Owning animals

This is a fantastic article:

http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/pets-the-inherent-problems-of-domestication/#.U0F6Vl6nTt4

I adore animals.  I love being around them, but I cannot justify breeding them and keeping them dependent on us just so we can love them.

There are so many animals in this world, and so many need a home.

Let's create animal sanctuaries.

Let's end animal mortuaries, and the excess of beings that we can not possibly take care of.

Balance can be restored.

And maybe with that balance, our love of the natural world can expand, and our love for animals
can be shared with wildlife.

Today, we end up killing wildlife so we can maintain caged life -- that was once wildlife but is no longer due to our manipulation of their evolution.

It doesn't seem right to me.

Can we love animals, as they are, as they were born to be?

Most amazing eco-commercial you will ever see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iIkOi3srLo&feature=youtu.be

Please share :):)

This commercial actually makes me want to do all the things it says to 'not' do!

Brilliant.

Could you imagine if we all decided to do those things?? What a different world we'd live in :) 

Gratitude

My husband has started this new initiative on facebook, it's called 1,000,000 thank you's.   He had read a while back about a teacher or maybe an ancient saying in Japan -- I apologize for not remembering clearly, that when you say 1,000,000 thank you's, the world is forever changed.

He's talked about this often since he had first heard it, and he finally decided to make a fb page with those who are committed to the practice.

Recently I have gotten into a practice which I have coined power meditation.  It's inspired by this Ted X talk --

I joined a part of a power pose with my 30 minute meditation practice, so I basically sit cross legged with my hands on my hips.  And it could be my imagination but I definitely feel the benefits from this.

Well my husband asked if I would be interested in committing to the one million thank you challenge.  Of course I agreed.

So the past few days I have been incorporating as many thank you's into my days as possible.  Either repeating it over and over -- which I did 2 days ago in meditation, or repeating it when I am feeling any kind of anxiety or stress during the day, and last night I did something a little different.

I decided to do my 'power' meditation while voice recording all of the things I am thankful for in my life.  Not just the things that I am thankful for, but I was also envisioning that the next day had happened and I had accomplished all that I needed to do for that day, and expressing gratitude for having accomplished those things -- before they had actually happened.

I found that today, I was much more productive than I have been in this whole semester!

It also could be a combination of things.  Yesterday, I was expressing to my husband that I think that I had become a little too attached to facebook.  My fascination with facebook involves being connected to so many people and sharing beautiful ideas without being limited by space and time.  Well, at least in that world, outside of that world of course there are constraints.  Maybe that's why it feels that the internet can be so liberating in a sense.  Learn whatever, whenever -- talk to anyone, anytime.

So anyway, my husband changed my password, giving me a break, which I think was a fabulous idea.  I feel that it has enabled me to focus more on what needs to be done at hand.

I'm staying with a friend in town, and I have been wanting to ride a bike to school for so long, but never actually got around to it, someway or another logistics of it weren't coming together!

But my friend lent me one of her bicycles.  I bought a bike lock, and the past two days I have been riding a bicycle to school.  For someone who is as avid an environmentalist as me, it's amazing how long it took me to figure out a way to finally ride a bike to school.  It's been amazing.  Today I rode to school while it was snowing. I should have worn sun glasses, because I had to use a system of rapid blinking to not be totally blinded by the flakes haha, which was probably not very safe.. But it was amazing.

Yeah, the streets have unfortunately smog and yesterday was a little harsher on my lungs than today.  But at least I know that I am also getting fresh air somewhere in there, and I am also getting a great work out!  On my way back from school it's mostly uphill.. and I am not talking like a little up hill... it's so steep that I haven't been able to peddle the whole way home yet without having to take a break of exhaustion or physically not being able to peddle because of the mere steepness.

My goal, is to peddle the whole way home, easily.  But it may take a little practice :)

It's fun riding the bike, though I am definitely new to bicycle road manners.. or so I've been realizing that I probably haven't been doing things really correctly.. but the fun thing about being on a bike.. is that you are totally out in the open!  So every time I mess up.. I just smile and wave.. and I usually get a smile and wave back.  Suddenly I feel just a lot more connected to life and my surroundings, and I am finding it so beautiful!

Anyway, thought I would share.
:)

Expanding our circle of love

It is interesting, that for what makes a 'good' person, generally, for the most part, people regard other people as 'good' if they are involved in 'humanitarian' affairs.

This involves, feeding the poor, building homes for the poor -- anything to do with helping the poor in any way shape or form.

It involves being kind to people, it involves working hard for your family.  It involves seeking to find cures for cancer and aids, being a doctor or a lawyer -- professions known for their service to others.  Granted, it also pays quite well.  But this is exactly what people find worthy of higher prices, they want to make sure that they can get the best doctor and the best care that they can.

Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with any of these factors.  However, the cultural appropriateness of our times, has imbedded these values so deeply into our psyche that we are not quite emotionally associated with them, as we are ideologically attached to them.  So we value them almost on a superficial level,  helping humanity in this way, is the 'good' thing to do, I will 'earn' a lot of money, it will look 'good' on a resume, I will impress so many people, people will 'like' me because of this.  The list goes on.

If the compassion was real.  It wouldn't stop at humans.  Because we have this heightened value on being human without a real connection to what compassion actually means, It barricades humanity from really understanding what it means to be of full service to life.  Our cultural parameters are currently giving no direction on enlightenment.  In fact, it's doing quite the opposite, it seems to be reinforcing habits and behaviors that pull consciousness towards the ego.  

