Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves. It is a daily practice... No one can prevent you from being aware of each step you take or each breath in and breath out.
—Thich Nhat Hanh

Stop that drip
Annual water savings: 2700 gallons

Just one leaky faucet can waste almost 3,000 gallons of water per year. If each of us fixed our faucets, it would be equivalent to saving more than 300 million glasses of drinking water.


Wrap It Up
Annual CO2 savings: 250 pounds

Wrapping your water heater in an insulated blanket could save you from 4 to 9 percent in annual water heating costs -- just be sure to check your manufacturer's Web site for more information. If we all completed this task for a year, it would be equivalent to taking almost 160,000 cars off the road.

Go for the laptop
Annual CO2 savings: 495 pounds

If buying a new computer has you stuck in a desktop-laptop debate, go for the laptop. The portable model uses less energy and many carry the Energy Star label. If each of us did this, it would be equivalent to taking more than 300,000 cars off the road for a year.

Fix your running toilet
Annual water savings: 4800 gallons

Don't let our water supply go down the drain. You can help put an end to wasted water by repairing your leaky or running toilet. Bonus: you'll save almost 5,000 gallons of water per year.

Buy in bulk
Annual CO2 savings: 1,354 pounds

Buy at least 15 percent of your groceries in bulk this year. It saves CO2 and money that would be wasted in the packaging process. If we all did this, it would be equivalent to taking more than 850,000 cars off the road for a year

Kick your tires
Annual CO2 savings: 250 pounds

Take a moment to check the air pressure in your tires. Under-inflated tires cut gas mileage and pump up CO2 emissions. If we kept our tires in good shape, we’d have the same planet-saving effect as pulling more than 150,000 cars off the road -- for a year!

Give your car some (clean) air
Annual CO2 savings: 800 pounds

Check out your car's air filter monthly and replace it when necessary. If just 1 percent of all U.S. car owners properly maintained their cars this way, we'd keep almost a billion pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere!

Crucial to finding the way is this: there is no beginning or end. / You must make your own map.
—Joy Harjo

If so many men, so many minds, certainly so many hearts, so many kinds of love.
—Tolstoy

Made in the Shade
Annual CO2 savings: 280 pounds

Try planting shrubs around your air conditioning unit to shade it from direct sunlight -- it can help reduce your air conditioning bill by up to 10 percent!

Each thing in its way, when true to its own character, is equally beautiful.
—Edward Abbey

My beauty comes from having my own style, living my own way and knowing my own mind.
—Lee Damsky

Stop looking for something out there
And begin seeing within.
Open your arms if you want an embrace.
Break the earthen idols and release the radiance.

—Rumi, from 'Empty the Glass of your Desire'

No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.
—Dale E. Turner

Pull the Plug
Annual CO2 savings: 2,500 pounds


Have an old refrigerator in your basement or garage? Unplug it if you can -- refrigerators are one of the biggest energy drainers in the house and older models can output more than a ton of CO2 annually. If we all completed this task for a year, it would be equivalent of taking almost 1.6 million cars off the road.

Happiness lives in the
spirit, not on the surface. Stop defining yourself by what you see--or
think you see--when you look in the mirror.

"When you tend to your surface, you are making a statement of faith.
You are saying, I matter. You are saying, The world is worth dressing
for. You are engaging in the best kind of optimism, an optimism that
propels you out of bed in the morning, that directs you to the day. When you
put on nice clothes, you are putting on hope; you are saying, Here I
am. This is fun. Look at me." -- Lauren Slater


O, The Oprah Magazine

Use man power
Annual CO2 savings: 80 pounds


Get your lawn into tip-top shape using a manual mower. You'll work off calories as well as save fuel and CO2.

A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression 'going bananas' is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Read on:

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!

This is interesting.. After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again
Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit.It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.
Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief

Morning Sickness:Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
Overweightand at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control:Many other cultures see bananas as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use:Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal..

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, 'A banana a day keeps the doctor away!'

PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit !!! SUBHAN ALLAH

أكبر و أنا عند أمي صغير، وأشيب وأنا لديها طفل، هي الوحيدة التي نزفت من أجلي دموعها ولبنها و دمها، نسيني الناس اٍلا أمي، عقني الكل اٍلا أمي، تغير علي العالم اٍلا أمي، الله يا أمي: كم غسلت خدودك بالدموع حينما سافرت، و كم عفت المنام يوم غبت، وكم ودعت الرقاد يوم مرضت، الله يا أمي: اٍذا جئت من السفر وقفت بالباب تنظرين والعيون تدمع فرحا، و اٍذا خرجت من البيت وقفت تودعينني بقلب يقطر أسى، الله يا أمي: حملتيني بين الضلوع أيام الآلام و الأوجاع، ووضعتيني مع آهاتك وزفراتك، وضممتيني بقبلاتك وبسماتك، الله يا أمي: لا تنامين أبدا حتى يزور النوم جفني، و لا ترتاحين أبدا حتى يحل السرور علي، اٍذا ابتسمت ضحكت و لا تدرين ما السبب، و اٍذا تكدرت بكيت و لاتعلمين ما الخبر، تعذرينني قبل أن أخطىء، وتعفين عني قبل أن أتوب، وتسامحينني قبل أن أعتذر، الله يا أمي: من مدحني صدقتيه ولو جعلني اٍمام الأنام و بدر التمام، ومن ذمني كذبتيه ولو شهد له العدول و زكاه الثقات، أبدا أنت الوحيدة المشغولة بأمري، و أنت الفريدة المهمومة بي، الله يا أمي: أنا قضيتك الكبرى، وقصتك الجميلة، وأمنيتك العذبة، تحسنين اٍلي و تعتذرين من التقصير، وتذوبين علي شوقا وتريدين المزيد، يا أمي: ليتني أغسل بدموع الوفاء قدميك، وأحمل في مهرجان الحياة نعليك، يا أمي: ليت الموت يتخطاك اٍلي، وليت البأس اٍذا قصدك يقع علي:
نفسي تحدثني بأنك متلفي روحي فداك عرفت أم لم تعرف

رب اغفر لوالدي وارحمهما كما ربياني صغيرا...............

من كتاب "أسعد امرأة في العالم" للدكتور عائض القرني

كان في ‏غرفته, يلملم ملابسه في حقيبة إلى جانب باقي متعلّقاته, على المنضدة القريبة كانت ‏استقالته موقّعة ومختومة حسب الأصول, وبجوارها تقبع ون-واي تيكت إلى جزر ‏القمر.
‏كانت ملامح وجهه في تلك اللحظات تنطق بالحزن, ‏الكآبة, الإحباط, اليأس, وقلّة الحيلة... مع دهشة مزمنة ارتسمت عليه منذ فترة ليست ‏بالقريبة, واعترافٍ بالعجز والفشل.
‏إبليس راحلٌ عن بلادنا إلى غير ‏رجعة... فليفرح المؤمنون...

- ‏وين يامسهّل؟ ليش عم بتضبّ ‏اغراضك؟
- ‏يازلمة ماظلّلي قعدة عندكو, إلي سنين عاطل عن العمل وقرّبت أموت من ‏الجوع.. بلاقيش معك سيجارة ياخوك؟
مش قاطع فيكو لا وسواس ولا خنّاس! كنت ‏زمان بوسوس للوحدة تسيب ابنها يعيّط وهي بتحكي مع جاراتها, هسّة صاروا لحالهم يرموا ‏اولادهم في الحاوية أوّل مايجوا!
‏كنت أوسوس للواحد ينسى يسمّي الله قبل ‏مايوكل, هسّة بطّل حدا لاقي إشي يوكله! يازلمة إذا أنا إبليس تسمّمت ‏بالشاورما!
‏كنت برضو بوسوس للشب يرميله كلمة ع البنت وهي ماشية ‏بالشارع, صاروا البنات يطقّسوا ع الشباب بكلام أنا نفسي بستحي ‏أحكيه!‏ إنتو بدّكو إبليس ‏إنتو؟!
‏صار عندكم فائض في الفساد بكفّي 30 سنة لقدّام, صرت أخاف على حالي ‏منكم!
‏يازلمة مرّات بضطرّ أوسوس بالشقلوب وأقول للمسؤول إرحم وللحرامي ‏بكفّي خلّي شويّ للحراميّة اللي رح ييجوا ‏بعدك!
‏يعني إذا إنتو لحالكو سمالله بتعملوا كل هالبلاوي, أنا إبليس شو ‏أعمل؟ أشتغل شوفير تكسي يعني ولاّ أفتح صالون حلاقة؟ ماظلّ غير أقدّم للأوقاف ‏يعيّنوني واعظ أو إمام جامع!

‏ثمّ فتح الباب وانطلق خارجاً إلى غير ‏رجعة

"To be perfectly happy it does not suffice to possess happiness, it is
necessary to have deserved it." -- Victor Hugo
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A man must be both stupid and uncharitable who believes there is no virtue or truth but on his own side. - Joseph Addison, English poet

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I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me. - Dudley Field Malone [other]

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Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses Nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. - Thomas Huxley, letter to Charles Kingsley, 1860
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Power up!
Annual CO2 savings: 115 pounds


Use a power strip to get rid of the "phantom energy" used by your television when it's turned off. If we all completed this task for a year, we would keep more than 800 million pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere.