Earl, Karma, and Mother Theresa

My Name is Earl has to be one of my favorite tv shows. Not only is it hilarious, it has a good message as well.

Earl, the main character, has done a lot of bad things in his life. After winning money on  a lottery scratch-off, he gets hit by a car. Somewhere in that scenario, he decides to make his “Karma List”. He’s listed all the bad things he’s done to people and sets out to make them right, improving his karma as well.

I believe in karma. I believe you get what you give. What goes around does tend to come back around. Good or bad.

I always try to do the right thing. I can’t say that I do, that would make me perfect and perfect is one thing that I’m definitely not.

If you give kindness and compassion, you get kindness and compassion in return. If you give hatred and impatience, you get hatred and impatience in return. You probably won’t have many friends either.

Another thing that Earl talks about is how good he feels after crossing something off his list. He enjoys making other people feel better.  How many of us try to do something on a regular basis just to make someone feel better?

A few months ago I read a quote by Mother Theresa. She said, “In this life we cannot do great things, we can only do small things with great love.” After I read that, I tried to start doing weekly “Small Things”  One week, I bought enough food for a meal for one needy family and put it in our grocery store’s food bank box.  And it made me feel good. I’m so blessed to always have enough to have food on my table.  Not everyone is. Especially not these days with this economy the way it is.

I did it again this morning when I bought my weekly groceries. I bought enough food to give a needy family a meal. And again, it made me feel good.

It made me stop and think. Maybe karma is more than being nice to people or trying to always do the right thing. Maybe it’s also going out of your way to do something for someone else. Just like Earl does. It’s not easy for him to make amends to everyone on his list.

And it’s not always convenient or easy to do something for someone else. But it is worth it.  So, I’m challenging myself to keep trying to do something for someone else. Something that may make life just a little easier for someone else.

After all, we’re all fighting the same battle.

Peace!

I’m out!

Top Five of ’09

I was reading through some of my blog subscriptions earlier today. That’s one of my favorite things to do on a Sunday. I can get caught up on some of my favorite bloggers, and I can get some ideas of writing ideas for the next week.

Stephouse Lifehack posted a blog recently on their top blog posts. I thought that would be a great idea. I’ve acquired a few new subscribers recently so maybe a little walk down memory lane with some of my older and more popular posts is in order.  So, here we go. Here are my “Top Five Posts of ’09”

1. “Guys, Tattoo, and Anne Rice”

I never thought that one would be as popular as it has been. That is actually my top post of all time, not just for 2009. It does have one of my favorite quotes ever, a quote from Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned.

2. “Tribute to New Orleans”

Surprisingly enough, this blog is actually a shout-out to another blog. Just goes to show how networking can add readers to your blogs.

3.  “Happy Endings and Unfinished Stories”

This is one of many blogs inspired by one of my good friend Cowboy and how his little nuggets of down-to-earth wisdom keeps me grounded and growing.

4.” You Take the Breath Right Out of Me”

https://soonergirl.wordpress.com/2008/08/21/you-take-the-breath-right-out-of-me/

I’ve always been inspired by music and lyrics, and this is just one of the examples of one of my musical blogs. This one is about that one love that just drives you crazy. And not in a good way. It leaves you banging your head against the wall, and wondering just when you lost your mind.

5.” Do These Shoes Make Me Look Fat?”

https://soonergirl.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/do-these-shoes-make-me-look-fat/

A humorous look at body image and how we perceive ourselves…

That’s it. That’s my “Top Five for ’09”.  Hope you enjoy!

I’m off to check out some more blogs! Thanks so much for checking out mine!

Peace! I’m out!

*To see the blog that inspired this blog, see below.*

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/the-90-best-lifehacks-of-2009-the-year-in-review.html

That Was Then

This weekend we acquired a Wii. After two days of Wii Bowling and Wii Golf, the adult members of our household had to take a break yesterday. This is mainly because we are old and out of shape. Our bodies were protesting in parts that we had forgotten existed.

