Karma instantáneo

Share your papas fritas.

I was in line at Barnes and Noble as I tried to frantically finish my Xmas shopping and a little book caught my eye. It was Instant Karma by Barbara Ann Kipfer. I picked it up, opened it to a random page, and I immediately liked the "ways to give yourself and others good fortune right now." [Complain less and listen more.] It was as if I were reading tweets from the Twitter handle @instantkarma. [Increase your playfulness quotient.] They were simple, some are actually more profound than others, and easy to apply instantly. [Give yourself the freedom to fail] Every page I flipped to I found little mantras that spoke to me. I started thinking about how I could use the book for myself, my students, my family, and my friends. [Share your french fries.] Before I knew it, I was next in line and ready to buy add it to the other books I was buying. An impulse buy? Yes. But one of the best.

I started to read a few ways each morning. I found it a great way to start the day on a positive note. One morning I put it in my bag and brought it to school. Initially, I thought it might be a different way to start class. I found out quickly that the students liked the book and enjoyed starting class with 2 minutes of karma. So, I open the book, find a sentence that speaks to me, and write it on the board. Then I have a volunteer pick one that speaks to them and they write it up on the board. It ends up looking like a karma web after each class adds a saying. Then I ask the students to discuss how the ways could bring a person instant karma. Today. Right now.

The first time I did this we discussed what the students knew about karma, visited Wikipedia's karma page, and then I asked how [Share your papas fritas] could bring a person instant karma. The ensuing discussion was short, positive, and allowed me to see that some of the students struggled connecting how sharing french fries could bring them good fortune. The first week we discussed karma 3 times since at the request of the students. Now we do it once a week.

Regardless of the frequency, I very much enjoy every charlita de karma instantáneo because it's a chance to talk about what's really important - being nice.