Here’s a bunch self-nurturing things that I do sometimes, or often, and think that others might like to participate in too …

Treat yourself!

Go out and buy yourself a bunch of flowers to sit in your room, or a CD to listen to, or a ticket to a concert. Something that you don’t usually do. And make sure it’s something that you really want, not just something you need!

Give yourself a wonderful hug!

Everybody needs hugs. I need 8 a day to survive and 10 to thrive properly!

Read Quotes!

I’m always on the lookout for short sayings that feel good. Here are some of the positive and uplifting ones. Every so often, I choose a few and print them out and stick them on the wall beside my bed so I can read them every night.

Pray!

I guess this sounds rather strange, because I don’t actually believe that there are gods up there listening to me, but I still sometimes like to pray. Just saying things out loud can be useful sometimes. When I’m not just saying what comes into my head, these are my favourite prayers and sayings.

Relax!

I guess most of the things on this page are different ways relaxing and ‘taking a breath’ from life, but it’s useful to do specific relaxation things sometimes too. Take a look at my Alternatives to Meditation page.

Listen to Music!

Music is wondrous stuff. Try doing it differently from just having standard ordinary music on in the background all day. Find a song you really like and haven’t heard for a while, put it on, and concentrate every single fibre of your being on listening to that song. Interesting effect that’s generated, isn’t it! Or just sing along when there’s nobody around to listen!

Light a Candle!

I’m not sure why candles are magical things, but they definitely are.

Have Hope!

Sometimes hope is the only thing we have left to hang on to, but we always have hope. Land Of Hope was the name of the miniseries I loved that was on TV here in Australia many years ago. The words to the theme-song are very powerful and I keep them close by at all times.

Use Affirmations

Affirmations are often dismissed as "new-age tripe" but they actually can have a lot of power. I have a program called "Cocoa Fortune" which pops up an affirmation of my choosing on the screen of my iMac computer four times a day.

Get off the computer!

Computers and the Internet are wonderful creations. They allow us to interact with people that we’d probably never meet anywhere else, and to create things, and to talk about things, but despite all that they just aren’t the same. So turn off your computer and wander outside and look at the bird and the bees and soak up the sun! You can always turn the computer on later.

Turn off the TV

This is probably an ever stranger notion even than not using the computer. Just in case you’re at a loss, here’s lots of things to do instead of TV.

