Demand simplicity.
Take your own bags to shop.
If you wind up with plastic store bags at home, use them for trash so you won't have to buy trash bags
Stop using straws in restaurants and fast food joints.
Take your own insulated cup to the coffee shop.
Use coffee grounds to enrich the soil around your plants or put them in the compost.
Take a walk. Outdoors. In nature or around town. Don't use electricity to turn on your boring treadmill just so you can walk.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Down With Mean and Up With Kindness
Dear Followers:
I stumbled onto this blog (see below) on the AOL front page, but could not figure out how to share the link for it, so I have copied and pasted it below. Because of the technical difficulties I have encountered, I have not been able to give it appropriate attribution, but I wish to thank the author, whoever she may be.
I think there is great significance to this essay and hope that you will agree, and share it with any and all parents that you know.
At what point was the Golden Rule abandoned in the basic instruction given to all small children? At what point were 'activities' given prominence over quality, at-home learning of life skills and virtues. At what point did 'entertainment' become the focus of our lives and our childrens lives?
It is time NOW to undo the harm this has done and to refresh the culture with values that mean something.
There is enough head nodding to political correctness, and all this does is lead to subterfuge, dishonesty and dissension on many levels. What is the basis of civilized culture?
Awareness, discernment, kindness, gentleness, the Golden Rule, and adherence to principles of honesty and good will will help to heal our culture. Stop with the lip service to rules and regulations that are totally unnecessary if our hearts lead us in our daily path rather than our greed and self-righteousness (egos).
So please read and think about this woman's blog post and help other parents to follow suit. It is a beginning.
Blessed Be
Victoria Lea
After she started school, a shift began to evolve that was so subtle, it could have been missed. It was a power shift, of sorts. When I subbed in the elementary schools during those years, I saw it almost everywhere, the divisions forming. The playground cliques. The pitting of one child against another -- if you include her, I won't play.
My daughter came home one day in third grade and told me that a friend had created a club during recess; my daughter was invited to join, but her best friend was not. When I asked her how she felt about it and how she handled it, she said, somewhat indignantly, "Well, I didn't join, of course!" She then did the eye-roll, the non-verbal "you idiot," and walked away.
I couldn't have been more proud of her at that moment -- eye-roll or not. I knew it was a small victory, an early one, but it was a start. Her friends' mothers and I have been on a quest since the beginning of their friendships to mitigate, if not completely eliminate, the "mean girls" phenomenon that seems so endemic in our daughters' lives.
Why are we like that? Why do we need to hurt, put down, insult, and otherwise belittle others to make ourselves feel good? I'm sure there are many, many answers and reasons to the broad societal issue of bullying, but with girls, there seems to be an additional impetus. As Mary Pipher, Ph.D., suggested in "Reviving Ophelia," the adolescent years are when girls' self-esteem nosedives.
I remember my mom telling me things like that when I was a child -- a fringe kid, not one of the popular girls: "They're just jealous, honey." And I would think, jealous of what? The flaming red hair? The intelligence? Ooh. Yes. Those things are SO COOL. And I would roll my eyes at her and walk away. And yes, I do see the trend there.
As an adult, I get it. When girls lose their self-esteem, they DO become jealous -- maybe of another girl's things or looks, but also maybe simply because she hates herself. In my experience, girls who are insecure need the validation of others to cement their own self-worth, and often that validation comes at the expense of kids who don't fit the standard definition of "normal."
That's where the other moms and I stepped in.
It started -- we started -- even as the girls were starting to mature, to find their voices, their interests, their strengths. If our daughter was disrespectful to a friend, or rude, or not playing fair, we sat her down and explained that good friends build each other up, they don't tear them down. We helped them understand empathy: "How do you think you might feel if a friend said/did that to you? Do you think it could be hurtful?"
As situations occurred between our girls, we would coach them on how to understand other people's feelings, how to understand their own, and how to work things through. We still do, sometimes. But now, for the most part, we let them work things out themselves, because they have the tools to do so without hurting each other. They know, at the end of the day, that meanness will not be tolerated.
Earlier in the year we worked with a local youth center that focuses on positive body image and self-esteem, to create a kind of "We Rock!" party for our girls. They spent an afternoon doing crafts and activities around what they like about themselves and what's special about their friends, and emerged even tighter than before.
