Most people who know me are well aware of my borderline obsession with the Food Network.  I really got into it when I had a full week off my feet after surgery.  Talk about kindness, I’m not going to get too gushy but Mike really went out of his way to make sure I was comfortable while I was stuck home during the healing process.  So while I was cuddled up in the most comfortable blanket ever created, I tuned in to watch a variety of different personalities creating some amazing dishes, and I was hooked.

We cook a whole lot now.  It’s pretty much a necessity when you are trying to be healthy – so while Paula Deen might not be the best option, there is still a great deal of inspiration I find from the many recipes I witness unfolding on the Food Network.  That inspiration has branched out a bit, however.  Recently I’ve been seeing some promos for the network’s official charity partner, Share Our Strength.

This organization, in their own words, works hard to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry.  I was shocked to learn that nearly 1 in 6 children in this country is at risk of hunger.  The charity has a number of different efforts to end childhood hunger, and the work they’ve done so far is really impressive.

One key nation-wide Share Our Strength initiative that can help you get involved is coming up pretty soon, the Great American Dine Out.  Bestow a random act of kindness on someone you love, and take them out to eat at a participating restaurant September 20-26.  Get involved and support these establishments:  “Some restaurants are donating a portion of sales for the week to Share Our Strength, while others are selling T-shirts and bounce back coupons or even creating special menu items to raise much needed funds.”

I’m a fan of pitching in, helping out, getting involved in anything that will help spread good karma around the world.  But when it truly speaks to your passions in life, it’s beyond win-win.

Major League Baseball is encouraging fans to get involved in charitable work, and is highlighting a flurry of donations throughout tonight’s All Star Game. If you ever wanted inspiration for where you can volunteer or great organizations that accept donations, make sure you hit the site here: http://mlb.mlb.com/gb/

And by the way, so sorry it’s been as long as it’s been without any good karma cooler activity.  I underestimated my ability to multitask some of my bigger life goals, but I’m every bit as committed to this blog as I was in the beginning – more to come soon!

I am always so inspired by a number of friends, online and off.  Marilla over at Cupcake Rehab recently encouraged her readers to support our friend YOYO and I am going to do the same.  Miss YOYO is a wonderful friend, human being and lover of Mother Earth.  She’s one of the craftiest people I know and is doing her part to encourage people everywhere to care just a bit better for the earth – not only on Earth Day but every day.

To raise awareness surrounding Earth Day, on her Topstitch blog, YOYO is giving away totes filled with things she hand made or bought and things that people donated.  Getting in on the contest is REALLY easy and who knows, maybe you’ll pick up some good ideas on how to respect the planet.  Please go check it out and show her (and the environment) a little love!!

photo by hartboy

Once upon a time (not that long ago) I stumbled upon a lovely site that had some kind things to say about Karma Cooler.  It turns out that they found us through Serendipity Factory, one of my favorite positivity-inspiring sites.

When you get a quick second, drop by Kind Over Matter because there are countless inspirational ideas that are so appealing on not only a good-vibes emotional level, but also a distinct visual level.  In their words, “Our blog is dedicated to Kind Acts, Inspirational Art & Kind Projects, Feel Good Nouns.”

I can definitely get along with their crafty ambitions and affinity for words, and chances are that you can too!  Peep their Flickr for a quick snapshot of some of the kindness projects they spotlight.

Often when I sit back and consider where I find inspiration, I think of my friend Rain.  She has such an amazing grasp of reality and yet her appreciation for life is unmatched.  Not too long ago she mentioned a series of acts of kindness that I thought was a great idea:

In her words:  “i’m on a mission to give at least 1 random stranger a compliment a day. not only is this positive for the times we’re living in but you make someone’s day and it makes your day brighter. WIN/WIN!”

I couldn’t agree more.  If you’re looking for one way to spread good karma regularly, this is a nifty idea that doesn’t cost you anything more than going out of your way to communicate with someone you might not otherwise speak to.  If you really want to go the extra mile, pay a compliment to someone that you otherwise might not get along with.  I assure you, this is not easy.  But there is a great deal of satifaction and pride to be felt when you can be the bigger person.