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… attend school.
… attempt something considered to be impossible and prove all your critics wrong.
… admit your darkest secrets.
… arrive early to your next appointment.
… act like it until you feel like it.
… bake your own bread.
… begin a new hobby.
… be kind to yourself for a change.
… bow grandly and say “Thank you” next time you get a compliment.
… breathe deeply.
… brush somebody else’s hair.
… brush your teeth.
… call a friend.
… call me sometime.
… change the world.
… change your mind.
… change your underwear.
… chase rainbows.
… choose a colour and paint your bedroom.
… choose your long distance phone carrier.
… chop wood.
… clean the windows.
… clean your drawers.
… clean your room.
… climb a tree.
… colour outside the lines.
… comb your hair.
… complete a 10,000 piece jigsaw.
… compose a song.
… cook a cake.
… create a legacy for the future.
… cross that bridge when you come to it.
… cuddle your family.
… dance the jitterbug.
… dance the night away.
… debate something you feel strongly about with your local politician.
… dig in the garden.
… don’t covet your neighbour’s ass.
… don’t spread rumours.
… do the dishes.
… do the laundry.
… do the Macarena.
… do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
… do your favourite exercise.
… eat a good breakfast.
… eat all you wish.
… escape.
… express yourself creatively.
… excite your partner, then both run away to the bedroom!
… fall in love.
… fall over.
… find buried treasure.
… finish that book you’ve been reading.
… fix something that’s broken.
… floss your teeth.
… follow your dream.
… forget it can’t be done, do it anyway.
… forgive a grudge.
… found a literary movement.
… get your cholesterol checked.
… go bowling.
… go fishing.
… go for a walk.
… go for broke.
… go ice skating.
… go on public transport.
… go rock-climbing.
… go to a church, synagogue, pagan festival or a house of worship.
… go to the library.
… go to the planetarium.
… go to town, where all the lights are bright.
… have an annual checkup.
… have more fun.
… harmonise your decor.
… haggle with a street merchant.
… help someone build a house.
… herd cats.
… hide easter-eggs everywhere.
… host a party.
… hug a close friend.
… hear the sounds of silence.
… ignore what your mother told you.
… invent a word.
… invite an enemy over and make up.
… improvise a play.
… inspire somebody to greater heights.
… bounce on a trampoline.
… jump on the bed.
… joust with somebody from the SCA.
… jingle your keys on the way out the door.
… keep an appointment.
… kiss your lover.
… laugh at commuters.
… learn a language you think sounds beautiful.
… learn improvisational comedy.
… learn to master your computer instead of letting it master you.
… lick an ice-cream.
… line dance.
… line up dominoes in a row and watch them fall over.
… listen to a symphony orchestra.
… listen to the wind.
… live simply.
… live your dreams.
… look at the stars.
… look at the world with the eyes of a child.
… look out the window.
… make an inventory.
… make a tape of yourself singing, reciting a poem, or just talking in every language you know, and save it for your grandchildren.
… make mud pies.
… make up with somebody you argued with.
… memorise a poem that you love.
… mend a fence.
… minister to the sick.
… mow the grass.
… paint a picture.
… paint the town red.
… participate in a fun-run.
… pay a bill before it’s due.
… pick up rubbish.
… pick your seat.
… pile it higher and deeper.
… plan a trip.
… plant a garden.
… plant a tree that won’t be fully grown for 3 generations.
… play ping-pong.
… play with children.
… play with your children.
… prepare your will.
… pursue art for art’s sake.
… raise money for a good cause.
… read a book.
… realize your weight doesn’t matter.
… rearrange the furniture.
… recycle old newspapers.
… reduce, reuse, recycle.
… remember that eating is not a sin.
… renounce your secret crush.
… re-plant native vegetation in a degraded area.
… ride a bicycle.
… ride the bus.
… role-play.
… save an engendered species.
… set lower standards for yourself.
… settle old bets.
… shake hands with your neighbours.
… sharpen all your pencils.
… shoot baskets.
… shoot the rapids.
… sing.
… skip class to do something important.
… sneak outside and jump up and down in the long grass.
… sort some papers.
… sort your old photographs.
… spend time with the aged.
… start a compost heap.
… state the fundamental theorem of calculus.
… stoke a fire until sparks fly.
… support a new mother, somebody with a chronic illness or disease, or somebody new to the country.
… swim underwater until you run out of breath.
… switch banks.
… take a bath.
… take another look around.
… take photos and show them to somebody who can’t get there.
… take up acting.
… talk to your cat.
… talk to your Mum.
… talk with someone.
… teach a class.
… teach someone to read.
… tell everybody you love that you love them.
… tell someone that you love them.
… test the smoke detector.
… test your patience.
… throw out everything still in boxes since the last house move.
… throw out junk.
… tie your shoes.
… toil in obscurity.
… treasure the moments.
… tune a guitar.
… use recycled timber.
… use the library.
… visit an art museum.
… visit a new restaurant.
… volunteer to clean up a city park.
… volunteer to spend time with lonely immigrants.
… wake up and smell the coffee.
… walk along the seashore, lake-shore, desert, mountains, or parking lot.
… walk anywhere.
… walk the dog.
… walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
… watch a game of Theatre-sports.
… watch a play or musical.
… work at your local humane society and spend time with animals.
… write a letter in longhand.
… write a manifesto.
… write a poem.
… write the great (topic-of-your-choice) novel.
… write to an immigrant in detention.

I’d love to hear what you do instead of watching TV! Feel free to leave your ideas and suggestions and experiences in a comment or mail me and I’ll add your contribution just as soon as I get around to it (might be a while, I’m busy not-watching-TV myself, just now! *grin*).

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Here it is:

When you’re living through a hard time
You must hold onto your dreams,
And you never give up hoping
Even though sometimes it seems
That the hard times are too many,
And the good times are too few,
And the hope of better thing
Is all you have to see you through.

So hold onto your dreams
We’ll be dreaming together,
And we’ll do our best to make things
Just a little bit better.