There are so many more ways today for girls -- kids -- to hurt each other; I may not be able to give my daughter self-esteem, but I'm hoping, through these kinds of activities, that I can give her the tools to hang onto what she already has. Finding other moms who share that philosophy has made the battle much easier.
Our hope is to cement our girls' self-esteem before the teen years can sabotage it. Will we be successful? I don't know. What I do know is that if I don't try, I will not forgive myself. I simply cannot accept that the pain I experienced in middle and high school at the hands of mean girls is a rite of passage. If we help our girls develop/retain their self-esteem, there's a better chance they will be neither bully nor victim.
It's never going to be as simple as the playground. But I still believe in the potential.
I stumbled onto this blog (see below) on the AOL front page, but could not figure out how to share the link for it, so I have copied and pasted it below. Because of the technical difficulties I have encountered, I have not been able to give it appropriate attribution, but I wish to thank the author, whoever she may be.
I think there is great significance to this essay and hope that you will agree, and share it with any and all parents that you know.
At what point was the Golden Rule abandoned in the basic instruction given to all small children? At what point were 'activities' given prominence over quality, at-home learning of life skills and virtues. At what point did 'entertainment' become the focus of our lives and our childrens lives?
It is time NOW to undo the harm this has done and to refresh the culture with values that mean something.
There is enough head nodding to political correctness, and all this does is lead to subterfuge, dishonesty and dissension on many levels. What is the basis of civilized culture?
Awareness, discernment, kindness, gentleness, the Golden Rule, and adherence to principles of honesty and good will will help to heal our culture. Stop with the lip service to rules and regulations that are totally unnecessary if our hearts lead us in our daily path rather than our greed and self-righteousness (egos).
So please read and think about this woman's blog post and help other parents to follow suit. It is a beginning.
Blessed Be
Victoria Lea
I remember watching my daughter and her friends interact on the playground when she was two, three and four years old. Boys or girls, quiet or rambunctious, it didn't matter; everyone was a possible new friend. Everyone had potential.
After she started school, a shift began to evolve that was so subtle, it could have been missed. It was a power shift, of sorts. When I subbed in the elementary schools during those years, I saw it almost everywhere, the divisions forming. The playground cliques. The pitting of one child against another -- if you include her, I won't play.
My daughter came home one day in third grade and told me that a friend had created a club during recess; my daughter was invited to join, but her best friend was not. When I asked her how she felt about it and how she handled it, she said, somewhat indignantly, "Well, I didn't join, of course!" She then did the eye-roll, the non-verbal "you idiot," and walked away.
I couldn't have been more proud of her at that moment -- eye-roll or not. I knew it was a small victory, an early one, but it was a start. Her friends' mothers and I have been on a quest since the beginning of their friendships to mitigate, if not completely eliminate, the "mean girls" phenomenon that seems so endemic in our daughters' lives.
Why are we like that? Why do we need to hurt, put down, insult, and otherwise belittle others to make ourselves feel good? I'm sure there are many, many answers and reasons to the broad societal issue of bullying, but with girls, there seems to be an additional impetus. As Mary Pipher, Ph.D., suggested in "Reviving Ophelia," the adolescent years are when girls' self-esteem nosedives.
I remember my mom telling me things like that when I was a child -- a fringe kid, not one of the popular girls: "They're just jealous, honey." And I would think, jealous of what? The flaming red hair? The intelligence? Ooh. Yes. Those things are SO COOL. And I would roll my eyes at her and walk away. And yes, I do see the trend there.
As an adult, I get it. When girls lose their self-esteem, they DO become jealous -- maybe of another girl's things or looks, but also maybe simply because she hates herself. In my experience, girls who are insecure need the validation of others to cement their own self-worth, and often that validation comes at the expense of kids who don't fit the standard definition of "normal."
That's where the other moms and I stepped in.
It started -- we started -- even as the girls were starting to mature, to find their voices, their interests, their strengths. If our daughter was disrespectful to a friend, or rude, or not playing fair, we sat her down and explained that good friends build each other up, they don't tear them down. We helped them understand empathy: "How do you think you might feel if a friend said/did that to you? Do you think it could be hurtful?"
