The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 22

February 16, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 4 Features Random acts of kindness day: What you can do on campus Random Acts of Kindness Day is held on Feb. 17, hosted annually by the Random Acts of Kindness Day Foundation, or the RAK Foundation. The goal of the RAK Foundation is to make the world a little bit more of a better place. Their website is home to hundreds of different ways to be kind, resources for teachers to use in their classes and different stories that inspire kindness. They note that “scientific evidence shows us the positive effects of doing kind acts for others as well as receiving them or even witnessing kindness.” In honor of making the world just a little bit more kind, here are some ways you can spread kindness on campus. Set daily goals for yourself Do you have a lot on your plate, metaphorically speaking? Practice some self kindness and set daily goals for yourself. Divide your work into what needs to be accomplished, and remember to leave room for flexibility. Be kind to yourself and give yourself plenty of time to complete your goals, stretching them out over days, weeks or months if needed. Make special bookmarks Do you enjoy reading or spending time in the library? You might be able to make someone smile by creating customized bookmarks for others. You can hand them out to others, or leave them in your favorite books in the library as a little surprise. There’s nothing better than Gill Out: The Night Market at Pembroke Lakes Mall a quality bookmark made with love to make someone’s day. Be kind to staff This act of kindness should be something we do every day, but choose to be a little more kind to staff and servers who work at NSU. Ask the Starbucks employees how their day is going, be patient if your food takes a little longer to make and thank professors and custodial staff. Remember that even though they’re working, they are people too and may be dealing with things during work or in their lives and may benefit greatly from a little extra kindness. Pick up trash Noticing a soda can here or an Einstein’s bag there? Grab a garbage bag, some gloves and a trash stick and get to gathering. The students, the animals and the environment on campus will all benefit from a little garbage collection. After you’ve collected any trash you find out and about, be sure to dispose of it in a dumpster or safely in a garbage can to make sure it doesn’t find its way back out again. Remember that during RandomActs of Kindness day to not only be kind to others, but to yourself as well. You can find loads more ideas to be kind from the RandomActs of Kindness Foundation online at https:// www.randomactsofkindness.org/. By: Veronica Richard Contributing Writer The Night Market 11401 Pines Blvd, Pembroke Pines, FL 33026 Every Thursday 4–9 p.m. $-$$ NSU is a unique and lively campus, but that doesn’t mean Sharks can’t band together and take an afternoon to explore the South Florida area — even if that just means finding a quaint place to study. Located about 20 minutes from campus is my absolute favorite spot to eat on Thursday nights. The Night Market is a group of over 20 food trucks and stands gathered together at the Pembroke Lakes Mall to celebrate small businesses and restaurants while remaining socially distanced. Yes, the entire experience can be enjoyed from your car. Upon arriving at the mall, you will immediately see the swarm of food trucks and stands near the AMC theatre and Dillard’s. An attendant will pass you a list of the food trucks and stands available and what type of food available. You will be able to drive near the food truck or stand of your choosing and get delicious homemade food from practically any type of cuisine. From American to Hispanic, the variety of food is amazing. For those who want to make a quick trip, there is an option to order food in advance through text for most of the trucks and stands. You can order up to a day in advance and have your food hot and ready upon your arrival. Many trucks, stands and the event itself have social media pages with their menus and contact information available to you. My favorite truck is Ay Bendito Con Sabor A Puerto Rico. If you’re in the mood for comfort, family-made Puerto Rican food, then this is the truck for you. I come from a long line of Puerto Ricans and the food available at the food truck is as amazing as my grandmother’s. My whole family loves to order mofongo. This is a classic Puerto Rican dish with fried and mashed plantains, garlic and crunchy pieces of chicharron – which is fried pork skin. They also serve other traditional Puerto Rican dishes such as arroz con gandules, which is yellow rice and pigeon peas, churrasco, which is thin steak cooked very hot, and alcapurrias, which are smashed plantains wrapped around ground meat or pork. If you are feeling a little less adventurous, they do sell chicken tenders. Some of the other trucks and stands include a raw honey booth, a booth with homemade baked goods made by local chefs, a stand selling freshly grown orchids, a gourmet popcorn stand and even a truck called Two Platanos and a Dream, which sells homemade Spanish food that is completely vegan. Next time you’re in the mood to eat, but are not sure what exactly you want, I would definitely head to The Night Market. PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY V.RICHARD The Night Market conists of various food trucks parked at Pembroke Lakes Mall on Thursdays. By: Sofia Gallus Arts & Entertainment Editor A practical guide to ancient teachings As the New Year rang in just one month ago, many around the world celebrated the end of the unofficial worst year ever. 2020 was a very tough year and many took up ways to cope, from starting creative projects to taking up new hobbies to watching new TV shows. People found what made them happy in times of extreme uncertainty. Fortunately for us, thousands of years ago, people had some good ideas on how to handle times like these. Here are some small ways you can incorporate these teachings into your daily life. Taoism Taoism is the Chinese philosophy of going with the flow. Having one of the most contested histories out of all the ancient schools of thought, Taoism is widely regarded as being written by a man known as Lao Tzu, which is ancient mandarin for “old man.” Taoism’s main teaching is something that has been referred to as “non-action.” It warns that, by forcing events to happen when they are not ready, you waste your energy aimlessly and to instead focus on what you can change today. A simple way you can practice Taoism is to reflect on your day at the end of it and observe which problems solved themselves without your interference, which ones you were able to solve and which solutions have yet to present themselves. Buddhism Buddhism is a religion originating in India. It has many ways in which it is practiced, but they all seem to agree on the end goal of reaching Nirvana, a spiritual state of absolute enlightenment that can be reached by multiple reincarnations. Buddhism’s teachings stem from one called the Buddha, who was believed to be incarnated on Earth in the form of a man. Buddhism’s teachings emphasize the necessity of pain in life, the beauty of the natural world and human’s role in it and the importance of finding inner peace. A Buddist exercise to do wherever you go is to appreciate the nature surrounding you. Quite literally stopping to smell the roses can go a long way in fostering a love and appreciation of the natural world, which in turn can clear your mind and prevent over-stressing. Hermeticism Daniel Molina, a Freemason and lecturer who has discussed the topic, was introduced to Hermeticism five years ago. He said, “I read the Kybalion written by the mysterious ‘three initiates’... the text discusses the seven Hermetic principles, which are the principle of mentalism, correspondence, vibration, polarity, rhythm, cause & effect and the principle of gender. In short, to me, Hermeticism is a philosophical system that provides a better understanding of the universe we live in and the relationship that we have with said universe.” Molina gives two principles to meditate on and to observe their effects on our lives. He said, “For polarity, Hermeticism teaches that ‘everything is dual.’ With this, we understand that everything is composed of two opposites of the same thing. For example, there is the conservative manner of running the government and the progressive. Both are two poles of how to run a government. Specifically, meditating on the principle of polarity reminds one to be aware of [their] perception in all aspects of one’s life. When considering moments of love and hate or light and dark, our perception allows us to control what polar degree we experience…” He continued, “For cause & effect, the principle of cause and effect teaches that there are no coincidences … With this understanding, meditating on this principle allows one to analyze different circumstances or aspects of one’s life to figure out what led to said circumstances. If one is dissatisfied, then it is within one’s power to ‘become the cause’ and make the necessary decisions or changes for an intended outcome.” By: Rey Perez Contributing Writer