With all of the confusing signals, it's no wonder that humanity is actually in sort of semi conscious delusional state.  Where value is spoken about human life.  We attempt to value human life, but we get confused and 

I would like to say, 'human life'.  Because everyone 'knows' culturally, that this is what makes you a 'good' person, but in actuality, the feelings are quite dull and disorganized.  This is why it's so easy for wars to start, for mothers to kill babies, for abuse in homes and for murder on the streets.  You can't associate value to one aspect of life, while ignoring the rest of it, and expect the masses to blindly follow.  Life doesn't work like that.  You either have love and compassion for all of life, or you don't. Picking and choosing, only creates separation, and that separation starts bleeding into the parameters that were first designed to create that original distinction.. which in our case, is being human.  

It's gone quite chaotic actually.  On the outside, everything we do, is for the sake of 'humanity'.  But in reality, it doesn't exist, everything that ends up being done, is really just being done in this state of confusion.  And the person doing the 'good' ends up just being allotted more 'resources' for being 'good'.   It creates, definitely a negative feedback loop.  People striving for higher and higher achievements for greater and greater personal gains disguised as 'worldly gains'.  

This is not meant to throw any one under a bus, what I mean is, if the person is supposedly 'giving to humanity'  but creating massive destruction in regards to the environment or parts of humanity that go unseen or subjugating animals... in no way, are these functions, actually 'giving or serving humanity'.  In our system, unfortunately we don't have these checks.. and actually the people who make the most money for 'serving humanity' are most often destroying nature and living organisms in the process.  

Let's take agriculture.  The latest dilemma among top agricultural scientists, is "how to feed the world".  This has got to be the most ridiculous scientific pursuit, if I have ever heard of one.  

Of course, no one deserves to starve.  But currently the debate in the agricultural community is this,

1-- Organic agriculturists claim that organic has the answer -- that it can easily feed the world and do so in a way that would be affordable to small rural poor farmers, it can also provide ecological functions long term, it doesn't degrade the land or the soil or the water supplies. ... etc.

2-- Among conventional agriculturists, they claim that organic agriculture will need 2x as much land to feed the world than conventional farms will to 'feed the world', so they claim that this will destroy more pristine habitat in order to accomplish 'feeding' the world' under an organic system. 

Conventional agriculturists say that the 2nd green revolution is coming and it will involve GMOs feeding the world.  They will create pesticide tolerant plants and vitamin enhanced grains.

So, the conventional folk are leaving out some major factors.

1- They are not considering that organic agriculture in many parts of the world are making use of degraded, barren plots of land -- that have already been abandoned by conventional farmers -- who farmed for too long unsustainably in one place.  Organic does not inherently mean that we need to destroy more forests and pristine habitat.  They are also not considering that when comparing yields of multi cropped systems, organic agriculture often fairs ahead of the game.  Actually this is the only way to reduce malnutrition.  Feeding one town with only one grain-- even if it is enhanced with more vitamin A-- won't be sufficient in meeting their nutritional needs.  

2- These fancy GMOs and other agricultural technologies often don't make it to impoverished areas.. and if they do they wreck havoc on the local economy because farmers are permanently indebted to these huge companies.  Blanket solutions that are thought to solve 'world problems'  are complete propaganda.  Every place is dramatically different, with dramatically different weather systems, cultural norms, soil types.. we need individualized solutions to fit specific places.. not 'world solutions' to fit every place.   It's complete arrogance for big agricultural companies to convince people that this is the way to 'feed the world'.  They are masking their own greed for wealth, by essentially 'selling' their product to a market--which economically speaking, of course they are going to want to sell it to the 'world',  they make billions in revenue every year.

The first green revolution Cargill's revenue increased by 86% in 3 months.  This was the phase of synthetic chemicals and pesticides.  Their revenue jumped from 553 million to 1030 million.  

And did it actually feed the world?  Not even close.  Actually today, there are more hungry people then we have ever seen in history.  Why?  Because they are being trickled food.. enough to reproduce yet not enough to live normal lives, and the 'food' that these companies say will feed them.. is white rice.. wheat.... These foods are not nutritionally adequate.  

3- They also forgot to mention that creating genes that are more pest resistant.. actually is only short term, the pests become increasingly immune.. and again we are in an arms race with bugs... bugs evolving to cope with the drugs, and we either having to continually splice more pest resistant genes or apply more pesticide.  What we DONT know.  Is what affects these pesticides have on human bodies in that kind of amount.. especially if pesticides are spliced into all of the vegetable genes? Scientific studies have already been published associating neurological disorders with certain pesticides.  Nothing is proven.. but are we willing to take that risk?  If the large corporations take over our food supply and start splicing genes.. there is no going back.  

If we are serious about 'feeding the world'. We have to eradicate this complete bizarre notion that we can 'feed the world'.  It's atrocious wording. 

Let us help our brothers and our sisters feed themselves.  Let's reinvigorate natural habitats, restore previous forests and wetlands -- these are the most sustainable food supplies we could have ever been given.  They don't need outside water, they don't need constant care.  We need to restore the land, before the land restores us... to the land because we haven't figured out what ACTUALLY supports humanity.  Which is actually... every living and non living being on planet earth.

We have falsely assumed that humanity supports humanity.  This is a huge joke.  We can only support other humans, if we have healthy ecosystems.  

Many conventional agriculturists believe that organic can't feed the world because it is too expensive.

