karma karma everywhere

For the first time in a while I'm really taking notice of my thoughts and surroundings. The Law of Karma has resonated with me in an unexpected way. I've never thought about karma in the realm of choices. As in every single choice you make can affect you and those around you. I had always thought of karma in a world of deeds. He did this so he has good karma. She did that so she has bad karma.

This idea of conscious choice making has sat with me and is forcing me to think before I speak and act. I dig it.

The other day my co-teacher hit a kid, hard. I'm not going to get into my views on corporal punishment in the school system at this time, another blog maybe. But what I saw really hit home. This kid, after being hit, walked out of class and hit a smaller kid, hard. IN YOUR FACE KARMA. And it made me think - your actions don't just affect you and the next person but they have an affect on a multitude of people that you aren't even directly connected to. My coie hit the kid knowing how it would affect her and the kid. Did she think that another kid would be affected by it. Probably not. But he was.

Ripple effect.

Deepak says, before acting ask yourself "Will the choice I'm making now bring happiness to me and those around me".

Imagine we all asked ourselves that before acting...what a world.

Karma is everywhere. And it works in different ways. Just as we want to avoid negative actions we want to embrace the good and pay it forward. Who knows what something as simple as just being nice could trigger.

What kind of reactions do you want to set in motion?

just add water

Today is Blog Action Day. This means that thousands of bloggers from over 125 countries will be blogging about the same topic: Clean water. I'm happy to be a part of this.

the facts

Did you know that nearly 1 billion people lack access to clean water. That's 1 in 7 people that will struggle and suffer from disease and possible death.

3.575 million people die each year from water related disease, 90% are children under the age of 5. Which means, every 20 seconds a child dies from a water related disease.

Woman and children across the globe spend a total of 200 million hours each day collecting water for domestic use. 40 billion hours a year are spent in search of water in Africa alone.

Less than 1% of the world's fresh water is readily accessible for direct human use.

water on the daily

While a billion people go without water in the developing world, we here in the industrialized world are using much more than our fair share.

I was surprised to learn that it takes 24 litres of water to produce one hamburger. 1,514 litres to produce a cotton t-shirt and 6,813 litres for a pair of jeans.

Water consumption is everywhere. Even in places we may not really think about.

what can we do?

Just getting into the mindset of conserving water is a start. Here are some things we can do around the house that will go a long way.

*Take shorter showers.
*Turn the tap off while you brush your teeth or shave.
*Turn the water off while you wash dishes or vegetables.
*Only use the dishwasher or washing machine for full loads. Or set the dial accordingly.
*Check pipes for leaks regularly.
*Avoid the garburator by using a compost bucket.
*Use common sense! Any time you are running water to wash or water something water is being wasted. Fill a bucket, fill a sink, fill a bottle and use only what you need.

websites

Check out Water.org and Charity:water to learn about ways that you can get involved.

A donation as little as $20 gives one person clean water for 20 years. Crazy right.

Don't have an extra buck, don't worry. Just pass the message along. Spreading awareness is one way we can combat the water crisis. This is what Blog action day is all about, awareness.

just think

The only water we will ever have, is the water that we have now.

~~one love~~

sign me :)

Change.org|Start Petition

week 2

This week is all about The Law of Giving and Receiving.

So, I shall give a lovely little quote that I came across.

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” Lao Tzu

got calm?

I am trying to find some stillness in the daily and it is proving to be a challenge. Initially I thought that it made the most sense to take 10 minutes at the beginning and end of each day to lay back and clear the melon. But really all this amounts to is snoozing for an extra ten in the morning and going to bed earlier by ten in the evening. This, is not working.

It's not that I can't sit still. I can. I can sit still and watch t.v. I can sit still and read a book. I can sit still and knit. But stillness for the sake of stillness makes me anxious. And the anxiety drives my mind into overdrive.

I realise that thoughts are good. Thinking is good. What I'm trying to quiet is the running dialogue that seems to be on auto pilot. I won't even realise that I'm thinking until I tune in and hear the play by play of what's going on. It's as if there is a conversation happening between someone narrating my life and me giving an interview. Constantly.

The other morning I woke up and before I even realised that I was awake my mind was racing and I thought "are you f'ing kidding me? Already. My eyes aren't even open and you're planning the next 48 hours. Can't I just enjoy a Saturday morning of quiet".

I need to learn to control my mind. And after this last week I realise that meditation, like all things is not just something I can do. It requires patience and practise and guidance.

So, on to week two of my quest to calm the crazy. Patience Shawna, patience.

Oh, and I'm using Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat - Zinn as a guide. Hopefully this helps!

Any other recommended readings??

~peace~

week 1

The Law of Pure Potentiality is my focus for this week.

This week I will

~remind myself not to judge
~take 10 minutes at the beginning and end of each day to just. be. still.
~walk to wherever I am going and tune in to my surroundings.

I'm looking forward to this. Mainly what I've learned from going through each chapter is the importance of tuning into my thoughts. And for a day or two I actually did try to practise non-judgement but then it just fades and I'm right back to letting my thoughts get away from me.

And the stillness, well, who can't benefit from a little quiet throughout the day!

remember: **Advice, help, hints and comments on calming the crazy are encouraged**