Pritchard's Lifesaver Water Filter

I often spoke of many nations not having safe drinking water. In the US, people don't really know the source of bottled water and it is less regulated than our tap water. In Thailand, people seem to be happy letting Coke filter their polluted water and sell it back to them as Namtip. Can they really afford this? I say you can just forget gold, if you have no drinking water. Put money in what keeps you alive, first and foremost. Not to mention the harmful refuse that would be eliminated by Lifesaver Filter. Need I say more.

Worry or Not?

If you stop worrying about things you can’t change, and there are tons of them, you'll begin to find your ability and frequency of happiness increases. I have found in moments of weakness, when worry creeps back in, if I get busy with helping others I can avoid it fairly easily. These ideas are not mine, but Buddha’s. Often tried by me, once I have heard the applicable teaching once or twice and made a bit firmer in meditation with concentration and reflection. My goal is lessen the irritation that is really low-level anger when we find fault in most everything we encounter. I am not trying to be humorless drone, and being so far from perfect, would be happy with 20% less dissatisfaction to things I don’t like. If I can accept things and just be neutral in feeling, instead of labeling as something I don’t like…I will easily see the happiness quotient increase.
So things I want to change become more of an intention for good, then a rejection of the bad. This actually has the benefit of expanding your world, instead being fenced in with the enormity of your dislikes. I would like to promote Lifestraw even through it is made of plastic, which in some poor countries is often burnt for disposal. Although it does not work on salt or chemically polluted water, it still is a valid and low cost way to save people’s lives. Many charities work hand in hand with Vestergaard Frandsen, the manufacturers of Lifestraw. For the $2 you spend on one coffee, you could help give one person clean drinking water for a year! That is how one could quickly jack up your happiness by putting yourself in another’s shoes. Especially for those less fortunate. My link to Mercy Corps in the upper right is just one of these charities.

Happy Bunny Protector

I feel I have settled down here in Bangkok, which is a good sign. Today, I caught a motorcycle taxi to the BTS and got rained on. I just laughed all the way there, then got on the cold monorail which took me to another part of the city dry and void of any moisture. I was on the hunt for interesting shots, but now a wet mess in the tropical sun. Pulling out my face mask because I so near the traffic and fumes. That combined with my 70 SPF on my skin I felt like a modern warrior ready for battle. I went to a temple near the river, but wearing shorts I knew it was improper to go inside. I was outside photographing a hindu shrine and spirit house when I met a monk. Surprised that I was Buddhist, we talked and then he was convinced I am really a monk in regular clothes. When I said I would like to meditate, he unlocked the gates and led me to above the monks living quarters to where they hold dharma talks for monks and people. The room had inlaid pearl chairs and smaller Buddhas. He opened the windows and turned on a fan. I prostrated first to Buddha, and then sitting on my knees with feet facing away I meditated for an hour, while the monk was busy on the phone. He does all the electrical for the nearby temple. We talked about what he does everyday, which includes singing Pali chants to Buddha 1 hour a day but rarely includes any meditation.
We exchanged numbers and he gave a wax Buddha as a gift, proud to meet a foreign Buddhist. I continued my path through odd streets running into a huge sea of uniformed kids just getting out of school. At least they are far more reserved than U.S. kids, and it was a big school. Since I was close to the river, I took a boat north, then walked to the klong boat which would loop me to the BTS. A long day and when I arrived back at home, I sat and looked the city view. I can see the freeway I took many years ago to leave a tearful partner here the first time we met. I remember the shock, hurt and confusion having to leave someone I loved. I felt so content tonight, knowing my intuition then was correct and led us to this great path we are on now.

Forced Relaxation

I went 100 to zero fast when in the midst of working hard, my knee and hip went south for vacation. Now, this is my stroke side and I kind of drag it along or unknowingly contract the muscle. To explain this, in my first year post hospital, I would find looking in a mirror that my left shoulder was lifted up close to my ear. I was trying to get sense it by tensing it up, but that never worked. Having little or no feedback from my entire left side leaving me to use my past memory of it. So, when it hurts on my dead side it means serious trouble. In the meantime have been becoming more aware of much we waste here the past couple of weeks. Hearing in the news about Atlanta’s water problem, I feel stupid using fresh drinkable water to wash food off a plate. I have tried to reduce my trash and even am using half the size garbage can this year over last year. It means declining all bags and looking to not buy over packaged items. I can see easily why most Americans don’t worry about all the waste, because it actually takes awareness non-stop. If we just saw our trash dumps, that alone, would help us to change. People scream if they miss trash pick-up for a month now, but I remember a time when we just used to burn it. Sounds so crazy now with all the plastic, but this happens in most third world countries. I am hoping to spin an idea out of my concern when I am not working with a client, and I’ll look at this as a small vacation packing my bags to join my left side out in limboland.