ae imiONS = What School Taught Me Kali Thurber, OP Contributor Western society has an obsessive-compulsive disorder comes to post-second- ary education. An undergraduate degree is a definite must-have, and a PhD is getting to be just a small notch when it on your way to making it out of waiting tables. If your doctorate was completed at Yale or Harvard, you're at least guaranteed placement at a fine-dining establishment. But despite this, most of us still hear that incessant chanting in our minds, “Go to school, you’re nothing without an education,” that’s been drilled into us since kinder- garten. Okay, perhaps I’m exaggerating (just a wee ' bit). But seriously, how much smarter do you feel as a result of your education? I can clearly recall my grade 11 English teacher pleading me to give up my dream of dropping out of high school to make my mark as.a writer. Dear old Mr. MacLean des- perately explained to me that I would need something to write about besides what I witnessed in the world around me. And what am I doing now? Writing about my useless education. Thanks a bunch Mr. MacLean, you sure showed me. The sad fact of the matter is that the student lifestyle has taught me to be lazy. The level of lethargy that I’ve acquired recently reached a new high. Yesterday I quit my 60hr/week painting job so that for the rest of the summer I can live according to the loose rules of early retirement and wait for my student loan to arrive. And while I’m in school, my attitude (and the attitudes of my classmates, I might add) doesn’t alter. If I happen to decide that a They Might Be Giants concert is more important than writing the philosophy paper that’s due the next day, I can always use my charm to bully my way into an extension. Tell a few jokes about Zen Buddhism or Descartes and that paper will turn out to be due next week, guaranteed. So, in essence, what school has really shown me is that I can probably live the rest of my life immersed in this lackadaisical way of being—and that flattery will get me everywhere. Honestly, those Descartes jokes will get you anything you want (with a philosophy professor, that is). The Gift that Continues to Kee on Giving This article was written by a Certified Lifestyle Consultant for The BodyWealth Network. Everyone has heard of random acts of kindness, but not everyone has heard of the concept “Pay It Forward.” It came from author Catherine Ryan Hyde in her book Pay It Forward, released in January 2000. Warner Brothers made it into a movie with the same title and this concept has become a real worldwide social movement. The story is about an extraordinary12- year-old boy who is inspired by an extra credit assignment from his social studies teacher. The assignment was to think of an idea for world change and put it into action. The 12-year-old hero of the story comes up with an idea for this assignment unlike any of his classmates. He calls it pay it for- ward, and describes it to his mother and teacher this way: “You see, I do something real good for three people. Then when they ask how they can pay it back, I say don’t pay it back, pay it forward, to three more people each. So nine people get helped. Then those people have to do the same, affecting 27.” He turned on the calculator, punched in a few numbers. “Then it sort of spreads out, you see. Eighty one, ten 243, ° then: 7/29, then 2187. See how big it gets?” Anyone can imple- ment this concept in his or her life, at any time. It begins with doing a favour for anoth- er person, ideally three people, without any expecta- tion of being paid back. Then those three people would do the same as you did. The unconditional favours can be large or small. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, It can just seem that way, depending on whom you do it for. The Pay It Forward Foundation has been developed to keep this concept going. What this foundation does is inspire youths of all ages in schools to use the Pay It Forward concept to make a difference in our world. It offers grants for supplies and materials needed for the projects that they come up with. All of these projects teach students valuable life skills that they may not learn normally, making our world a better place for everyone! Did you know by using this concept we actually create positive energy and attract more of it into our lives? We also experi- ence that great feeling you get inside from knowing you have made a difference in someone’s life. It is an indescribable feeling. This concept is truly a win/win for every- one! Can you even begin to imagine what out world could be like if we all applied the pay it forward concept? If we were willing to give unconditionally and trusting by let- ting it go forward without having to know what the results would be or who would be on the receiving end next? Big changes can start with just one person, maybe you. We would like to think of our web site as a form of pay it forward. Our intentions are to help people by educating and empower- ing them about health and their responsibility to themselves. We donate 10 percent of our | earnings from our web site to sustainable, environ- mental and educational foundations/ projects like The Pay It Forward Foundation. So let’s not wait until Christmas time and other occasions like birthdays to give. We can implement this “Pay it Forward” concept at any- time and to anyone, and increase our mental, emotional, physical, and_ spiritual health at the same time. Visit today as my way of Paying It Forward to you with valuable insights that have the power to change the way you live on a day-to-day basis.