AMANDA'S BASKETS: COMPASSION FOR LIFE

Monday, July 28, 2014

COMPASSION FOR LIFE

Compassion. That's our thought for the month. Compassion for others. Compassion for self. And, let's consider for this week, compassion for life. You're probably heard the phrase 'Zest for life'. Well, it's really the same as 'Compassion for life' except perhaps with a bit more energy and maybe a bit less concern.

By that I mean that when one has compassion for life, there is a feeling of love of life with all it's attendant facets like the excitement of discovery and wonder and questions. But, there is also the added feeling of being concerned for life. Not scared. Not angry. Not intimidated. But rather, a love that wants all of life, all of creation including our world and the animals and people dwelling on it to be fine.

And that means that we both take care of life, of our world, of the animals, of people as well as share our excitement about life. Sounds like a tall order, doesn't it? A bit daunting, perhaps? Remember the saying 'Better to light one candle than curse the darkness'?

Well, that's how each of us can show compassion...in our corner of the world. If one of us sets the example for the next person, and that person shows two more and they show...well, you get the picture. Compassion for life would spread like wildfire throughout the world. Who wants to start first?

ZENTANGLE CHALLENGE: DAY FIFTY
Only a couple more days left of this challenge. I was looking at my first Zentangles a few days ago and I can see that the later ones have really improved. I also feel far more comfortable about designing.

PICTURES FROM THIS MORNING'S WALK...

Let's hope I do better with this week's goals than last weeks.
1. Lose one pound
2. Exercise five days
3. Blog five days
4. Finish the Zentangle Challenge
5. Finish the wall hanging
6. Work on internet class at Artful Gathering
7. Write every day
8. Begin planning next month's blogs
9. Read
10. Organize files

Thanks for stopping in today...
See you tomorrow...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?