As situations occurred between our girls, we would coach them on how to understand other people's feelings, how to understand their own, and how to work things through. We still do, sometimes. But now, for the most part, we let them work things out themselves, because they have the tools to do so without hurting each other. They know, at the end of the day, that meanness will not be tolerated.
Earlier in the year we worked with a local youth center that focuses on positive body image and self-esteem, to create a kind of "We Rock!" party for our girls. They spent an afternoon doing crafts and activities around what they like about themselves and what's special about their friends, and emerged even tighter than before.
There are so many more ways today for girls -- kids -- to hurt each other; I may not be able to give my daughter self-esteem, but I'm hoping, through these kinds of activities, that I can give her the tools to hang onto what she already has. Finding other moms who share that philosophy has made the battle much easier.
Our hope is to cement our girls' self-esteem before the teen years can sabotage it. Will we be successful? I don't know. What I do know is that if I don't try, I will not forgive myself. I simply cannot accept that the pain I experienced in middle and high school at the hands of mean girls is a rite of passage. If we help our girls develop/retain their self-esteem, there's a better chance they will be neither bully nor victim.
It's never going to be as simple as the playground. But I still believe in the potential.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Sometimes We Fail, But Keep On Keepin' On
I'm still talking to myself here. Doesn't anyone have any ideas for making things a bit better?
Yes, we need some REAL BIG solutions, but we also need more little every day personal aids to bettering our life experience.
This involves our personal behavior on all levels and our interactions with others.
I failed at that yesterday.
I generally enjoy my customers and do my best to make their visit pleasant and even memorable.
I got to the end of my rope yesterday. Returns are a BIG DEAL where I work. They require about five minutes at minimum per transaction. When others are queing up behind is the worst time to encounter returns.
Yestersay, someone had already returned a roll of Lifesavers, saying they were unhealthy. Well, DUH.
Then there was a return of granola, but that's another whole complicated story. The one that got me, was the old gal who had come in and bought a bottle of water. She came back shortly thereafter and asked me for napkins. We are a news stand. We do not have napkins, but the Starbucks around the corner does. So she sprinted off there at my urging. A half hour later, she comes back in and asks for peanut butter crackers. I should have said no to avoid further hassle. I sold her the damn crackers. She was delighted. She came back several minutes later to return the crackers.
"These are not whole wheat crackers. I wanted whole wheat crackers. Let me exchange them for whole wheat."
"Ma'am, we do not have whole wheat crackers. The only crackers we have are the ones clearly displayed on the shelf."
"Well, I need to return these crackers. I must have whole wheat."
So I did a return, as customers stacked up behind her.
I finally was given my lunch break about an hour later. In an obscure corner of a waiting area, I sat with my feet up, reading and munching on my sweet potato chips and yogurt, when, into my personal space appeared that same old gal, the cracker epicure. Apparently, in her eyes, we were now BFF's. Here is where I failed.
I glanced up, looked through her, and turned back pointedly to my book. I did not display friendship where it was clearly asked for. I had had enough.
I suppose Karma will kick me in the humility about that. But hey, in a nine hour day, I only get one 30 minute break. Leave me alone! Peace and quiet are so hard to find in an airport. Everything is intrusive and loud.
Guess that's why I almost never watch TV and only listen to quiet music by favorite artists once in a while.
Are you aware yet of Brett Ryan Stewart? His music is making the world a softer and better place. Look him up on YouTube. Gotta go to work.
Love and Light to All!
Victoria
Yes, we need some REAL BIG solutions, but we also need more little every day personal aids to bettering our life experience.
This involves our personal behavior on all levels and our interactions with others.
I failed at that yesterday.
I generally enjoy my customers and do my best to make their visit pleasant and even memorable.
I got to the end of my rope yesterday. Returns are a BIG DEAL where I work. They require about five minutes at minimum per transaction. When others are queing up behind is the worst time to encounter returns.
Yestersay, someone had already returned a roll of Lifesavers, saying they were unhealthy. Well, DUH.