This is something else that obviously hasn't really been considered.  Conventional agriculture uses massive amounts of fossil fuels, in order to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere into synthetic compounds to use on the farm.  Which actually becomes more of a salt.. so it only gives the appearance of big plants.. when actuality, it's mostly water retention.  This is why organic produce is often smaller, because the vegetables and the fruits are closer to their natural form with much more condensed nutrition load.  This is another reason why they say yield is so much greater for conventional, but in reality they are adding up water weight mostly.

Another thing that was not considered is that organic agriculture is not subsidized-- it's possible that perhaps some large farms could be, but for the most part organic farms are too small to be subsidized and they have too much variation in their produce.  Subsidies typically come from a very large supply of one kind of crop -- typically something like rice, soybean or corn.  

Huge subsidies are allotted to these grains, and then to industries that create meat.  

If we were to raise the cost of meat.. to it's actual cost. A pound of beef would cost something like $27.

That is just conventionally raised!  

Perhaps one of the best things we could do, is take away our subsidies on grains, and start subsidizing diverse fruit and vegetable crops.  This would raise the price of grain and meat, providing a real incentive for people to lower their consumption of these foods, which actually could be the best thing 'humanity' could do for our current health issues. 

Large meat and grain consumption have huge health implications, because many people only eat these foods and totally ignore the importance of a diet mostly based on fruit and vegetables.  Heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes.. etc, all are effects of a diet based on too little vegetable and fruit intake.  

The more we can learn to care about our surrounding ecosystem functions, the lives of other plants and animal species, and the quality of life as it is... without trying to be improved upon and re-invented... the more we will actually see the what it means to live life with integrity, purpose, compassion and good-will.  This curse of anthropocentrism needs to end.. before it ends all of us.

We are only a strand in this huge web of life... somehow we have successfully encouraged and perpetuated the demise of other living organisms.. and soon we will find that we were attached to them all .. all along, as their demise, only drags us along.  

Operation: Save the Rainforest.

The Rainforest is possibly the most intriguing amazing place on planet earth.

Granted, I have never actually visited one.  But can you imagine a world where there are no stories that involve the deep enthralling trenches of the trees, rain and multitudes of animals and unmet tribes?

The rainforest serves so many purposes on planet earth, apart from our cultural fascination with it.

One of which, which perhaps is most essential during this time is that the rainforest acts as an air conditioning unit for planet earth.

Unfortunately we have lost about 65% of the rainforest, as of the present day.  Mostly due to the beef industry, along with banana, palm oil, coffee, rubber, cocoa and wood harvesting/farming.

The rate at which we losing plant life and animal life never to be seen again.. is so depressing that I almost don't really want to post any more details.  But a must read book is, "Seeds of Change: the Living Treasure" by Kenny Ausubel

Seeds create our whole existence on earth possible.  They grow into wondrous plants that create the oxygen we breathe, they provide food, shelter and clothing for us.  And it is the very seed that could be the downward spiral of our current civilization.

Scientists have always had good intentions. They have always worked really hard to solve our worldly issues and problems, however, no matter how smart we think we become, mother nature will always be... well mother nature.

And if we mess with the genetic systems of earth too much, of course the earth will be fine-- she'll evolve in a different direction--but humans on the other hand, that's a whole different story.  Whether or not we will survive through this period of massive scientific knowledge and gene engineering.  No one can really be sure of.

The problem we face today is that most of our seeds come from 5 corporations.  Who have patented varieties of these organisms.  The seeds that are sold to farmers are hybrids--because hybrids have been designed to produce the 'biggest' crop and of course hybrids cannot be saved (that is taken from the plant to be replanted for the next year), so the farmer is dependent on the company to go back for more every year.

Furthermore, the companies have focused their efforts on a very small variety of seed.  Native americans were known to eat thousands of varieties of plants.  Today, in the grocery store, we may have short of a few hundred varieties.  With much less that we consume on a regular basis.

Without much genetic diversity in seed breeding programs, our hybrid seeds will continually lose vigor.

Without biodiversity rich forests and ecosystems to rely on for new flavors, stronger varieties, new medicines or more nutritionally rich new plants.  We will slowly fade just as the forest has.

The good news is, there are a few backyard farmers, who are saving their own seeds.  They have not given up on genetic diversity and they are developing trade with other backyard farmers and attempting to save some of our heritage that isn't being supported by many of these multibillion dollar companies.

So what else can we do for the Rainforest???

1.  Donate as much money as you can possibly afford to organizations who
         a.  Buy land so it can remain a rainforest.
         b. Organizations who help farmers become more sufficient in their land use, and teach locals how                to allow the forest to regenerate and use the forest sustainably as an income generator and as                  food
         c. Organizations who protect indigenous people who live there and or plants and animals
         d.  Organizations who are saving rainforest seeds
2. Try to avoid products from the beef industry, along with banana, palm oil, coffee, rubber, cocoa and      wood.
     a.  If this proves too difficult, find organic varieties sourced from fair trade.  For rubber and wood               products, see if you can find other products from second hand stores or perhaps use materials                 such as bamboo
3. Reduce your own carbon emissions as much as possible
     a. Eat as much plant based foods as possible and preferably from your own garden :)
     b. Eat organic
     c.  Eat local
     d.  Carpool, take a bus, walk, ride a bike.
4. Don't support the exotic pet trade.
5. Support wild habitat wherever it is found.  Get involved with your community, say no to new housing projects, say no to new development, say no to new oil rigs, say YES to establishing permanent protection on the few wild places we still have left.  Or even if it comprises of a few trees.  We have lived in imbalance with nature for too long, for too long we supported everything as long as it would produce 'money'. But money is a completely made up notion on completely arbitrary principles.  Actually the richest people in the world are the indigenous people who live in the forest.  That is, as long as we allow them to be there and we don't take their land away from them.
5. Tell your friends.
6. Tell your family
7. Tell strangers

It's completely possible, we just have to decide that it is worth it.  

