~ firefly-dreaming a virtual home to learn (or teach!) alternative methods of solving problems we find facing us each day. By sharing ideas & knowledge on living with less stress, more joy & embracing tolerance & compassion we are working towards building a sustainable future for all living beings.
Many of us here in the west are sitting on a time bomb and we know it. Honestly most of us feel it is worth to live in such boundless beauty, wide open spaces, open minded people (for the most part)and the pacific ocean.
With the resent events in Haiti I came across what looks like good advice on how to survive an earthquake. As much as we would prefer to not think about disasters nature made or man made we still in our life time may be faced with the life and death situation. How would you survive?
Five years ago when we built this house (a wood structure) the requirements for steal reinforcements were shocking. It was our second time building and the building codes had changed requiring everything to be bolted from top down to foundation with heavy steel plates. Leaving me wondering do we have enough give if the earth shakes or will it break because it is too ridged?
All I could do was hope they knew what they were doing with their requirements.
Things to do if you are caught in an earthquake below the fold.........
When this idea first came out everyone laughed & said "Oh yeah, THAT'll work...... NOT!"
But I think it's a damnfine idea. Much along the lines of the things President Carter proposed to reduce our dependence on oil: turn your thermostats down, put on a sweater, reduce your speed while driving.
And those things actually helped!
A simple idea done by many people can have a HUGE impact.
I truly believe that things like this create majik. That having enough people practicing Pay It Forward could change attitudes & eventually change the world.
(free smiles! what could be better? - promoted by RiaD)
There are so many ways to lighten peoples loads. Sometimes people get so bogged down that they don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I see fireflies, Rias fireflies specifically . Ways we can help to lift people up or at least make things easier.
Some of the things I'd like to discuss here over time is ways to deal with caring for people with alzheimers disease and other dementia, all kinds of arthritis, and mental illness.
I'll also want to discuss ways you may be able to help in your communities, ie. school parent groups, scouts, beautification committee, board of canvass, etc.
But I figured I'd start off with the easiest one: smiles. That old saying that they are free and easy to give is so true. They don't cost a dime and I find that not only can it pep others up but it makes me feel better too.
