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tara
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I have the worst kitchen in the world. There are few cabinets and they're badly placed and it's actually obstructive to preparing food. But when I feel like bitching about the base of the food processor being overhead and the carafe being on the other side of the room behind a door that requires moving a chair to get to it, I think every single time that there are so many people on this planet who walk miles every day to bring back water that isn't even clean to their families, just to survive for one more day. And for just a split second I stop bitching.
It saddens me too, if each one of us gave a little, we could change this.
I found this theme among several of us tonight. I would like to find a way to solve the problem permanently or at least put a mechanism in place that was consistently working toward that solution.
I like your thoughts Jeannie.. a lil moment of gratitude towards the amazing abundance we are surrounded by, takes the sting of one's need to bitch on occasion.. and talking about kitchens, although mine is nicely designed albeit small, 'someone' has managed to make a mess in there. What's with the walking in to make food, then leaving without clearing the space attitude I wonder?
Gael, nice to see you back & yes, it would take so little from everyone who has plenty to tip the scales & feed the world.
Barbara, thx for stopping by & I agree, a workable permament mechanism would be the way to go. I'm thinking a major leap in awareness & or the good ol' giving a tenth would get us a long way in the right direction.
giving a tenth. I've been doing math lots lately. a tenth = 10 percent. $10 of each $100 that pass through our lives. what small pleasure can I give up, that another human might not starve?? these are questions I have been asking myself lately. last night I watched this video in which Seane Corn talks about her Off the Mat & Into the World yoga project. if you watch it, you will probably cry because of the great capacity for human cruelty and the great capacity for human love- both.
you always inspire me tara. thanks. ~dawn
dawn, you were right, I cried watching the vid, heartbreaking circumstances for children to live with. And you say it so well, the capacity for cruelty & for love coexisting in our world, it's such a paradox. I love how you say 'what small pleasure can I give up, that another human may not starve?' that is the core of the matter, none of us are going hungry to bed by sharing a bit of our wealth.
About the giving a tenth concept: For the 'Oprah's' of the world who are able to accumulate excessive abundance of wealth, I think a tenth of everything is appropiate, but for the ones of us on a budget, a tenth of what is left after paying living costs is probably more workable. It is the sharing of our abundance that is essential, we need to take care of ourselves as well as others to keep the flow going : ) Originally, I believe it's an old Jewish law, called tithing/tzedakah, based on 10% of one's gross income. Living according to that law also implies debt-free living, hardly a custom in this day & age ;-)
I'm working on that debt-free living this too– not there yet – but getting closer day by day. I thought long and hard about whether I should get myself out of debt first, before dedicating 10 percent to loving action, but I decided, for me, no– waiting til then might be too long. and circumstances conspired/inspired to get me going now.
I've often thought, or life has taught me, that when I need something most is when I need to give that very thing to someone else – when I feel a need to be loved – I must be loving. when I feel I need support, I need to offer support to another. when I am hungry for friendship, I need to be a friend to someone. and it has recently occurred to me that when I feel I need more money most is perhaps maybe exactly when I should give some to a cause that needs it more than me.
at the cambondian children's fund website, when one is signing up to sponsor a child, one is asked which child. it broke my heart in pieces to try to choose one over another. I want to sponsor every child in the whole world who needs a sponsor. I asked the administrators to choose a child for me.
reading the words of other sponsors, I can see that perhaps I am going to receive much more from this endeavor than I could ever give. thanks, tara, for being and inspiration and having this discussion and “standing next to me” at the beginning of this new path in my life.
in gratitude for friendship…
~dawn