As people of so many diverse backgrounds join our local Awakin Circle, they often leave behind the nuggets of wisdom and personal practice from their cultures. Like yesterday, Michael humorously shared a lunch experience from earlier in the day -- of how today's youth struggles with silence. :)

Similarly, in the after hours, we heard a beautiful Persian tradition from Fran and Reza -- pishkesh. "Earlier today, Fran met a young woman who said she loved Fran's pink shirt. So Fran offered to give it to her. 'There's a hole in it,' she warned her, but 'Oh, that's in style now -- I love holes!' was the response she got. So she arranged to take it, and this young woman then proceeded to gift her white top to Fran," Reza shared. As we spoke more, they spoke about this idea of pish-kesh that they grew up with, in Iran, and continue to alive in their culture even today. "Yes, in our culture, if you tell someone you like something, they will give it you. Everyone will do that.  It could be earrings, or a painting on the wall, or anything you see. And you can't say no, because it would disrespectful to not receive it. You would just pay it forward when someone else appreciates something you have. We call it pish-kesh."

So beautiful!  Reminds me of many such stories around ServiceSpace. :)