Restoring My Faith In Humanity

I woke up last Wednesday to a phone call from Switzerland. One of my online friends and former featured artist on this blog, Novita of Pyong Bricole boutique bags and purses, was calling me to get my address to mail a purse she made for Sierra for her birthday. She insisted it was a gift from her, and wouldn't even hear of me paying for even the shipping. I spent the rest of the day marveling at the niceness of this act, and telling everyone that would listen the whole story. The purse arrived today in the mail, and is absolutely stunning! Extremely well made, perfect down to every detail, I am still reeling from the unselfish niceness of this gift. Here is Sierra sportin' her new purse:



Then Friday came, and off we wet on the half hour drive in the pouring down rain to Paducah to gather supplies for Sierra's birthday party the next day. At a stop light, I watched a guy get out of his apparently broken down car in the rain and attempt to push it off the road by himself, and before I could get, "we should help him," out of my mouth, a stranger in another car hopped out and helped him. An hour later, after running to get the truck in the still torrential rain, Josh dropped his wallet in the parking lot of the restaurant, but didn't realize it till much later. We jumped into action, canceling all the credit cards and planning for replacing all th contents, when the phone rang. A man had found the wallet, taken everything out to dry, including the cash we had kissed good bye, and called us to tell us we could pick it up the next day. When the reward of the cash still in the wallet was offered, it was turned down with a "pay it forward, just do the same sometime," kind of response.

My faith in humanity is restored.

Thanks to everyone who has done something nice for someone they have never met this week.

What Is Your Karmic Footprint?

karma : the force generated by a person's actions held in Hinduism and Buddhism to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the person's next existence

Pronunciation: ˈkär-mə
Function: noun
Etymology: Sanskrit karma fate, work

Like most typical Americans, I tend to think of karma more as a "you get what you put out there" idea, or simply "what goes around comes around". From the idea that your actions have a result directly related to it, karma reminds us that we can control what we do, and what result it has on others. Without getting into a theological discussion of past lives and such eternal repercussions, I believe that whatever karma you put out there comes back and smacks you right.dab.in.the.face. Maybe its just me, but this has happened so many times in my life, I can't ignore it. When I have really wronged someone, even in crazy specific ways, the same dang thing has happened to me from someone else. Conversely, when I have done something selfless and kind, someone has been there for me in the same way some other time, for which I am always very grateful.

I guess what I am getting at is that we all need to think about how much we accept responsibility for our own lives. How we treat others and what kind of energy we put out into the world affects everyone, including ourselves. Whether you are kind in fear that your next life will be as a rat, or you are kind simply to be, think about the karmic footprint you leave. Try to be more conscious of how you treat others and the rewards will be great.

For more in-depth information about karma as it relates to Hinduism (for I am certainly no expert on the Hinduism perspective, just open to learning!):

http://hinduism.about.com/od/basics/a/karma.htm

Pay it Forward- The Etsy Revolution

The newest trend in online shopping- Pay it Forward, where sellers on the handmade items site Etsy are giving away their art and crafts and only charging the listing and shipping fees. Is it an exercise in philanthropy or just another marketing ploy? At this point, the jury is still out. My inner optimist wants to think that everyone just wants to do some good, and even if it is just a small thing, in great numbers can make a big impact. So far, the movement continues to grow towards great numbers, and more and more PIF (pay it forward) items are being listed everyday. I have searched "pay it forward" on Etsy, and found everything from clearance items to prayers that will be said on your behalf to really great handmade gifts. Some of my favorites:

The purse is one of several similar handmade purses listed by heidimonkey.etsy.com, and the glass earrings are a one of a kind item listed by debrasdesigns.etsy.com. I, myself have listed, and "sold" three pay it forward bracelets this week, and "bought" a purse from heidimonkey. The only requirements to "buy" an item is to either list a pay it forward item in your own shop, if you have one, or to promise to pay it forward, and commit to a random act of kindness for someone. The latter acts on faith, of course, and truly represents the movement as it was intended.

The hard question still remains, though, and the cynic inside me is bothered by it. How many of these sellers are just using this guise of philanthropy to get cheap publicity? Several PIF's listed are not items at all, but a prayer. In exchange for the listing fee (currently $0.20), a prayer circle that several sellers proclaim to belong to will get an instant message to drop what they are doing when you make your purchase and pray for world peace. A beautiful thought, but are they really doing it? Who knows? Does it matter? That is for the buyer to decide. Another thing to consider is that it does get the listing seller free publicity for little to no effort. At the best, you are getting a group prayer for world peace, at the worst, you are essentially paying Etsy $0.20 to visit the particular seller's shop.

Some sellers also see it as a way of trading, which may be what inspired this movement in the first place. Trading is already a favorite pastime of many Etsy sellers, including myself, and the listings for a trade are usually priced at $0.20, so Etsy gets their cut, but saves sellers on commission charges for items they aren't actually charging money for. It's a fun way to get handmade goodies in exchange for items you already make. It is also a great way for new sellers to gain that much-coveted positive feedback.

I will continue to partipate in the PIF movement on Etsy with the greatest faith that it is, at the root, a good thing. As with anything, not everyone's heart will be in the right place, and that is a risk, or a leap of faith, every seller takes when placing things in their shop to give away to someone they have never met. In great numbers, I still believe that it can make an impact.