In any event, I don’t recommend paying compliments just to meet a quota you’ve set.  Be genuine and be truthful.  If you don’t have a true opportunity to do so, don’t force it – but be aware of your environment and take the opportunity when it’s in front of you.  Mark Twain once said “I can live for two months on a good compliment.”  You know it feels good, so pass it on.

If you don’t know how, head on over to WikiHow’s page on “How to Pay the Right Compliments”

image courtesy of LexnGer

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is “What are you doing for others?” – Martin Luther King Jr.

I had the opportunity to visit the MLK Jr. National Historic Site and I picked up some of these cards there.  The time I spent there let me think a whole lot about the amazing things that one driven person can do.  Now imagine if every person did at least one good thing a year – you can’t convince me that this world wouldn’t be a better place.

Tomorrow we welcome our next President, who has called upon the citizens of this country to come together and commit to service in our communities not only today, but ongoing.  We don’t need President Obama to tell us that this is something good and virtuous – we really all know that.  Look at how good it feels to know that you gave of yourself to a cause, gave your time to help someone else, to help spread the word about the amazing things that happen that we rarely hear of anymore.

I say we pledge not only to honor those ideals that MLK Jr. committed his life to, but to be better citizens of this country and not sit back, looking to the government to fix the broken spirit of this country.  Be a volunteer, be a voter, be an advocate for spreading good karma.

Flickr.  What an amazing site – I have come across so many incredibly crafty, talented people on there, just seeing some of the images posted there makes me want to go out and take up new hobbies all the time: photography, knitting, cooking… hell, it makes me want to get back to card making, which I really love!

One particular fantastic thing I came across there is a Group dedicated to inspiration boards.  The idea is to create your personal inspiration shrine – loaded with patterns and images and quotes that help you get into that motivated frame of mind.  This is a great way to practice some self expression while creating a personal reminder of what it is that drives you.

I challenge you to create your own inspiration board and give me a shout to check it out – I’d love to share your work with the community here on Karma Cooler, because you just might inspire another reader to do their own, or who knows… we may be inspired to work the good karma circuit.

photo courtesy of The Shopping Sherpa

My cousin Veronica will probably kill me when she realizes

1. I have this website and didn’t tell her
2. I used this picture to make my point in this post

My last entry posed a question: what inspires you?  I noted feeling very lucky to be so inspired by so many things, and she is one of them.

I am so incredibly proud of my cousin, Veronica Alfaro-Young.  Unfortunately she lives too many miles away from me, so we only partake in wackiness like this picture roughly once a year.  She is a DJ at Tampa’s country music station WQYK and helps drive/advocate a number of different charitable efforts locally, including Meals on Wheels and Brides Against Breast Cancer.

This past Halloween weekend, she logged 180 lifetime miles raising money to help find a cure for breast cancer through her participation in the annual Breast Cancer 3-Day.  I was so moved by her personal reflection this year that I may have emailed everyone I know asking to help her reach her goal, and she did.

Veronica is an everyday hero to me, and she’s inspired me to set a goal for myself.  When she does the breast cancer 3-day this year, I want to join her.  This will necessitate a lot of hard work on my part, but it’s a worthy cause that will benefit me to get involved with by sheer virtue of the training and preparation that needs to take place throughout this year.

Good Link Karma:
The Breast Cancer Site, click to help give free mammograms
The 3-Day Site
Susan G. Komen Foundation
BreastCancer.org
National Breast Cancer Foundation

Everybody’s different – and while many of us find inspiration through similar things (like a spiritual leader, or a moving speech for example), I’m convinced there are also countless entities that inspire us all individually.  It’s such a personal experience that you can never knock someone for what gets them, even if it seems trite to you.  We can be moved by other people, certain places, works of art, music, literature, profound quotations.  Maybe we can find that inspiration in the actions of others.  Sometimes inspiration can be found in the face of the darkest circumstances.

I feel inspired pretty regularly – and I am so very grateful for that.  It will be a big topic of this little karma corner of the web, because inspiration can move us to make ourselves the best we want to be, and it can enable us to do right by others.

So what is it that inspires you?

photo by stephen poff