Wear your heart on your wrist - order a bracelet from Doctors Without Borders
(The Difference A Day Makes by Karen M. Jones)
Let your mouse save a child - visit a website which creates sponsorship through advertiser donations
(The Difference A Day Makes by Karen M. Jones)
Meditate - to improve your mental wellbeing and your dedication to the other tasks in the book
(Going Greener by Simon Gear)
The thing with both of these books, and I knew I was going to have to confront this at some point, is that they are quite country-specific. Karen M. Jones is US-based and Simon Gear is in South Africa. Maybe, to give me a little more to do, I should look for a UK based one. Anyway, my first task was to look up Doctors Without Borders. Having the books on Kindle is great as the website addresses come up as links and I can just click on them - the laziest form of activism, yes I know. So when I clicked on the DWB link, it was an American website. I looked for the bracelet but needed a US address. I decided maybe a donation would be best. It was all in dollars and needed a zip code from me.
Then I saw a little button asking if I wanted to donate from outside America. Yes, please. Click! And I went to the UK site of Medicins Sans Frontieres. I hadn't realised DWB was the US branch of MSF. I've always had good feelings about most of these 'without borders' organisations so got stuck into the website and found an easy way to donate by texting 70070 with the letters DOCS01 and an amount.
Easy! I'd like to think that I will train as a doctor and go out and save small children from terrible diseases but the truth is I probably won't. There are people who have done it and are good at it. So for now, until I complete my degree in medicine with flying colours (any minute now), the best way I can help is by funding their work.
One quick text later and I was all done. First box ticked!
Second one. I was told to visit thechildhealthsite.com and click on things a bit. The sponsors who have adverts on the site will give money to different projects and charities that support healthcare for children. In the tabs at the top there are all different causes you can help simply by clicking. So I got a little click-crazy. I clicked to help the rainforests, improve literacy and stop hunger.
I'm steadily starting to understand the phrase 'armchair activist.'
Lastly, I was advised by Simon Gear to take twenty minutes each day to meditate, without which, my dedication to my world-saving cause might suffer. So, thought I, I will do this. I will meditate my way to heroicism.
I made sure I was sitting comfortably. I set an alarm for twenty minutes away as checking the clock might disturb my deep and meaningful meditation session.
I closed my eyes... And cleared my thoughts out.... Sort of. A few crept in. I made a mental shopping list to ensure I wouldn't forget anything. I worked out how many hours there were until I needed to be in work. I wondered if the rain would stop so I could go for a walk. Then I cleared my mind and tried again.
This time was more successful. I enjoyed this second attempt at meditation, although some people (not me), might say that that's because it strongly resembled what most consider 'sleeping.' I was startled awake by the alarm... I mean, I was already awake.
I think meditation is something I'll need to work on.
And the fourth thing, what about the fourth thing, you're all wondering.
Well, I went shopping and bought environmentally friendly softener for washing my clothes. I also didn't wrap my vegetables in plastic bags. I just weighed them and stuck the sticker straight on. Check me out, I'm such a rebel.
Here endeth the world saving for another day.
You clap. I bow.
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