Our "footprint" in the world...

By Vichara


These days there is a great deal of emphasis in recognizing our “carbon footprint” in this world and trying to reduce it. I think the same kind of principles can be applied to increase our “compassion footprint” in the world. As we do little things to lesson the carbon footprint (i.e. using reusable water bottles, florescent light bulbs, etc.) likewise we can do little things to increase our “compassion footprint”. Be more forgiving of yourself and others. Tell someone you love and care about him or her for no apparent reason. Help someone that looks lost and discover the answer together. Hold the door for one more person. Make a phone call to someone just to tell him or her how much they mean to you…you get the picture. Reduce carbon, increase compassion.

sastruga • \SAS-truh-guh\ • noun

: a wavelike ridge of hard snow formed by the wind -- usually used in plural

Example Sentence:

"Over the sastrugi it is all up and down hill, and the covering of ice crystals prevents the sledge from gliding even on the down-grade." (Robert Falcon Scott, Journals: Captain Scott’s Last Expedition)

Did you know?

If "sastruga" and its plural "sastrugi" seem like unusual English words, that may be because in some ways they are. Many of the words we use in English can be traced to one of two sources: about one-quarter of our vocabulary can be traced back to English's Germanic origins, and another two-thirds comes from Latinate sources (most such words come by way of French or from Latin directly, but Spanish and Italian have made their contributions as well). "Sastruga" was borrowed from German, but is not Germanic in origin. It’s originally from "zastruga," a word that comes from a dialect of Russian and means "groove," "small ridge," or "furrow." "Sastruga" is not widely used in English, and when it is used, it often takes the plural form, as in our example sentence.

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