With kids everywhere home from school, Peace Love Action author Tanya Zabinski is offering a raffle giveaway for all customers who buy a book from her website, planetlovedesigns.com, between now and June 10th. The raffle includes signed, silk-screened limited edition prints of Tanya’s art from the book (!). Additionally, all books bought during this period from planetlovedesigns.com will be signed by Tanya.
The book is also available from our website, bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and your local indie, but only books bought from planetlovedesigns.com will be entered into the raffle.
An invitation to young readers to roll up their sleeves, get inspired, and take action to build a sustainable, just, and loving world, Peace, Love, Action! is an illustrated, illuminated A-Z of everyday actions that directly make a peaceful, fun, and vibrant world. Tanya has curated a set of actions that can be done from home with kids while schools are closed:
B is for Breathe, like Thich Nhat Hanh:
“I have arrived, I am home.” —Thich Nhat Hanh
If you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, you can come back to your breathing. By taking deep breaths, you can calm yourself down and return to the present moment. It’s a wonderful trick that you can do anywhere you go.
C is for Conserve, like John Muir
“There is a love of wild nature in everybody.” —John Muir
How many ways can you think of to conserve energy? You’re probably familiar with the phrase, “reduce, reuse, recycle,” but there are so many ways to do each one: switch to energy-saving light bulbs, turn off lights when not in use, hang laundry, and turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
P is for Plant, like Wangari Maathai
“It’s the little things citizens do. That’s what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees...” —Wangari Maathai
This is a great time to spend some time in the garden, or growing some house plants. A particularly fun idea is to grow your own salad sprouts—it’s an easy, simple pleasure of life to watch them grow, and an additional pleasure to eat these nutrition-packed, flavorful, crunchy microgreens. All you need is the seeds, a jar, a scrap of cheesecloth, a rubber band and water. And you might want to google the instructions.
T is for Thank, like Andrew Bienkowski
“The more we practice gratefulness, the more grateful we become.” —Andrew Bienkowski
Who has been a helpful presence to you in your life? Make a written list of people whose kindness and support have made a difference for you. It could be people you know, or a health care worker, delivery person, or cashier. Next, write small thank you notes to those people. While you write, think of your time with that person and pour your feelings of gratitude into your note.
U is for Unplug, like Jon Kabat-Zinn
“Drop in on yourself and rest for a stretch of time. Check in once an hour, once a minute, once a day—you decide!” —Jon Kabat-Zinn
We need to take time to unplug, focus our eyes in another depth of field, move our bodies, go outside, get fresh air, say hi to nature, give ourselves a fresh perspective. If you need to be online for long periods, set your timer for every hour to do a shake-it-out-stretch-and-breathe exercise. Do a neck roll, shrug your shoulders up and down, march in place, do squats, do jumping jacks, or to really get yourself breathing, try jump roping! Whether it’s gentle or invigorating, find the kind of movement that suits your pace.
W is for Wonder, like Rachel Carson
“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?” —Rachel Carson
Everything in the natural world is a miracle. One way to practice wonder, Rachel-Carson-style, is to find something in the natural world with which you feel a strong connection, then write about it. Do you have a favorite tree? What makes it your favorite? Do you have a special memory associated with it? Write a poem about it, or to it. Or simply sit under it and give it your appreciation.
Z is for do it with Zest! like Julia Child
“…no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.” —Julia Child
Kitchens are like laboratories, and you can eat your experiments! Why not ask Grandma (or Grandpa!) for that old family recipe? Or make something you’ve been wanting to try. Or go to an old favorite. To follow in the spirit of Julia Child, don’t worry or fret, and if you make a mistake, learn from it. Julia’s main principle: have a good time!