It's been a gorgeous week. I'm loving the weather, which is fairly fresh and sunny... a balmy 23°C (75°F) and as Kippy put it, life is good : )
Over the weekend, Jurgis got his cousin in Lithuania to join Geni, the site I am building our family tree on. Not only did he join, but he edited some of the family links. I'm thrilled! It didn't stop there. I thanked him for joining, copying and pasting the Lithuanian into his guestbook. I know the words, but there are a zillion accents on those two words - Ačiū už. He replied saying he was impressed with my Lithuanian and did I know that in Lithuania, my name would be Karina? I confessed to copying and pasting, but the 'Karina' just about blew me away. For some time now, I've been working on a writing project. I wanted a name that was similar to my own and our family names, yet different. The name I chose? Carina. The sheer co-incidence of the name I chose so long ago and what he said my name would be in Lithuania struck me as... well... amazing : ) It's a beautiful name.... at least, I think so.
Today, I had a lovely day. Everyone (or mostly everyone) seemed to be smiling. It took me a little while to realise it was because I was smiling. Ain't people grand? There was one old man on the Metro who couldn't stop grinning every time he looked at me, as though we shared some or the other secret. That was until my student announced that his boss has just come back from Mexico, while nervously eyeing out the sealed building with its air conditioning. I scolded him for not warning me, as we could have had our class outside in the gorgeous sunshine. "Oh? You teach outside too?" His face was comical. I've taught in odd places. Outside works ; )
By now many of you have been exposed to Kippy's 'positive actions' blogs. The other day, she posted a '9 Elements' blog. I read it, as I do all of her blogs and went to the site she referred to. While I was there, a spark of an idea started flickering somewhere in my consciousness. I went to bed with thoughts swirling in my mind. This was all happening in the US. Why couldn't it happen here? I wrote to Michael Chase, knowing the chances of him coming to Brazil were slim to say the least. I've written e-mails in the past and the most I usually get is an add to a Facebook account an a newsletter. Michael replied to my e-mail and I was awed by how down to earth, genuine... and simply good and positive he was. What a great way to start my day. I went off with a skip in my step. I hope to work with him in developing lesson plans that I can use here... sharing his teaching of kindness. From the videos I've seen, he's a great teacher! As I put it to him, I live in a vast, impersonal city with its population of 20 million. What a challenge. If I can make a difference just in one little corner... I'll be happy : ) So I smiled... and smiled some more... and people smiled back. A woman's reaction when I gave her a seat on the Metro made it worth it. I hadn't seen that her arm was bandaged. She was tired and very uncomfortable. It felt good and right. Simple little things. I have always felt bad because I wasn't in the position to pay someone's toll booth fees or buy someone a meal, but the little things like this sure do make a difference... at least, I think so.
Maggie posted a link which also presents a challenge.... a complaint free world. Ok, so the site sells bracelets, but wouldn't it be a great challenge to see how long we can go without complaining? I don't use the word 'challenge' lightly either. I'm terrible with complaining!
"If you don't like something, change it.
If you can't change it, change your attitude;
don't complain."
Maya Angelou
If you can't change it, change your attitude;
don't complain."
Maya Angelou
Oh and the meerkat? Just an old photo I took at the zoo. I love the expression on his face : )
Hi Tint,
ReplyDeleteI agree, smiling can be contageous. And sometimes, when you smile, people around you begin to wonder what is going on and start eyeballing you suspiciously. So then I smile some more.
Now, for the complaining part of your piece. I suppose if all people are doing is complaining but aren't doing anything to help themselves out of the situation, then I guess it can become tiresome. But sometimes what I see, and what a lot of people miss is, perhaps people are just looking for a way to vent. A way to relieve themselves of some painful burden. I have often found by writing things down, in one form or another, it helps to relieve me of some of the burden. Kind of like purging. When I see it in print, I can usually figure out what I need to do for myself.
Life has become a place full of people who would rather judge others as opposed to being helpful.
Bogey, I actually agree with you. I'm a professional complainer :) The complaining I had in mind is the whining over little things instead of just doing something about it. I can get into whole whining ruts. That is what I'm challenging myself to stop. So what if the kid on the bus has his mp3 player on too loud. Instead of whining about it, I can either put my own music on or move to another part of the bus. On the other hand, if something is really riling me, I will talk to someone about it or blog it and get it off my chest.
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