Lovingkindness: The Liebster Blog Award

I seek to practice meditation for the benefit of all beings and see this blog as an extension of that practice.   I realize this is a somewhat vague statement.   The best way I can clarify it is by describing the concept of metta, a Pali word generally translated as “lovingkindness.”  I’ve found that using a metta mantra always brings a smile to my face when I’m meditating.  Wishing others happiness brings me happiness.

I spent this weekend at a professional development conference, an opportunity that always stirs feelings of metta in me since it helps me ground my teaching practice.  More selfishly, if you love teaching English, there are few things that are as much fun as being in a class with similarly motivated people.  Upon my return home, I discovered that leazengage, author of the lovely Authentic Talk and a frequent commenter here, had nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award.

It’s a nice way of engaging in metta (by drawing your attention to 11 other blogs) and also to tell me a little more (maybe a little more than you need to know!) about me.  Please bear with me, as it involves a number of numbered lists (sort of like Buddhism).

Before getting to the interesting stuff, here are the rules:

Liebster Blog Award Rules

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to their blog.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees.

3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 bloggers who you feel deserve to be noticed. These blogs must have 200 followers or less. Leave a comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been nominated by you.

4. Copy and paste the blog award on your blog. Post all the items listed in item 2 on your blog also.

My Answers To The 11 Questions From Authentic Talk

1. What is important to you?: Happiness
2. Why do you blog? Originally as an extension of my interests in travel and mindfulness and increasingly as a way of interacting with interesting people.
3. Do you like art, music, fitness, nature?  That’s four questions!  Yes to all of them.
4. What has surprised you recently? That I was actually happy to have to wake up at 5 am to attend a professional development conference.  I even woke up half an hour early and was able to squeeze in a morning meditation session.
5. Are there any other online communities, besides the blogger world, that you belong to? Do you like them? Why? If you’d like, feel free to provide links.  Hmmm.  I use social media but wouldn’t call them communities.  If anyone knows of true electronic travel or meditation communities, I’d welcome recommendations!
6. When are you happiest? When walking (as in hiking) or at a meditation retreat.
7. What is your favorite food? Som tam
   
8. What is your favorite season? Autumn
9. Do you own indoor plants? No.
10. Who has inspired you in your life? Professor I.S. Robinson, my college thesis advisor who was a mentor, friend, academic advisor, and most of all a gentleman.  Joseph Goldstein for his work which has made the dharma accessible to me.  (I highly recommend this series.)   Adam Pervez for his general ethos which helped inspire this blog.  Mark Wiens for his ethos and way of travel.  And of course the Buddha!
11. Do you like answering these kinds of questions? Yes, actually.

11 Random Facts About Me

1. My favorite time of day is the “golden hour” around sunset.
2. My favorite writer is Eduardo Galeano and I met him by random chance in Uruguay.  He was extremely kind and insisted on taking a picture together.
3. I have an unhealthy love of Haribo Happy Cola bottles.  I brought huge bags of them with me to both Korea and Ireland.
4. Owing to having been almost kidnapped by a gang using taxis once in Lithuania and having the same fate befall a fellow student at a Spanish school I attended in Peru, I’m excessively afraid of taking taxis alone (I’m working on this!)
5. I support Arsenal Football Club and have since college thanks to a good friend being from North London.
6. My favorite book to teach is Dubliners by James Joyce.
   
7. My favorite song is “Private Universe” by Crowded House.
8. I was the President of my university’s Literary Society for three years in college.
9. My favorite drink is rooibos tea.
10. Two weeks after I started my first job after college my watch fell off in the shower.  Since then, I’ve never worn one.
11. My favorite color is dark green.

The 11 Questions for my Nominees to Answer:

1. What is your favorite color?
2. How do you incorporate mindfulness into your daily life?
3. What do you like most about travel?
4. How frequently do you meditate, for how long, and in what way (sitting, walking, standing)?
5. What is your favorite animal?
6. Have you ever lived outside the country of your birth?  If so where and for how long?
7. Who is the most important mentor you have had in your life?
8. What is your favorite novel?
9. What is your favorite cuisine?
10. Who has inspired you in your life?
11. What is your favorite hour of the day?

My 11 Nominees Are:

1. http://dhammafootsteps.wordpress.com
2. http://15minutesand1day.wordpress.com
3. http://ellatitman.wordpress.com
4. http://radicalbliss.wordpress.com
5. http://asliceofpeace.wordpress.com/
6. http://storyarchaeology.com
7. http://theconvictor.com
8. http://thesouladvocate.wordpress.com
9. http://armeniantravels.wordpress.com
10. http://humblepie.wordpress.com
11. http://livingabundance1.wordpress.com