Then there was a return of granola, but that's another whole complicated story. The one that got me, was the old gal who had come in and bought a bottle of water. She came back shortly thereafter and asked me for napkins. We are a news stand. We do not have napkins, but the Starbucks around the corner does. So she sprinted off there at my urging. A half hour later, she comes back in and asks for peanut butter crackers. I should have said no to avoid further hassle. I sold her the damn crackers. She was delighted. She came back several minutes later to return the crackers.
"These are not whole wheat crackers. I wanted whole wheat crackers. Let me exchange them for whole wheat."
"Ma'am, we do not have whole wheat crackers. The only crackers we have are the ones clearly displayed on the shelf."
"Well, I need to return these crackers. I must have whole wheat."
So I did a return, as customers stacked up behind her.
I finally was given my lunch break about an hour later. In an obscure corner of a waiting area, I sat with my feet up, reading and munching on my sweet potato chips and yogurt, when, into my personal space appeared that same old gal, the cracker epicure. Apparently, in her eyes, we were now BFF's. Here is where I failed.
I glanced up, looked through her, and turned back pointedly to my book. I did not display friendship where it was clearly asked for. I had had enough.
I suppose Karma will kick me in the humility about that. But hey, in a nine hour day, I only get one 30 minute break. Leave me alone! Peace and quiet are so hard to find in an airport. Everything is intrusive and loud.
Guess that's why I almost never watch TV and only listen to quiet music by favorite artists once in a while.
Are you aware yet of Brett Ryan Stewart? His music is making the world a softer and better place. Look him up on YouTube. Gotta go to work.
Love and Light to All!
Victoria
Friday, May 20, 2011
I want everyone who flies commercially to see this!
This issue is vastly important to me and I seriously want everyone to learn about this so that your decisions can be based on the reality of America's current situation.
If you have read some of my other posts, you know I advocate boycott, and if circumstances demand, then insist upon the alternative.
Regardless, we, as a people have the obligation to take a stand for our Consitutional Rights and not just for ourselves, but for future generations.
To view this short video, click on the title of this entry. You will be taken to a site called BrassCheck. They are watchdogs, eyes and ears and researchers for all of us.
Blessings
V.
If you have read some of my other posts, you know I advocate boycott, and if circumstances demand, then insist upon the alternative.
Regardless, we, as a people have the obligation to take a stand for our Consitutional Rights and not just for ourselves, but for future generations.
To view this short video, click on the title of this entry. You will be taken to a site called BrassCheck. They are watchdogs, eyes and ears and researchers for all of us.
Blessings
V.
Friday, May 6, 2011
How Do You Like This Plan?
I pick up pennies in parking lots and nickels from gutters. They add up. Last year I was able to pay a utility bill with the jar full of change I collected in this manner.
Our current president has already begun his accumulation of campaign finance monies as I write this in May of 2011. The figures he intends to spend according to my sources are over a billion dollars. Add to that the sums projected for campaigning by other elected individuals (or hopefuls) to help them maintain their lofty status, and the figure would be quite astounding, wouldn’t it?
Rather than bludgeoning the public with campaign ads and accruing thousands of additional ‘frequent flyer miles’ wouldn’t you rather cast your votes for someone who had contributed all that money toward paying on the national debt?
Oh yeah, some will say. A billion or so is nothing compared to the immensity of our debt. Well, hey! It's a start. It helps. Hence my little jar of salvaged coins.
Selflessness was a virtue in early America
We have indeed become a welfare state, but the biggest welfare recipients are, by far, those who sit in Congress and occupy the White House. It has been that way now for many years… decades even. The nation’s leaders consider themselves to be entitled to riches sourced primarily in the sweat and stress of We The People.
Lower THEIR pay. Tax THEM. No exemptions. And no exceptions.
Now how’s that for being solution-oriented?
God Bless America
V.
Friday, April 29, 2011
IS THERE ANY POINT?
What I mean by that is actually, what is the point of complaining about the world crises. Bitching and Moaning do not fix anything. On the other hand, we must identify the problems before we can set about applying solutions.
Sadly, there is a disconnect. We seem to forget to carry on beyond the Bitching and Moaning stage. That is why I seldom listen to talk radio any longer. The commentators as a whole seem to be at best, caught up in the B and M stage. I have not heard any of them advance into feasible solutions.I think ego drives a lot of mouths to flap endlessly. I guess we all love to hear ourselves talk.