There’s a light within you burning,
Though sometimes the flame burns small.
And step by step, we’ll build
A land of hope for us all.
Yes, step by step, we’ll build
A land of hope for us all

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May wisdom shine through me
May love glow in me
May strength penetrate me
That in me may arise
A helper of mankind
A servant of holy things
Selfless, and true.
— Rudolf Steiner

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again
May god hold you in the palm of his hand.
— Irish Blessing

I carry my suffering
Into the sinking sun.
I place all my sorrows
Into this shining orb.
Purified by light,
Transformed by love,
They will return
As helpful thoughts,
As strength
For joyful deeds.
— Rudolf Steiner (adapted slightly)

More to come …

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At Home

Only Wash When The Machine’s Full

This goes for the dishwasher – if you use one – as well as for clothes washing. Wait until the machine is completely full before you wash. Even though you can adjust the water level for a part-load in a washing machine, it still uses
the full quota of electricity, so waiting is always best.

Washing Machine Powders – Use Less

Most washing machine detergents are actually effective when you use only 1/2 or less of what the box recommends, and your clothes will be nearly identical at the end of the wash if you avoid things like pre-wash soakers, etc., altogether. If you have stained clothes, put some of the washing liquid or powder (mixed with a little water to make a paste) directly on the stain and let it sit for a little before you wash.

Re-Use Clothes

If you don’t want a piece of clothing anymore, but it’s still usable, then give it to your local second-hand shop. If it’s so old that it’s totally unwearable you could cut it up and use the cloths for cleaning – you can do this with old sheets and towels too – or give it to the second-hand shop anyway and they can sell it for rags themselves.

Use Cloth Nappies

100 percent cotton cloth nappies, dried in the sun, are undoubtedly the best for the environment. If you’re desperate, you can use a washing service instead of washing them yourself.

Avoid Cleaning Chemicals Altogether

You can clean in most household situations without needing to use expensive and toxic chemical cleaners at all. There is a website with a Mix It Yourself Cleaning Kit which gives an all-purpose cleaner, a glass cleaner, toilet cleaner, instructions for mopping, cleaning jewelery, and more. Many other similar websites exist – feel free to suggest your favourite to me.

Microfibre Cloths

The new-style "microfibre" cleaning cloths, even cheap ones from a $2 shop or similar, will do a great job in nearly every situation with minimal or no chemical detergent. This is because they work because of the way the fibres in the cloths are arranged, rather than through detergents and chemicals.

Shower With A Friendly Bucket!

This may sound strange, but if you shower with a bucket in the shower cubicle, you’ll collect a bucket of water that can later be used to water the garden, or any indoor plants you have.  The water savings might sound small, but
they add up over the course of a year.

Use Biodegradable Detergents

Detergents – laundry detergents, dishwasher detergents, shampoos, washing up liquid – are often very nasty to the environment because of phosphates and other chemicals that get into the environment and won’t break down.  Try to buy detergents marked as "Biodegradable" and "Phosphate-Free" and you should do less damage to the environment without costing yourself much extra.

Electricity

Low-Power Globes

Compact flourescents will bring your power bills down, and using less electricity means less greenhouse gasses are produced by our power plants.

Opt For Green Electricity

On your power bill – at least here in Australia – you can elect to pay a little bit more each week to receive "green" electricity.  This means that for every watt of electricity your house uses, the power company
will put into the electricity grid the same amount of electricity generated by wind, solar, and other forms of "green" power.  It’s probably a lot cheaper than you think – when I finally postered the power company about
it, it only cost $1 a week for my flat!

Turn Things Off

A lights or appliance that’s on in an empty room still uses the full amount of electricity, folks, so turn off those lights, televisions, VCR/DVDs, and all the rest. OK?

Really Turn Things Off!

You’ll often find that even when an appliance like a DVD is on, it will still be displaying things (often a clock, and almost always a ‘pilot light’-type globe) and even those use up a certain amount of power. It seems a lot to my mind, but I saw a statistic once claiming that up to 11% of all power is used by appliances on standby! So if you’re really interested in saving every watt of power, or every cent on your electricity bill, then for things with any type of stand-by activity – which includes anything you can turn on with a remote control, of course, because the detector must always be active – turn them off at the power point, instead of just at the appliance. Once it’s turned off at the power point, there’s no way it can use any electricity at all.

High-tech Can Help

High-tech things, in the right place, can be a great help in being gentle to the earth, and saving water, electricity, and so on. If you have an automatic watering system controlled by a timer to give the plants exactly the amount of water they need, exactly when they need it, you’ll never be wasting water. If you have a night-light in the hallway, replace it by a light that’s activated by motion only and it will only come on when somebody steps into the hallway, saving nearly the whole night’s worth of electricity. I’m sure there are many other situations where technology can helpfully help us be gentle to the earth, so use your lateral thinking and a healthy dose of common sense!