Follow your dreams.

It's really too easy to double guess the path that you have so chosen as your life.

I look at my resume, and it amazes me.  But my resume isn't my life.  My life isn't always full of totally amazing adventures, okay maybe it is.  But it's too easy to begin to see those adventures, as normal.  We often allocate adventure with exotic lands and new people and totally new things happening all of the time.  Maybe it's what media feeds us, maybe it's our own ideologies about life.  But maybe the biggest adventure is actually what we may perceive as the most dull or even normal, maybe even just stressful.  Who says a 9-5 job cannot be an adventure?  No day is exactly alike the previous.

I have been seeking that inner spark which for some reason I completely had lost site of. 

Where your current life is, has less to do with your current idea of what you ought to be doing, it has everything to do with where you want to end up in the future.  

What is your biggest dream?  Could your biggest dream be accomplished if you continue to live life as you are in this moment for the next 10 years?  Are you doing something today that is difficult and challenging and you aren't quite sure if you can make it through, but do you see it as defining you for your future intentions for your life?  It seems to me, that in this generation we have grown so accustomed to instant gratification.  Which unfortunately doesn't quite create lasting happiness.  Real joy and real beauty comes from sweat and perseverance.  Sure maybe one day these things after much much practice will be easier to attain, but in the beginning it may not always be easy.  And that's okay!  In fact, it's the way it ought to be.  

I watched this video, and somehow everything clicked.  I suddenly realized, I am exactly where I need to be.  It currently may not seem easy, but I will push through.  I will work hard.  I will figure this all out.  And I will be better because of it.  I am in completely unchartered territory, but I won't let the unknown define who I am.  And I won't turn back.  I always imagined adventures as being jungles and mountains.  But in the age of enlightenment, adventures can really only be inner journeys (even if sometimes they ARE disguised as outer journeys of jungles and tigers).  They are journeys of mind and spirit and that may have nothing to do with the outdoors.  The outdoors have defined who I am my entire life.  And it continues to do so today.  However, now is the time that I learn to explore what is in my heart and how whatever I find I can bravely share with the world.  We have a lot of work to do on planet earth, we have a thousand broken things that need fixing.  I think we have what it takes though.  I think we can do it.

In this video, she talks about the '20's, granted the 20s are important and they should be seized, but in no way should this deter those in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s++ in not going in the direction of their dreams.  I say wherever you are in life, start now.  Start going down the path that you want to see yourself on in the coming years.  Age is an illusion.  Don't worry about magically 'being' who you want to be now, take tiny steps everyday that take you closer to the goal.  Start small.   

Check out this talk, for tiny habits.  

And for just an incredible talk on living your dreams.  

Staying positive?

I know I haven't posted for a while.  I've taken up some time consuming hobbies lately (currently learning 8 languages... ) as well as I've been working more and more.

I work for a soils lab at the university, as well as being an intern for the university helping some orchards in a national park become certified organic.  It's quite the process. I'm really not sure how full time farmers find the time or the means to actually certify their farms organic.  It's really incredible.  It's giving me just about a full time job filling out the application.

I love the world.  I adore all different kinds of people.  I love animals. I love plants. I love soils, I love learning about the systems of the world and how magical it is.  I mean really, everything about science is magical.  It's unreal, first of all, that we have learned how to identify these systems in the first place, and that these systems exist and how amazing it is. I mean it's beautiful.

But on the other side of life, I feel like, I'm being absorbed by this overwhelming devastation.

Not really about life, but how we are living.  I can't help but absorb these crazy things we are doing to ourselves, the planet, our homes, our neighbors, our sons, our daughters, our animals, our plants, our soils, our skies, our minds!! How in the world did we come to this?  Why do we live like this?  Native peoples were never barbaric, WE ARE!!

I am so appalled by humanity, honestly.  I know that there are so many good people. Actually I believe there aren't really any 'bad' people per say.  But our ignorance and laziness, our blindness is absolutely grotesque.  And I'm not sure what to do with these feelings.  I know that we supposedly 'create' our reality.  That our perceptions are the ones at fault and not the world.  I have no proof that any of these theories are true.  I can point to times in my life where I've felt happy, and I can point to times in my life where I felt sad, I can point to the thoughts that I had, or the people I was with, or the general environment.  But, can I, say, in all honesty, that I 100% know that any of these so called, 'pearls' of wisdom are true?  Absolutely not.

I think we've become lazy.  I think we as a society of people have become so overwhelmed in our customs and attachment to comfort, ease, 'progress', wealth that we have completely forgotten what it's like to ACTUALLY be ALIVE, and be with our surroundings!!!

I am completely to blame along with everyone else.  I am sitting here, typing on a computer, with a roof over my head, full stomach, money in the bank, food in my fridge.  I have more than most people and living beings on this earth, and I am not quite sure how to change.  I unfortunately know very little about surviving in the wild.  However, my ultimate goal is to find the community I can call home, where I CAN live the way I feel we were meant to live.  Alongside each other, actively working with nature's systems in a way that it benefits ALL. Benefits all of life, not just the 'richest' group on earth.

