headline was positive, the paper didn’t sell. Why is that? What’s wrong with us?

You can view the entire newsletter, including answers from Kabir Helminski (Shaikh of the Mevlevi Order) and Dennis Genpo Merzel (founder of Big Mind Big Heart), at the website Goop.com

Here’s to washing our mouths out with soap.

Collaboration with LIVE NOW is launched at http://www.welivenow.org! Learn more about the project (and upcoming book) by clicking through.

Ha! Not to toot my own horn, but, toot! Those were mine. I was at Blogher spreading the gospel of Squarespace v5 and spoke about the HOPErevo project on the Positive Posting panel. Of course, I had to leave hope notes. :-) Only ONE of them said 'You are perfect'. For you BSG fans, yes, that was a total nod to Baltar. I made a handful that said 'You are beautiful' and threw in a 'You are perfect' because I was deliriously tired and thought it was funny. Yay for geektastic hope notes represented in the NY times!

If you’ll be in attendance, don’t miss the “Beautiful Blogging and Positive Posting” panel on Saturday, where I am humbled to join Kyran Pittman, Alyssa Royse, Jen, and Lucrecer Braxton to talk about the positive things we do on our blogs, and how your blog can also be about love, trust, positivity, hope, empowerment.

I won’t be doing a CSS lab this time around — the chicks at Blogher like to change things up each year — but if you see me don’t hesitate to hit me up for any help or advice. :)

When Renee offered plant advice in her column at Modish, I threw her my urban garden challenge. The thought of planting seeds, nourishing the soil, and growing my own garden got me to thinking about how huge one small seed can be. "Look how these weeds have grown in this stale dirt", I thought. "Imagine what this will look like when I actually put effort and love into it."

This is what inspired the summer Hope Revolution -- Sewing The Seeds of Hope. Here's the challenge. Make some seed bombs and find public patches of dirt that could use a little love. Plant it and leave behind a hope note. You can make your own, or print off one of these lovelies Renee created.

Every time you pass the spot, even after the note is long gone, you'll be reminded of your secret operation, and the power of a single seed. Or in this case, seed bomb. :)