Use Rechargeable Batteries

Yes, it does cost more initially to buy rechargeable batteries and a recharger, but in the long run you’ll save money in almost all situations, not just where your equipment goes through a set of batteries every week.  Also, the
savings to the environment for every battery you don’t buy … and then don’t throw away … is very large; batteries contain toxic heavy metals and aren’t even slightly biodegradable.  They just sit there in landfill and contribute to leaching of toxic chemicals into the environment over time.  A good argument for rechargeable.

In The Kitchen

Don’t Use Glad-wrap Or Foil

Cover open tins with those "can lids" you can buy at a $2 shop and re-use over and over. Cover bowls of leftovers with an upturned plate and plates with a large upturned bowl. You can keep glad-wrap/foil around if you like, but you’ll find it’s almost NEVER needed.

Use A Small Kitchen Bin

Obviously this will depend on the size of your family, but using a smaller bin in the kitchen has two good outcomes:

1. You can use the plastic bags from the supermarket (offer to take them off your friends’ hands) as bin liners
2. It reminds you that throwing out less is better for the environment.

Open Containers

Close open bags of food (eg flour, nuts, crisps) with a clothes peg instead of a rubber band – it’s much more reusable and will last far longer too.

Use Fully Biodegradable Plastic Bags

As a first choice, re-use a plastic bag you already have, but if you must buy plastic bags then try very hard to get ones that are fully biodegradable, for example the ones formed from Tapioca Starch are good. Or find other alternatives to throw-away plastics, such as tupperware, paper bags, etc.

Away From Home

If You Must Drive, Share The Driving

First, do you need to drive at all?  Could you walk, bicycle, or take public transport?  But if you need to drive, then car-pooling will halve the impact on the environment, and it’s undeniable that being a passenger is more relaxing than driving too – especially when the traffic is busy.  You could share lifts to the shops with a friend, taking it week-about to drive there.  You could share lifts to work with somebody you know who works near you, or with a work-mate who lives near you.  There’s lots of ways to limit the number of times you get the car out of the garage, if only you
put your thinking cap on.

Don’t Accept Plastic Shopping Bags

Take your own re-usable bags to the supermarket, and anywhere else you shop. In a pinch, most supermarkets have these for sale but you can also make your own for a couple of cents worth of calico and a few minutes at a sewing machine. They’re also frequently sold as fund-raisers by all and sundry, I have found. Once you’ve unloaded them at home, either put them on a hook on the back of the door, or on the inside doorknob, or take them right out to the car and keep them in the boot. Whatever you do, they have to be easily available when you need to shop, or you’ll just use supermarket bags.

Outside

Set up a worm farm, or compost heap

A worm farm, or a compost heap, can be very low-maintenance (a few minutes a week, I’m talking) and will mean that that 16% of landfill that’s made up of organic waste won’t happen … or at least your part of it won’t happen. If we all did this, imagine how much less landfill space we’d use up!

Plant fruit trees

Fruit trees are usually fairly quick to grow, they are deciduous so you’ll get shade in summer and not in winter when you want the sun, and they’re a free source of fruit to boot! What else could anybody want?

Homegrown Herbs and Vegetables

These take a little time but herbs, especially, can pretty much be planted and then ignored until you want to wander out into the garden and pick them. And how wonderful to announce that the basil in the spaghetti sauce is home-grown! Start small and build up how much you grow yourself.

Chickens Are Easier Than You Think

Even in a regular suburban back-yard you can have 1 or 2 chickens, and they have so many uses!  They can provide fertilizer for your gardens and fruit trees, they will eat food scraps from the kitchen, and of course
there are those eggs … but did you know they’re also wonderful pets?  For more information about keeping chooks, especially in the UK, check out http://www.omlet.co.uk/ -
designer chicken coops, no less!

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This article was originally published at Be Gentle With The Earth – Hints and is copyright (C) Ricky Buchanan 2010. May be forwarded but do not republish without permission.

I have been working on a document with Practical Ways To Be Gentle To Our Earth. Hopefully if everybody puts at least some of them into practice, we can start to make a change. And hopefully it’s not too late.