It actually makes me sick.  It's like I've woken up in this world of zombies who brag about how much flesh they can eat, while babies starve and mothers are brutally beaten and raped.  Along with a myriad of other repulsive activities.

What can we do. Seriously?  I want to know what we can do.  How we do we stop this crazy train?  Is it possible?  I can stop my thoughts, but it wont stop the madness.  It won't stop the suffering I continually see day in and day out.  It may stop my own suffering from it all, but what about theirs, those who don't have a voice in all of this, the ones who are abused and taken from their homes, because we feel like bulldozing everything on planet earth so that we can build things...????

What is going on.  This is outrageous.

A thought on compassion

A while ago I had the idea that what gives the most, should be respected the most.

What gives the most, must be the most compassionate.  My conclusion was that the sun, must be the most compassionate force of this world.

It is one thing, that never takes, it only gives.  When the sun is fading on one side of the earth, it's giving out its rays to the next destination.

But it's not just about always giving, but knowing the best time to give and release, the sun unfortunately can't stop, it can only give.  And this can mean the end of a person if he ends up in the middle of a desert with no water.  

So it's not just about one 'thing' in our universe that is ultimately benevolent.  But the combination of all.    Any one thing by itself would mean the death of all existence, but because we are blessed with a vast variety of 'elements' 'items' 'things'  We have the ability to thrive in what might be considered chaos to someone unfamiliar with existence or I guess LIFE on earth!  (not sure the right word structure for that one!)

It seems to me, that some people in this world, don't know how to care, about anything.  Not themselves, not their families, not animals, plants or the world.  Sometimes they direct this negativity inward, sometimes outward.

Next level is some people are able to care for themselves, but other than that, they don't care too much for others, or plants, animals.. etc.

A slightly expanded view, are those who care about themselves and their family.  Apart from that, they could really care less about anybody else, they may have a pet that they like, but other than that they may not be fond of animals or nature, etc.

A little beyond.  Are those who care about themselves, family, and some kind of community - whether it be for the people who believe the same as they do, for perhaps the citizens of the same country, maybe for those who belong to the same town, but they definitely see good people and bad people.  They may or may not care for the world, they may or may not care for animals, plants and nature.

Then of course you have those who actually care for all of humanity.  It's rare!  But it happens, yet again, they may or may not be concerned with nature, animals and the world.

And then!  You have a few very concerted individuals who actually might care for every single living breathing thing on planet earth.  Genuinely!  A true find indeed.

We can even start working backwards, there are those who care about animals, plants and the world - who only think of people as absolute rubbish.  

There are also those who may care about everything outside of themselves, but not actually care about themselves, or not aware of how to care for themselves.

Of course, there are many many combinations to this capacity to care, embracement of compassion.  

I fit somewhere in there.  I'd like to think that I care about everyone and everything and I do the best I can to take care of myself.  I do find myself having questions or judgments, ironically when it seems like others aren't caring.  Especially with all of this crazy news in the media.  Violence, it does baffle me to think that people feel the need to resort to it.  But again, I have no room to judge them.  I don't know their situation I have no idea of their past.  

The best I can do, is not try to figure out why others aren't being 'compassionate' but work on how I can become more compassionate.. whether it be to myself, my family, my friends, my colleagues  my husband, my animals, the world.. 

In the end we are all just different sides sparkling different lights in different directions on a gemstone! We are all completely right in our own way, and I do believe that there is a higher perspective to all of this (everything we perceive as crazy or malevolent) , even when I am incapable of seeing it.  I do better if I can trust that it's there.  That whatever is happening, is happening for the highest benefit for all.  

But I can't help but wonder if humanity were to flip, the accepted paradigm --- the paradigm that most people care about themselves, their family and the communities they belonged to.. 

What if we were able to care most about what actually gave us breathe, gave us life on a day to day basis.. how would our lives change?  Suddenly we'd have everything in common with not only other humans but with almost all of life!  

What if we honored the sun, the moon and the stars the most, the atmosphere next, the trees next, the soil and the water with due importance!  What if we honored our fellow creatures more than ourselves? How would our existence shift?  And of course we would honor each other and ourselves along with everything else.. but highest importance would be to that, which gives us breathe.

Just a thought!

Happy readings :)

Happy Earth Day!!

So somehow, I completely didn't realize it was earth day weekend until.. well today.    I was flipping though the Newspaper, and I think I counted over 8 positive stories!!! I couldn't believe that, that never seems to happen!  I was feeling very happy and optimistic, and turns out there was still one more positive piece of a news story.  That story was around the earth day activities for this weekend.  I was ecstatic.  They had river cleanup, planting trees, earth day booths and habitat restoration!! Wow, why don't we have earth day every day?  Every week??  I was so excited to see all of these activities, in my area, I had to decide what to do!  Tree planting is on Monday - so that is out - I have to work.  River clean up started at 8:45 am.. the time was 9:30 am , that was out.  Earth booths are always fun, but I definitely wanted to work on something that will stick around for a while.. habitat restoration!!  I do live kind of in the middle of no where.  1/2 an hour from town, and I still needed to get ready, so looked like I might be able to be there by 10:30am.  And supposedly it was supposed to go till noonish or 1pm.

