I saw this bag across a concourse crowded with students and bypassed all manner of offerings (stuffies, toques and accessories) to get to the stand selling it.
This bag is the perfect size for a full scale notebook, a small purse and a few sundries (hankies, granola bars, daytimers). It was also available in a drab shade of grey and black, but the day was dreary and the pop of colour cheered me irrationally. The bag is made of jute (burlap or Hessian), woven from a plant fibre that grows quickly and is recyclable and biodegrable. Equipped with handles and a shoulder strap - I couldn’t have asked for more.
Then Katie explained the bag’s origins. It was crafted by a woman who no longer is working as a prostitute in Calcutta. Payment from making these bags keeps her off the streets. Suddenly, a shopping whim took on another dimension.
Freesetbags.com can also provide custom orders for corporate giveaways.
Consider writing a letter; to Shell, to your MLA (elected Member of the Legislature - provincial), to your MP (elected Member of Parliament - federal), to the local paper.
Many people taking small actions - can it change the world? Let’s try.
This is a site that allows you to build your vocabulary while donating grains of rice to feed the hungry. Yes, grains of rice - ten for each word that you choose the correct meaning for.
passive: 1. suffering action, acted upon. 2. offering no opposition; submissive. 3a. not active; inert.
activism: vigorous action to further a cause, noun: activist
The dictionary definitions suggest that at best, passive activism is an uneasy balance of opposites. Daily life and observation imply that enormous segments of the population fall into this category of activism.
It’s a lot easier to send Greenpeace a cheque every month than it is to hang suspended 42 metres above an icy cold river.
Greenpeace activists hang Stop the Tar Sands banners above the North Saskatchewan river in Edmonton. Photo courtesy of Greenpeace.
Which questions are worth asking? Are the answers out there? Too often, we jump on a quick solution, tie it in a tidy bundle and shelve it as answered, finished, over and done with.
Sometimes, just asking the question kick-starts the thought process. The brain ruminates and explores. It wanders and sifts through knowledge and experience, and tries to untangle the heart of the question. Tangents lead us astray. Thinking spirals, outward to bigger concepts, or inwards to an emotional core or resonant truth.
This blog asks questions. Some posts will include concrete answers, other posts might serve as springboards to further thought.
