The Left hand shake goes way back to the origins of Scouting, and was inspired like many original Scouting concepts by B.-P.’s Army career.

When Captain Baden-Powell entered the capital city of the Ashanti people in 1896 he was met by one of the chiefs who came to him holding out his left hand. B.P. held out his right hand in return but the Chief said “No, in my country the bravest of the brave shake with the left hand”

This was because African Warriors typically carried a spear in the right hand and a shield in the left. To shake left handed meant you had to put down your shield and put your life in the hands of the other person.

So began the Left hand shake of the World Wide Brotherhood of Scouting.

– Thanks to Jim McGregor, 1st Camden South Scout Group, Camden NSW Australia

Many of you have heard of a woman in India named Mother Teresa who has devoted her life to serving the poor. She is known around the world. She has shown that you do not have to do big things to be a blessing to others.

If someone is hungry you can feed them.
If they are dirty you can help clean them.
If they are sick you can care for them.
If they are lonely you can talk to them.
If they mourn someone you can give them words of comfort.
You do not have to be rich or famous or a person of great importance to do any of this. You simply have to care about others as much as you care about your own needs.
Mother Teresa has cared for many who were sick, fed many who were hungry, and cleaned many who were dirty. She gave up all her worldly possessions when she started doing this many years ago. She was not always famous but she always cared, helping people in the slums of Calcutta, India.

Each of you can be a blessing to others as you live your lives. You can say a kind word when someone is down; you can buy a meal for someone who is hungry. When you help someone, keep it to yourself, you do not need to tell others what a good person you are. The world will notice your example by how you treat others. When the opportunities arise, always be a blessing to family, friends and strangers!

This fall, when you see geese heading South for the winter, flying along in V-formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way:
As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following.
By flying in V formation the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
When a goose falls out of formation it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.
If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are.
When the head goose gets tired it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies the point.
It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs with people or with geese flying south.
Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
What do we say when we honk from behind?
Finally–and this is important–when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshots, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation, to catch up with their group.
If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.