I happily got my work clothes on, gathered all my equipment and headed down the road.  I drove a few 'blocks' (since I live in the middle of nowhere- it's more of a distance of driving through fields than actual blocks.. but to anyway it's easy to estimate about that much).  I relaized I forgot my camera - it would have been a big deal but I forgot about it in my garage - not a nice place for it to be.  So I went back to retrieve it. 

I started down the road again.   And then.. about half way to my destination ( total this place is about about 35-40 minutes from my house), I realized I forgot my work gloves, drivers license and money - Otherwise I could have just bought more work gloves.. but since it was pouring outside.. I decided it would be best to have them.  It was one of those decisions where I really had no idea what to do.. but decided to drive back.. it would add about 20 extra minutes to the journey, but it may be worth trying to find a decent pair of working gloves and money to buy them. So, I drove all the way back, and got back on the road - had to stop by the bank, so by the time I actually made it to the restoration site, they had finished their work!  :(

Good news is: They were completely blown away with all the support!  Bad news is, I promised my husband I would not only plant atleast one plant, but one for him and one for us.  LOL.  Blew that one.

Atleast I attempted to help my community and its a better case scenario than me coming there and realizing that it got cancelled or something because no one came!  Anyway, it was kinda a long trip in to town.. just to go back again. But on my way back home, I found a really beautiful wetland!!  They are from a little town near young ward in Utah.  It's Spring, but it's still freezing here and not much vegetation has sprung up as of yet, but its on its way!  And despite the season, the earth will always show her best!  :)

Here are a few pictures :)

This first picture was actually taken where

I was meant to be doing habitat restoration, the rest

were taken at a little wetlands down the road

 

Beautiful Bird I had never seen before!!!

I found this small pen with two beautiful bulls living inside.  They were absolutely terrified of me, and I wasn't sure if they had ever recieved compassion from a person before.  I decided to pick whatever grass I could from the ouside of their stall and feed it to them, it took them a second. But it made my day to know, even it was a small one, I made a difference today.  The drive was worth it, just for this. 

Happy Earth day everyone!  May you also find beautiful sacred places to spend some time this week and honor nature :)

Living in the Heart!

The past couple of weeks have kinda been up and down.  I haven't been as motivated as usual and yesterday.. the whole day seemed to kinda lag and for some reason just wasn't feeling that up.. I guess you could say?

Something happened on my way home, that completely shifted my perspective in a second.

My neighbor has a pretty amazing treehouse with 3 levels.  I noticed that they had put up a pirate flag at the top of the tree!  It was such a funny moment and suddenly I snapped back to the amazing sense of the imagination of a child and the amazing blessings we have to witness these small things in life that bring a smile to our worlds.

It's a little hard to see in the picture, but it made my day!

Today I decided to start my day off a little different than usual.  It's pretty bad, lately I've been somewhat addicted to facebook and posting pictures, haha go figure.

So I decided to start my day off with a journal I had written a couple of years ago.  It was at the time that I had just gotten back from India, and my world was a little wonky.  I just gotten engaged and I was trekking on into unknown territories, it was my first year out of college and it was different.  My world was starting a whole new chapter!  I had to learn how to rebuild my happiness from the ground up.  Going from such an exciting eventful time of my life - India, to back to Utah in the winter - dark, cold, no job, no school, fiance on the other side of the world.  And of course I happened to be plagued with illnesses which kept coming and going.  This was before I learned of the miracles of a 100% plant based diet, at that time I was eating vegetarian but moderate amounts of icecream and what not :)

Anyway, I started what I call now, the "Love Book",  It was kind of like a journal of advice to myself - when I was feeling inspired - I would write them down, so in a sense it would be giving words of wisdom to myself  to a time in the future when I might need some.

I read that whole thing this morning, took about an hour.  But it really completely shifted my perspective!  Amazing, and I had an amazing day! Apart from a parking ticket.. but hey, I don't mind, everyone needs a parking ticket now and again.  Right??

Here, I will share a little bit from the book.. well let me back track a little bit... there were a few entrees made in Denmark, right after I came from India and on my way to Utah.  I'll start there, because I like what I wrote....

"Right now I am admiring the beautiful horizontal colors of the a danish winter sunset. Gently fading from orange, red, purple, peach, green, light blue to a deep blue.  I do love the mountains, but its only been recently that I've started enjoying the qualities of the plains, without obsessing over what they are lacking.  Nothings lacking anything, only perception is capable of lacking, and that is easily adjusted."

Next entree:

"It's too easy to be frustrated
It's too easy to be worried
It's too easy to feel bad
It's too easy to feel loss
But what thought are we paying too much attention to?  A slight or possible outcome of our future?  What if we were to be told by God, that this is actually the best thing that could have happened.
Perhaps we are...
1. Learning the most important lesson of our life.
2. Saving ourselves a lot of money in the long run.
3. Perhaps if this event didn't take place, something worse was around the corner
4. Because this event took place, something extra-ordinary could take place instead - is coming.

Does this event actually belong to us or does our ego cling to it, as it has nothing else to cling to let it go.  It doesn't actually belong to us, it's not actually bad, it's rather cute, or funny.. or ____?"

