Good drugs and Karma

Last night I slept. No hallucinations, no bad dreams, just blissful sleep. Its amazing what a little penicillin can do for ya. My physician - Dr. P - is awfully cute too so I know just visiting my hottie Dr. combined with the drugs he prescribed helped me get on the mend. That being said, I still feel like crap but I'm at least able to breathe again. I have that Kathleen Turner voice thing happening too. DH finds it sexy, I'm just a tad bit annoyed.

No knitting, dearies. I screwed up the houndstooth bag and need to frog five rows. That's what I get for trying to knit whilst running a fever, with dizzingly low blood pressure and talking to the hottie Dr. But he was intrigued with my knitting. He lovingly fondled it. Called it a labor of love. Said my mom is so lucky to have such a talented daughter. I think I swooned a bit when he left the room (or maybe it was the blood pressure thing) and lost count of my rows - (frog courtesy of JenLa - ya gotta love him!). That's okay. Just being lavished with compliments will make the frogging worth it.

Check the Fall Foliage Photo contest links that are newly updated. I'm accepting pictures until next Tuesday and the voting will begin Thursday. Thanks for all of the beautiful entries.

So here's where the karma thing comes in. I've been reading a number of blogs, knit blogs in fact, that are spending a great deal of energy mulling over the election. It seems that a number of people have even abandoned their knitting temporarily. Sure we're entitled to our opinions and would never want to see that taken away. But my heart keeps telling me that we're breeding too much negative energy, bad karma. As a result, I've tried to remain neutral because frankly, life is too short to spend it being angry all of the time. But one blogger issued a challenge that hit home with me. She took a couple of shots at the secret pals and RAOK programs which for one, hit me personally since I've been organizing a couple of rounds of KRSP since this summer. Her quote:

"As you start yet another secret pal program or another non-random acts of basic civility ring, look around. Do you know that there is a woman on the ring who cannot afford to keep a roof over herself and her two children? It's true. Take a good look at yourself. Why don't you know that fact? I know it because she once contacted me and asked for help.

I'm not pointing fingers, I'm just as guilty as you. But at least I have the guts to take a long, hard look at myself and figure out how to become a better person, a more generous citizen.

Maybe you should, too."

At first I was hurt, but then her words ARE quite true. I heard from some of these women when setting up the KRSP programs. They were concerned about dollar limits and access to LYS. I told them to give from their heart and enjoy the gift of friendship that I'd hoped they'd receive from the program. I guess I'm too idealistic because I've heard a bunch of griping, whining and outright ungratefulness during the KRSP programs. One such person was disappointed that her pal gave her acrylic yarn, another didn't think that her pal gave a high enough dollar amount gift. It makes me sad in some ways that I started it. The grub and grab mentality is NOT why I initiated KRSP. I needed a way to meet other knitters and thought that this would be a fun way to do so. I guess we live in a materialistic world and can't function past that fact sometimes. Sure, I know not everyone has had a negative experience. A few have really bonded with their pals and made new long distance friends. But for many, my effort to try to create something positive and fun has only brought sadness and disappointment. I never wanted that and it weighs heavy on my heart. I apologize to them for the insensitivity of others. I won't be hosting anymore KRSPs and I'm not sure how much longer I'll stay in the RAOK ring. There has to be a more positive way for me impact others through my knitting and the world of blogging. I'm not sure where this journey will lead me but I look forward to the challenge and hope that others will join me.