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To me, being gentle can mean many things. It’s a life philosophy, really. Being gentle, for me, includes:

• Being gentle with yourself
• Being gentle with our earth
• Reading books which embody gentleness

… and more.

My favourite gentleness role model is Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy aka SARK. She has a fantastic website at Planet SARK which is bright and colourful and full of gentle goodness (although unfortunately not friendly to blind users). SARK has written several books, almost all of which I own – I regularly give copies of them to friends as well. You can get all of the books, as well as cards, posters, blankets, magnets, e-books and lots more at the Planet SARK e-shop. Highly recommended!

Live Simple is an e-book that I stumbled across on the web one day. I had nothing to do with its writing but I feel that it fits well with the spirit what’s on of this page. Just read it. It’s radical, so read it slowly. Digest it slowly. You won’t like or be able to use all of what’s there, but if you even use a little bit I suspect your life will be a nicer place to be in.

I have some Snippets Of This And That which are nourishing to my soul, and I think might be to yours too.These are the pieces of writing which make my spirit want to get up and dance!

My Manifesto contains stuff I am trying to learn to believe about myself and my rights/responsibilities to myself.

In my naturopath’s office a while ago, I spotted a lovely certificate hanging on the wall. When I asked if I could have one, he photocopied it for me, but it wasn’t quite right so I typed it into the computer and amended it so that it felt better to me. So why not award yourself a Certificate of the Right to Play!

You may be interested in participating in International Buy Nothing Day, which is held at the end of November every year. The idea of the day is to, "provide a period of respite and a pause for reflection from the rigours of the consumption economy, which is the main thing that dominates the media and perhaps a few too many of our daily life choices and aspirations."

Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. This means that if you purchase the products that I've linked to I'll get a commission - a small percentage of the sale price. It won't cost you anything and it will help to support me and this website.

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Biographies and Life Stories

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson, by Rich Albom.

This has also been made into a movie but I haven’t seen the Tuesdays with Morrie movie, only read the book – could anybody comment on the movie version for me?

A Walk on the Beach: Tales of Wisdom From an Unconventional Woman, by Joan Anderson.

Simplicity Lessons: A 12-Step Guide to Living Simply, by Linda Breen Pierce.

Note: this is not a “12-step” type book in the sense of Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12 steps, it simply has twelve sections.

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You lift up your arms in request for a hug, and find yourself happy to be hugged by the sky itself … the clear blue sky with just a few fluffy white clouds and a truly beautiful strong rainbow filling the whole sky … as you feel yourself hugged by the sky and the beautiful rainbow you feel each colour of the rainbow sharing the best of itself with you …

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_________________________________

is hereby and forever entitled to …

Act silly, get excited about everything, be different, climb
trees, get up early, do nothing, give up worry and guilt and shame, take
naps, collect rainbows, feel sad, fly kites, be a clown, feel happy, be unique,
blow bubbles, play loud music, build sand-castles, change, dance, daydream,
do things badly and not mind, draw and paint, drink fizzy drinks, enjoy having
a body, stay up late, fall down, get up again, trust the universe, un-make
old rules and make up new rules, walk in the rain, get new shoes, go barefoot,
have pillow fights, hide under the covers, hold hands, hug and kiss, make
friends with other kids, feel scared, find out how things work, make friends
with themselves, hug trees, jump in mud puddles, laugh and cry, learn new
stuff, listen to music, look at the sky, love stuffed toys, make a mess,
make magic, go on adventures, have a merry heart, be challenged, make mistakes
and be forgiven, paint their toenails purple, play under the covers, play
with toys, read children’s books, save the world, say hello to everyone,
see things differently, sing in the shower, sleep in late, smell flowers,
stop along the way, take bubble baths, talk with animals, tell stories, wander
around aimlessly, watch the moon and stars come out, delight in life, and
do anything else that brings more happiness, celebration, relaxation, communication,
health, love, joy, creativity, pleasure, abundance, grace, self-esteem, courage,
balance, spontaneity, passion, beauty, peace, energy and life to themselves
and others on the planet.

Furthermore, they are officially authorised to frequent amusement
parks, beaches, country-sides, mountain tops, swimming pools, forests, playgrounds,
picnic areas, birthday parties, circuses, ice cream parlours, theatres, aquariums,
zoos, museums, planetariums, toy shops, festivals and other places where
children of all ages come to play.

And they are encouraged to always remember that …

It’s Never Too Late To Start Your Happy Childhood!

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