The Heroes Among Us

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Reading the stories of the CNN heroes, I could not help but think of the heroes who walk among us. Ordinary people doing extraordinary, selfless things.

The pilots who are flying shelter dogs to their new families

K, whose sister gave the gift of life to her father

J, who works to ensure the disabled have access to higher education and therefore brighter futures

T, who feeds the hungry and helps the unemployed write their first resumes

The firefighter who went back for his colleague and now fights for his own life

All the people who look day and night for missing children

The servicemen- and -women who are returning from Iraq and posts worldwide

The volunteers at Noah’s Ark and shelters everywhere

My list could go on forever. Make your list today and give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.

A karmatastic life is a way of thinking, doing, being. Collective good deeds have the power to clarify the present, shape the future, and heal the past.

© 2011 Karmatastic. All rights reserved.

Reach Inside Yourself

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The economy reeks. Good people continue to lose their jobs. The holidays loom—and for some that means painful memories, regrets, and difficult encounters with family members.

This perfect storm makes it all the more important to reach inside yourself and let kindness and the benefit of the doubt inform your attitude and actions.

A karmatastic life is a way of thinking, doing, being. Collective good deeds have the power to clarify the present, shape the future, and heal the past.

© 2011 Karmatastic. All rights reserved.

Give a Little Bit

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We all have something we can spare, or we can share. The following is a short list of ideas to pare your closets and home and make a real difference in the lives of others.

Clothes, shoes, and handbags: Women in Distress and CareerCloset.org help women find their way back to safety, self-respect, dignity, and lives worth living (and giving).

Furniture, household items, and gently used toys: Faith Farms Ministries and TheGivingEffect.com can take nearly anything and put it to good use.

Books: Consider a run to your local hospital or retirement home; your fave books and writers might find new fans.

New and gently used home repair/remodeling supplies: Habitat Restore will resell; shop there as well!

That old clunker: your local high school auto technician training program can use old cars to train tomorrow’s workers.

The change jar: Even a $10 donation will make a difference to animals awaiting their forever homes—food, toys, bedding, and cleaning supplies are required to keep the animals engaged and the shelters afloat.

A karmatastic life is a way of thinking, doing, being. Collective good deeds have the power to clarify the present, shape the future, and heal the past.

© 2011 Karmatastic. All rights reserved.

Fund Food for Animals: Click to Make a Diff

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Support Fund Food for Animals every day to feed and care for the millions of pets waiting for their forever homes. It’s free, and your clicks count for something important. Check out their cool merchandise, too.

Don’t buy--adopt. I know personally the joy of opening my door to a pet in need. Click here for a list of shelters throughout the US. Open your heart and you will not regret it.

The karmatastic life is a way of thinking, doing, being. Collective good deeds have the power to clarify the present, shape the future, and heal the past.

September 11: The Comics Pages Remember

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Thank you, writers of all of the comics who paid tribute to 9/11, in no particular order: Zits, Doonesbury, The Wizard of Id, Hagar the Horrible, Dennis the Menace, Blondie, Beetle Bailey, Barney & Clyde, Family Circle, Baby Blues, Curtis, Mutts, Mother Goose & Grimm, and Red and Rover. There are probably others, as well.

You bring joy every day to those who read you. Today, your  mission is far more important: you honor the lives lost and heroes made on that tragic day.

Everyone should pick up the Sunday paper to read these tributes.

A karmatastic life is a way of thinking, doing, being. Collective good deeds have the power to clarify the present, shape the future, and heal the past.

Embrace the Present

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Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. Today is a gift—Eleanor Roosevelt

That’s why they call it the present, you know.

Embrace today, with all its guts and glory. Live it boldly and fully, banking all the good deeds you can. Look tolerantly upon the nimrods—they have not yet evolved while you have risen so, so far above.

A karmatastic life is a way of thinking, doing, being. Collective good deeds have the power to clarify the present, shape the future, and heal the past.