We all share the same home

Continuing yesterday’s* theme of the many meanings of home, I’d like to talk about how we all share the same home: Earth. We are all one people, and and from that perspective we share the same home. It’s important that we remember that no matter how different some one may be in the values, geography, lifestyle, or appearance we are all brothers and sisters. We have the same existence; we all need to eat, drink clean water, breath clean air, have shelter from the elements. We all deserve these basic building blocks, as well as things like healthcare and opportunities to better ourselves.

With the economy the way it is, it’s easy to fall into an “every man for themselves” attitude. When you’re struggling to pay the bills, how can you help anyone else? You’d be surprised. Here are some easy ways to help our global home, and our global community.

• Recycle Along with traditional on-your-curb recycling, there is also the growing trend (no pun intended) of green art – using found objects in art. Whether you incorporate objects from your own life into your work, or troll your local Freecycle list for unwanted items you can give new life to, keeping stuff out of landfills helps keep our planet safe.
• Feed the hungry – and your brain Playing trivia games on FreeRice.com helps feed people in impoverished areas of the world, while teaching you new vocabulary. If words aren’t your thing, Free Rice also has other subjects including matching famous paintings with their artists.
• Click to donate books, save the rainforest, or fight breast cancer What started as The Hunger Site back in 1999 has grown to a whole network of sites designed to allow people to help out important causes without having to spend a dime. Just click the big button at The Literacy Site once a day and you’ll help children learn to read, or click the button on The Rainforest Site to help protect endangered habitats. The links to these sites can be found in the sidebar to the right, and I also recommend bookmarking them so you remember to visit every day.
• Fund a starving artist – literally Even though money is tight for most of us these days, you’d be surprised how easily you can help some one in a developing country to start or grow their small business. Kiva.org allows people to make micro-loans as small as $25 to specific entrepreneurs – some are farmers, some sell fabric, other make handicrafts… and much more! Join our group, Artists for Change, and watch as we help change lives. The best part is, because it’s a loan you will eventually be repaid and be able to reloan your funds, and help another member of our global family. (You can list me as a referral with the email -bgoutal- AT -gmail- DOT -com-.)

Remember, many of these sites are funded through their advertising so be sure that you have any ad-blocking software or browser add-ons turned off when you visit these sites.

*You may notice that I failed to post the day after I posted saying I’d be posting every day for 21 days. A few hours after posting that, my video card stopped working so I was unable to use my computer. This post is being made on my laptop, which is why there is currently no image to go with it. Hopefully my computer problems can be resolved quickly – the joys of a geeky boyfriend, after all – and I’ll be able to get back to my 21 day challenge. In the meantime, I’ll use the laptop to keep up as best as I can.

Making myself at home

I’ve been thinking a lot about the meaning of home lately. It’s a theme that’s been surfacing for me a lot, from the theme of our Meetup’s retreat in September, to articles I’ve happened across in back issues of Cloth Paper Scissors, to the series of ATCs I recently started. You can click on the image to the left to view it in my gallery ATCs For All.

There are so many meanings of “home” a persons finds or creates in their life. There’s the literal home, where you live – and all the physical belongings, pets, or people inside it that are what make it a home. Our bodies and minds are another form of home; home for our spirits, psyches, souls… whatever you care to call them. Our communities are home too – be they family, friends, or interest groups.

Today I’d like to talk a bit about one’s virtual home, the place or places online that you hold most dear. I’ve been online for over a decade, and I’ve called many places home in that time. These days I find I spend most of my time on ATCsForAll.com and the website of my local ATC group. While these communities mean a great deal to me, I think it’s time for me to “nest” a bit, and create a more personal home. (That’s why they call one’s personal website “homepage” after all!) To that end, I’m giving myself a personal challenge: to work on this blog every day for three weeks. Given the lack of inherent structure in my day, habit-building is something I struggle with. They say that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, so I’m going to give it a go. I’m hoping this will help not only add structure to my day, but also force me to take time to nurture myself, my ideas, and my art.