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What is Karma Toast?

May 8, 2015

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No, it’s not a piece of bread made with the power of karma.

Though that would probably be warm, crispy deliciousness, that is not the type of toast I’m talking about. I’m talking about the type of toasts that you hear at weddings, where everyone joins together to celebrate someone or something. That is the idea behind Karma Toast, a social media platform where you don’t have to wait until a special occasion to toast your friends, your family, your mentors, heck, even your dog.

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I heard about this through the Grade 10 IB students in my school, Lester B. Pearson, whose CALM teacher challenged them to undergo a 21-day Gratitude Challenge. Each day, they toasted something that they were grateful for in their lives using the hashtag #LBPKarmaToast. Many students have completed the challenge and have left feeling as a more appreciative and positive individual. So much so that the class was recognized by Karma Toast in an article: (http://www.karmatoast.com/blog/toastedteens/)

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After seeing the amazing results of this project, I felt inspired to promote it more here on Youth Are Awesome. At the time I’m writing this, the Karma Toast Facebook page only has 623 likes, when I think it deserves a lot more. As such, this will also be Day 1 of my 21-day gratitude challenge and I challenge you, as a reader, to join along.

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Simply adopting a grateful attitude can brighten up your outlook on life, where we focus on what we do have, instead of what we don’t. For those who don’t think about it often, it can be difficult at first, but with time, I believe that they have a world of things to be grateful for. We have the right to vote, the freedom of expression, the right to be protected from discrimination. Food, shelter, and health care. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

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Needless to say, but life is full of obstacles and difficulties that you have to overcome. Even during moments when it feels unfair and you question why it’s happening to you, it may be important to step back and view your situation through a different lens. Don’t become bitter and resentful, because that will only trap you in a perpetual cycle of negativity, hurting you and those close to you. Your choices have the power to both harm and help others.

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Karma. The idea that doing good deeds will be rewarded with good deeds in return. It’s like we’re all in the same pond of water and how small actions can send ripples, affecting others. For example, it was through one CALM teacher’s actions that influenced her class and is now causing me to create this article. There is an invisible web through which all of our lives are interwoven.