The book goes on.  But I guess it comes down to the point - atleast for myself - where I am constantly re-evaluating situations, figuring out the best possible outcome, the best possible course of action and when something goes not according to the plans.. sometimes I have the tendency to blame myself or get confused about what I am "meant" to be doing, and whether I am following my highest values, true purpose... in alignment with the world and etc etc

But I find this thinking to be rather stressful at times.  It was great to read this entree, and think, hey, I have made the best possible decisions that I could have, up until this point.  I can choose to say that this is the best possible outcome for me at this moment.  That I am learning the best lessons at this moment and I am fulfilling my highest visions on whatever I path I choose, it doesn't matter because I can't mess this one up, no matter how hard I try or how lazy I may blame myself for being.

So I started the day off on a good note :)

And some amazing things happened.

I learned today that indeed I was accepted to grad school!  The one thing the school lacked was funds actually to officially accept me.  I spoke to the professor I have been working with and she was saying that their are two slots open for next year.. well actually three  one soil microbiology, one integrated pest management and one dealing with peach orchards with her next year.  They would start next summer or next spring.  Which actually is great news for me, as I would love the chance to go to India this fall!  She even said that if I start next year with her, I could kind of develop my own research project and I could spend some time in India every year doing research - there are sooo many amazing places in India which would be awesome to link up to the degree I'm pursuing, it's just a matter of reaching out and figuring out the details of how to make it work and what it would require.

But she said no matter what, she will have work for me prior to when I get officially enrolled, I can work in the lab testing soils and I have also gotten that internship for certifying their Capitol Reef Peach Orchard as organic! Which I am definitely intrigued about, I know it's a lot of paper work but I would like to learn.

On top of that I received an unexpected phone call.  I had been feeling a little disappointed at how things didn't really work out at the yoga studio, since food in every aspect of the word is my Sincerest and dearest passion.  How it's grown, How it's used, How it's prepared, How it works inside of our bodies, How we dispose of it - and linking sustainability back to all of these questions.  Organic, plant based, raw, composting, health, healing.. etc. etc.  I love that the more holistic our approach to life becomes, the easier things fall in to place, the more beauty we have in the world and the healthier and more vibrant our bodies become!! It's magical and I love it!  I am definitely not your typical scientist, and I know that most of the things I post on facebook make my friends who are amazing analytically minded individuals cringe... but i can't be any other way :)

Anyway.. talk about tangents!! lol  Okay back to the point, I got an unexpected phone call from one of our most loyal customers at the yoga studio.

He had been on vacation, so actually he had no idea that I was no longer working there.  He was definitely amazed, but wanted to meet up for some general questions I guess about nutrition.  I don't really know much, but I do know that the owner of the studio had been mentioning that he was the one who was really interested in developing plans for some corporate health programs.. etc.  So I have a meeting with him tomorrow afternoon, apparently in his business, he is looking to hire someone to make morning smoothies and juices maybe healthy breakfasts.  As it is, I'm not working so much at USU, I definitely have time as of now to do add something in.

Anyway, all in all it was a good day.  It's interesting how the world can open up to you if you just allow it.

Do something that inspires you today, you won't regret it!

:)
Esther

Head v. Heart

I have the hardest time figuring out, whether I am blindly following my ego, or if I am living my life according to my highest passions.

Maybe it's an interesting combination of the two.  The decision to go back to school, is definitely a decision that keeps going through my mind, over and over again.

In my heart, I have the picture perfect reality.  Whether it's actually possible, hmm seems most likely it isn't.

My ideal life would be to be in the same place as all of my family and friends.  This is quite the request as my family and friends are dispersed on 3 continents, multiple states and countries.

My ideal life would include no items that are 'trash'.  It would not take from the earth, that which causes more destruction than it would create being taken away.

In my perfect world, everyone would help each other out, community would be everything.  We share what we have whether it be, clothes, food, knowledge, freely and happily.  We provide for the needs of our community and everyone has talents to share.  If someone seems to be less apt in contributing, we shower that person with love, we allow that person to bloom on their own terms.

We spend our time foraging food, playing, adventuring, being active in nature! Like rope swinging into lakes, home-made boomerangs, cuddling, watching the beauty of nature!

A safe haven for all animals and people alike ;) 

I do enjoy travel, it's definitely a pleasure that I can learn to live without, unless of course some super sustainable airplanes and fuel come into being!  Made from reclaimed materials and use solar energy.. or some amazing technology :)

But in this place in my dream, bicycles is really all you need.  The air is clean the water is clear, all is vibrant :)

Currently I am working in a soil lab.  I help run tests on soil to make sure all the nutrients for farms are in order.  Atleast that's what I assume I am doing, I have just started working there a week or so ago.  I enjoy it, it's part time, nothing to strenuous.  I am definitely not used to working with chemicals,  but hopefully they are currently inventing greener ways to test samples??

I am really happy to have the opportunity to learn a little bit more about the 'conventional' sustainable ways to grow food.  I am quite curious.  It's such a different world.  I've only worked on commercial farms and also educational farms - but in the sense where it was so experimental that it didn't really matter what you did.  Working on a campus research farm, is so different, everything is measured and calculated.  I completely understand why, but in my mind it's all about bringing in as much diversity as possible.  However, to research a project including as much diversity as possible.. would be almost impossible because there are so many variables involved.  So it's very intriguing, I guess that is why it takes years and years and decades and centuries for science to build on itself.  Working with each variable and building up from there.  But I realize that today, things are exploding at a much faster rate, since there are many more hands and brains interested in this kind of learning and these kinds of experiments, and many companies interested in the results.

