#JapanLife on Twitter

I love origami. For me, the simplicity of folding a single sheet of paper into an origami crane is a meditative process unto itself and amazing how something so simple and mundane can be transformed into something so graceful and beautiful.

Miniature Autumn Cranes

So, when I was approached and asked if I'd like to offer a blog post or tweet about something I love or admire about Japanese culture for the #JapanLife week on Twitter I didn't hesitate to say yes. Some of you may know I create sets of one thousand miniature origami cranes as a hobby. I do so for several reasons:

1. Because origami is part of my cultural heritage taught to be by my grandma when I was just a little girl.
2. Because of a little girl in Japan named Sadako Sasaki once made a thousand origami cranes that became symbolic of the hope for world peace.
3. I also fold miniature sized cranes because I think individually, they represent tiny gestures of kindness that all too often we undervalue or overlook. But when put together over the course of a lifetime, they represent something truly wonderful: A life full of altrusim, selflessness, empathy, compassion and kindness.

If you would like to learn how to fold an origami crane CLICK HERE for the tutorial on my website The Flirty Guide.

As many of you have, I've also watched countless hours of news coverage of the loss of life and destruction in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami earlier this month. Sometimes it feels like your heart can break a thousand times over when witnessing disasters of this magnitude :(

If you would like to make a monetary donation to help the quake and tsunami survivors you can CLICK HERE to Donate directly to the Red Cross on their "Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami" web page:

"Your gift to the American Red Cross will support our disaster relief efforts to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific. On those rare occasions when donations exceed American Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters."

Thank you to the TweetPhilanthropy.Wordpress.com blog for Creating the #JapanLife week on Twitter and to Art of the Spa for encouraging me to participate.

Twitter Chats & Bloggers Expressing Passion for Japanese Culture, Raising Awareness for the Plight of the Japanese People – Join Us for the week of 3/27 -4/2!  CLICK HERE to learn how