So, I decided to head up to the little hangout by my house yesterday to see what was going on. One of my favorite regulars was there so I made my way over to sit with him, easing into my chair. He asks me if we partied for New Year’s, and I told him we had gotten the Wii and we were so busy with that we lost track of time and almost missed New Years.

He looks at me funny, cocks his head and says, “Alisha, I didn’t know you did that.”

And then I realize that he thinks I said, “Weed”, not “Wiii”.
I burst out laughing because of course I’m not into that. So I explain to him that I meant the game system Wii. And we talk about that for awhile. He had heard about it before, but didn’t realize how physical it is. And we discuss what a good thing it is for kids these days to get them active.

He tells me that he got an email recently about a dad who said he punished his kid and made him go play outside. And I had thought this before, but it really hit home how different things are from when my generation grew up. Even a little different from when my son was growing up.

When I was growing up, going outside wasn’t punishment, it was something you just did.

In fact, in the summertime, you played outside because it was cooler outside than it was inside. You found a big tree with lots of shade and you found something to do. The only rules I remember was, be in the yard before dark, and if mom yells for you, then you better be within hearing range and your rear end better be scooting toward your home soon.

Of course, I grew up in a very small town where everyone knew everybody. And if you were doing something wrong, your phone was ringing before you even made it home.

Twenty years later, we’re buying game systems for our kids to keep them active. Nintendo and Super Mario Bros have come a loooong way baby!

But have WE? Good question. And definitely something to think about.

Something I will ponder later.

For now, I’m off to be as lazy as possible on my last day of Christmas Break.

Peace! I’m out!

Listen to Me!

A few days ago, I was talking to my bf about a problem I’d observed between some friends of mine. This was not a problem anyone could solve, but I was concerned because they were my friends.

So, I talked to my bf about it.

“Okay, Alisha, what do you want me to do about it?” he asks me. And I look at him like he hadn’t the slightest clue as to what I’d been talking about for the last fifteen minutes.

What do I do?

I start explaining the whole situation ALL over again. Because apparently, he had not been listening. I finish explaining, “Alisha, what do you want me to do?” he asks me again.

Now, to say that I’m peeved is an understatement. Obviously for thirty minutes now, he has not heard a single word I’ve said. There is no solution to the problem I’m talking about.

So, I take a deep breath and for the third time begin explaining again.

In the middle of my explanation, he interrupts me, “But Alisha WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!!??”

Now, I’m really mad because he’s interrupted me, he’s asked me the same question three times, and he’s NOT LISTENING!

“I just want you to LISTEN to me!” I tell him. But now, I’m mad and I don’t even want to talk about it anymore because obviously he doesn’t want to listen. And we’re fighting over a problem that doesn’t even have anything to do with us.

When I finally cooled off, I thought of a book I read a few months ago, Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps.

There’s a whole section dedicated to the difference between the ways men and women communicate. There’s even an example that goes a little like the one I just talked about. A wife and husband are sitting at the dinner table talking; she’s talking about her day. She says she slipped and broke a heel on her shoe. He tells her that she should’ve worn more sensible shoes on a rainy day.

Problem solved.

She then tells him that after slipping, breaking her heel, and getting it fixed; when she got to her car her back tire was flat. He tells her she needs to check the tire pressure more often.

Problem solved.

He thinks he’s being helpful and solving her problems. She’s mad because he’s interrupting her and NOT LISTENING!

My bf was listening. He was just trying to solve the problem.

I was frustrated because I thought he wasn’t listening.

Then I realized that maybe I should’ve been more upfront and said something like, “Babe, I have a problem I want to talk to you about. I don’t want a solution. I just want you to listen.” Maybe that’s something I’ll try next time.  I can say what I want to say, he can listen, and we can go about our merry way. At least until the next issue rears its ugly head.

We’ll see.

For now, I’m off to pick up Why Men Don’t Listen, and Women Can’t Read Maps again. Maybe I can get some more insights into how the male (and female) mind works, and why they work that way.  If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it.

Peace!

I’m out!