Now stewardship, if properly applied, would guide us to speak little and do much.
I do not particularly care what spiritual path or religion anyone tends to follow, but I am not impressed by one that does not encourage prayer for the greater good as well as for the spiritual advancement of the self.
Meditation can be good too, so long as it does not stop with the 'emptying' but goes on to fill with peace, holiness, love, good will, joy.... etc.
It was once said best: "Watch and pray."
Sadly, there is a disconnect. We seem to forget to carry on beyond the Bitching and Moaning stage. That is why I seldom listen to talk radio any longer. The commentators as a whole seem to be at best, caught up in the B and M stage. I have not heard any of them advance into feasible solutions.I think ego drives a lot of mouths to flap endlessly. I guess we all love to hear ourselves talk.
Now stewardship, if properly applied, would guide us to speak little and do much.
I do not particularly care what spiritual path or religion anyone tends to follow, but I am not impressed by one that does not encourage prayer for the greater good as well as for the spiritual advancement of the self.
Meditation can be good too, so long as it does not stop with the 'emptying' but goes on to fill with peace, holiness, love, good will, joy.... etc.
It was once said best: "Watch and pray."
Sunday, February 13, 2011
A VIDEO OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
This is not a 'fix' but hopefully will be food for thought as we work to find our fixes.
Set aside an hour and a half for this video and you will be glad you did, but sad that it is true in this space time continuum. The lessons of history are important to learn. This was not taught in the public schools.
It's called 'We're All Indians Now.'
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/1027.html
Set aside an hour and a half for this video and you will be glad you did, but sad that it is true in this space time continuum. The lessons of history are important to learn. This was not taught in the public schools.
It's called 'We're All Indians Now.'
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/1027.html
Saturday, February 12, 2011
AND IT FOLLOWS, AS THE NIGHT THE DAY (Fix # 11)
Again, perhaps not for everyone, but the prior post about the smaller homes, naturally transmutes into the idea of small farming as well. Personal sustainable gardening mightily decreases one's outlay of precious cash for food and can provide additional income as well.
Besides the food, guess what else you are making? Oxygen! Woohoo! Breathe deep!
http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/community/sustainable-family-outside-la----keeping-it-extra-real.html
Besides the food, guess what else you are making? Oxygen! Woohoo! Breathe deep!
http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/community/sustainable-family-outside-la----keeping-it-extra-real.html
SMALL IS THE NEW BIG (Possible Fix # 10)
An interesting concept though certainly not for everyone. Yet this could help to solve some of the problems we see in every country and every culture and every environment.
The video will introduce you to this idea of smaller and simpler living, but please visit the web sites that it refers you to for additional details.
http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/shelter/small-house-society-.html
The video will introduce you to this idea of smaller and simpler living, but please visit the web sites that it refers you to for additional details.
http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/shelter/small-house-society-.html
Monday, February 7, 2011
Fix # 9 Beyond Kindness
So many simple things can make such a big difference.
Smile at someone who looks sad. Your smile may be the best thing that happens for them in their entire day, or longer. I have heard it said that a smile is the only thing you can give away freely without diminshing your supply.
Listen, if someone needs to talk.
Hold your friends, your relatives, your country and its leaders in your heart and mind and send them positive, loving thoughts. Ask the Angels to watch over and protect the living beings on this planet.
Express love and gratitude every day.
A song I heard as a small child held the phrase: 'If everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be...'
Let's help kindness to 'go viral' and spread throughout the land.
Love and Light to each of you!
Victoria
Smile at someone who looks sad. Your smile may be the best thing that happens for them in their entire day, or longer. I have heard it said that a smile is the only thing you can give away freely without diminshing your supply.
Listen, if someone needs to talk.
Hold your friends, your relatives, your country and its leaders in your heart and mind and send them positive, loving thoughts. Ask the Angels to watch over and protect the living beings on this planet.
Express love and gratitude every day.
A song I heard as a small child held the phrase: 'If everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be...'
Let's help kindness to 'go viral' and spread throughout the land.
Love and Light to each of you!
Victoria
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