Cup of Compassion - Fighting ALS and sharing tea
Steepsterites,
I have been an enthusiastic member of Steepster for a couple of years and have been reminded daily that we are a unique and special community who have built a network around a ancient practice of sharing, mindfulness, and awareness. Below is my most recent post (the first in a while), mostly due to my busy and active role in many non-profit/charity events and work life. I present it to the broader tea community to share and open a discussion about the value of community, sharing, tea, and activism as we pursue the ideas of compassion, hope, and sharing.
Mabuhay!
Kashyap
“It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living,
I want to know what you paid for.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are,
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
For your dreams,
For the adventure of being alive.
I want to know if you can live with failure,
Yours and mine,
And still shout at the edges of a lake, river or mountain,
Yes, I am a warrior.
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have,
I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair,
Weary and bruised to the bone,
To do what needs to be done for someone you love,
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself,
And truly like the company you keep…."
These amazing lines were the written by Jon Blais, the Blazeman, the ALSWarriorPoet and they are a legacy of hope he offered to all of us and a mantra for himself as he completed the IronMan in Kona in 2005 while fighting ALS “Lou Gehrig’s disease”.
In 2006 my mother passed away from a 2 year battle with ALS and my father and I have not forgotten the horror and would save others from this suffering, and so for the 6th year I am headed out to bike 270 miles (from Boston to NY) over 3 days, along the Tri State Trek to raise money, awareness, and do more than ‘hope’ for a cure.
As a tea lover I am appealing again to our amazing community of compassionate and sharing tea enthusiasts, who remind me each day what it is to live and find awareness in each cup, to extend that open heart to those that are suffering from ALS.
Nearly 70 years since Lou Gehrig’s famous speech about being ‘the luckiest man alive’ and we still don’t have a cure or the answers we need.
I promise to each and every Steepster member who donates to my ride that I will send them a gift of tea and a special thank you. As the tea specialist for Staufs Coffee Roasters I invite you to visit our website at http://www.staufs.com and find a tea you enjoy
donate here: http://tst.als.net/alswarriorohio2011
and place the name of the tea in the comments and I will make sure your donation is rewarded with a ‘cup of compassion’
Thank you very much for your support,
shawn@staufs AKA Kashyap
Please help me understand your feelings on this kind of advocacy and awareness campaigns to I can better understand our tea community and I look forward to your comments
As a Registered Respiratory Therapist of 12 years, I understand the horrors you and your family have gone through. ALS is a destructive force that rips through an entire family, not just the unfortunate person struck with the disease. I applaud your effort for bringing attention to this terrible disease.
Done! And posted to Facebook to spread the word. Good luck to you!
Thank you so much Anny O and Bullie…how can I thank you with a gift of tea…send me a message and I will send you a ‘cup of compassion’ and I thank you so much for your sharing, contribution and daily work to help others. Your actions are inspiring and I am proud to share my tea bounty with you!
Don’t you worry about it. Donate the price of a sample and shipping to your cause.
well Anny O if you change your mind I’m in the coffee/tea industry and would be more than happy to send you something. Your generous heart is really amazing!
You are the one who is going to be working hard via bicycle!! Sending money is the easy part!! Lol
Will get my donation off soon and will post to FB and twitter.
I too prefer that all the money go to your cause but will be sure to check out the place you work at for a tea order once I get back from our trip to St. Louis. I have been holding off new orders until we are home and putt all my money into the bank for the trip, so as soon as I get a payment from a client I will be sending it your way!
Azzrian…thank you so much and just indicate when/if you place an order from Staufs and I will include a special sample or discount to your account for your support. Thank you!
I also maintain (in addition to the blog http://alswarriorohio.wordpress.com ) a facebook page : Iron Horse Challenge .
I am so very grateful to you for sharing this through other social media venues and should anyone like to follow it further, I would be happy to have them link up.
Thanks everyone you have made my day!
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