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关于伊斯兰教,您有什么想了解的吗?我可以问您几个问题吗?
他回答说:“当然不。我很乐意解释或澄清任何你想了解的内容。”于是她花了足足四十五分钟到一个小时的时间,就伊斯兰教、古兰经、他的信仰等等方方面面向他抛出了一连串的问题。这真是一次非常有趣的经历。最终,我们发现伊斯兰教的一些信仰和我们基督教的一些信仰有很多共同之处。而这些内容在新闻里是看不到的,报纸上也读不到。这对她和我来说都是一次非常令人大开眼界的经历。

RW:这是一个很精彩的故事。你妻子的母亲有没有听到这些故事呢?

GN:确实如此,而且这是我最喜欢的部分。第二天,我妻子和几个家人谈起这件事。他们都问:“天哪,事情进展如何?” 听我妻子跟家人解释真是太棒了:“嘿,你们知道吗?你们完全误会了。他们有很多信仰和我们一样。而且他是个非常好的人。” 她甚至引用了他跟她讲过的一句《古兰经》经文。我大概复述一下:“如果你爱一个人,你就爱所有人。如果你杀了一个人,你就杀了所有人。” 看到她如此倡导世间的宽容,真是太好了。她说:“嘿,你们不懂。他是个非常好的人。他们有很多共同点。” 亲眼见证这一切,并参与其中,真是一次难忘的经历。

RW:这太美好了。像这样的陌生人跨越文化背景相遇并找到共同点的故事,最终能给我们带来一丝希望。而这一切,最初源于你七年前想要帮助陌生人的冲动。

GN:是的。回顾我的“善行之旅”(我喜欢这样称呼它),我惊讶于自己一路走来的历程。我越是参与KindSpring的善举,就越想做得更多。我先是寄送微笑卡片,然后是微笑套装。之后,我开始更多地参与幕后工作。现在,我以母公司的身份,积极投身于服务领域。回首过往,这真是一段奇妙的旅程。我期待着继续成长。这种感觉,我甚至难以用语言来形容。

RW:嗯,微笑卡片的整个概念——你知道它有多久的历史了吗?

GN:我认为它可能始于 2003 年或 2004 年。

RW:我觉得这源于尼蓬·梅塔和他表弟的一次谈话,或者类似的情况。他们设计好图案后,就去金考快印店印了第一批卡片。柜台后面的店员好奇地问:“什么是微笑卡?” 当他们解释之后,店员说:“嗯,我要成为第一个做善事的人。” 然后就免费帮他们印完了。

GN:没错。我记得Nipun讲过这个故事。你会看到很多类似的事情。就像我之前提到的,我们从来不收费。这永远都是一份礼物。有些人喜欢回来捐款,因为他们会觉得“天哪!”他们想把这份善意传递下去。人们觉得这样做很疯狂,竟然不向任何人收费。但现在快十年过去了,它依然蓬勃发展。我想我们已经寄出了一百五十万张微笑卡。它们在世界各地传递着善意。

RW:超过150万张。太棒了。不过,你也可以用自己的电脑打印出来,对吧?

GN:是的。我们提供这些文件供您下载,您可以自行打印,或者我们也可以寄给您。您可以自行打印的版本也有多种语言可供选择。

RW:所以我的意思是,保守估计,全世界可能有超过两百万张微笑卡片在流通,而且它还在继续传播。

GN:是的,绝对的。考虑到它的范围,这确实令人惊叹。

RW:杰夫,你还有什么要补充的吗?

GN:不。就像我说的,我觉得最棒的地方在于从小事做起。只要坚持下去,不知不觉中,它就会改变你的人生。我自己就深有体会,对此我感激不尽。所以,我非常庆幸多年前偶然发现了它,并最终成为其中的一员。我感到无比幸福。

更多信息请访问: http://www.kindspring.org/

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Mohamed Said Sep 14, 2013

The comment below meant to be on the article " the day I stopped saying hurry up" was erroneously posted here though I have read the above interview whichi is enlightening especially when I view it in the light of my relationship with my only daugther. Pls ingnore it . The inconvenience is regeretted

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Mohamed Said Sep 14, 2013

I cannot describe how beneficial your article is for a person like me who continue to rush and panic, deprive himself myself of the peace andtranquility and land himself in trouble.. I am aware that given the fact that I am in my mid-sixties, to change is easier said than done. I will read yourarticle time and gain , look at the pictures of your children and try to
learn from them as you have been doing..

Please acceptmy deep sense of gratitude and appreciation.

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Kristin Pedemonti Sep 14, 2013

I gift you 25 smiles. :) Thank you Geoff for sharing so much kindness through your own family and through kindspring. I am a HUGE fan of the site, haven't posted as much lately, but read it often and am Always inspired. I focus on Kindness is the Storytelling I present; whether messages of kindness in Traditional stories or in Real Life stories; kindspring is a Treasure Trove of Beautiful stories I share with audiences all over the world and they are ALWAYS deeply touched by the stories. I loved most your story of connecting in person to the man from Oman; we are All HUMAN and when we take the time to get to know each other we see we are far more Similar than different. I had a similar experience with an Iraqi student in Sweden a few years back; it is one of the most powerful memories of my life. thank you again and keep up the kindness! We all appreciate you very much!

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Bhoutik Sep 11, 2013

Geoff, grateful for all that you do behind-the-scenes!

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Eve Sep 11, 2013

Wow.

This is very VERY cool, and I loved hearing about Geoff's experience with another culture.

I am checking out the website as I type! Great interview.

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Tamilyn Sep 11, 2013

i was moved to tears of joy reading bout your daughters awakening to the true gift of kindness !! thank for sharing Geoff ..what a wonderful interview :)))))

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GratitudeEnvoy Sep 10, 2013
Thanks for the beautiful story. I am "zensitive" (my kids say cry baby) so I had happy tears while reading most of it. I have known of smile cards for some time and actually share a link on the free web resource I created called, "www.SpreadingGratitudeRocks...". While we have "Tokens-of-Gratitude" that I hand out everyday, I think it's time I order some "Smile cards". I think they will be a great compliment to my own "Kindness Journey". SGR has free black and white printable versions of the "token-of-gratitude" on the site...I hope someday to be able to afford to send out the printed color version for free too...as with the smile cards. You can earn a Metal coin "token-of-gratitude" by taking the free 21-day habit of gratitude challenge on the site. I keep mine handy as a daily reminder to live life through the lens of gratitude. I am a painter by vocation but am currently producing an educational documentary called, "Making Man...Kind". The sizzle reel should be ready in O... [View Full Comment]