So currently I am compromising.  Compromising my vision of this beautiful ecovillage with my little eco- mud home and beautiful vegan bountiful foraging forest.. lol I know .. hey someday it might actually happen.. maybe.. lol that's what dreams are for eh??   But anyway, I am compromising the kind of life I live, so I can delve more into what current scientific understandings are of sustainable systems.  In hopes that I will learn something beautiful, and in hopes that maybe I can bring some beautiful understanding to the table as well.  Who knows.  But it's worth a shot.

Last night I had this very interesting dream.  I dreamt my heart was set on going on this trip in a raft with 12 other people around the globe.  The raft would take off from NY, it would go up to England and down Europe, down around Africa.. Anyway, it went all around the world, and all we would have would be the raft.  In my dream, there had been a couple of trips already made by different sets of 12 people.  They had documented their experiences and I was reading through them.  For some reason I was feeling so unsatisified with what they had written, it was basically just an account of the places they had gone.. but with no detail.. no detail of what it was like to live in a boat, in a small raft where you had no privacy, no food .. lol now that I think about it.. totally impossible.. but haha that's what dreams are for eh!! to make complete logical sense.  It's always fun trying to explain a dream that seemed so significant but the moment it leaves your mouth.. it just absolutely falls like dust to the floor with each word spilling out.  I feel bad for my husband, always hearing my crazy dreams.

Anyway, in my dream, I felt so unsatisfied with the lack of content in their stories, I wanted to experience it for myself, and I would have been okay if the boat only went across the ocean.. in my dream the whole trip around the world would have taken 1 and 1/2 years!

It reminds me of school though, because it means I need complete dedication to this one thing, for 2-3 years, which most of the time I will most likely be living away from my husband as he is working on the other side of the world, and I will hardly have any time off because I will be doing field research in summers and my winter break is something only like a week.

But what I get out of it, is a different perspective, an experience, an 'education' which technically I can take anywhere in the world and hopefully have the skills to help anyone create beautiful soils!

Of course it's only comprises a fraction of my interests.  And actually I am still so interested in all of Gabriel Cousens programs in Patagonia.
www.gabrielcousens.com
He has amazing programs about health and nutrition and vegan farming.. I was really close to going there, but for some reason I felt having a conventional education would be a good balance to everything that I have been up to.  It felt like I had a window of opportunity to go back to school that wouldn't ever come back.. But the windows of opportunities to study alternative kinds of education are limitless and I know for sure, that's the first place I am going when I am done with the left side of my brain of mine :)

But it is difficult to refrain myself from just going there sometimes, especially when all these stories in the media make me feel so terrible about the way we live and how much we destroy our surroundings to live like this.  It absolutely breaks my heart.  I see how easy it is to get sucked into this materialistic lifestyle.. look at me, I'm typing on my computer posting on my blog!! haha, even as un-materialistic I like to think of myself.  I'm completely not, especially compared to an indigenous women who completely takes care of her needs within her country/land.  I am like a potty trained shih tzu compared to that.  I doubt I would make it too long, in my own.. in the backcountry of Utah.. or wherever I choose to get lost in the woods.  Which is pretty pathetic.  But hey!  Someday, that'll be me... we'll see atleast.  

According to the Mayan calendar, the end of the beginning of the new world is 2015.  Maybe by that time, all our dreams will be true :)

Anyway.

My brain is fading. I can feel it.  Maybe I can keep working strengthening the voice of my heart.. so I don't have this tug of war happening inside of me all of the time.

Thanks for reading in.

Have a fabulous day

May all your dreams come true.
May your heart and your mind be in unison with all <3

Round II

As per popular demand, we have started a second fundraising webpage for the Sadhana Forest Project in Kenya.  We reached our initial goal of 10,000 USD, this is enough money for bare minimum set up in Kenya, we have a much larger goal for our 2 year plus perspective, and we are taking it one step at a time.

http://sadhanaforest.org/en/sustain/

It was interesting because I had started to think that we had done the most that we could with our last fundraiser online and that we had pretty much drained our resources.
So this second time around, I hadn't put as much effort into getting the message out there.

One of my friends in India sent me a message on facebook (Im in Utah at the moment)
and asked me how the fundraising was going, I told her that we had raised a significant amount and a second attempt had been started.

She asked how she could help.  It's funny how such small words can have such a huge impact!  Her willingness and enthusiasm re-ignited my own willingness and enthusiasm.  She had some ideas for alternative fundraising and she offered to put together a cafe sewa in Hyderabad to raise some money.

I couldn't believe it, I was blown away by her generousity and enthusiasm.  So I also started to get to work and started posting more information online about the second fundraising effort.  This time our goal is 5,000 USD and if we happen to not make our goal, all money will be refunded to the original investors.

So far it's been pretty slow.  But it's coming, with your help and everybody working together making the world a greener place, it will happen :)

For those who may not have been following my posts, I have a lot written about Sadhana Forest in my previous blogs, you can check out
http://permacultureabroad.blogspot.com/2012/12/article-for-sadhana-forest-kenya.html
and
http://permacultureabroad.blogspot.com/2012/12/100-reasons-to-support-kenya-project.html

All the best!

Thank you!!
Esther

UPDATE::: I've updated the links (since the sites that we were originally promoting the project on is no longer) (as of April 2014):::: http://sadhanaforest.org/en/sustain/

PROJECT UPDATE HERE::: http://sadhanaforest.org/en/sadhana-forest-kenya-begins/

Most Eco-friendly Careers

This list may not be as comprehensive as it could be.. so feel free to add a comment and continue on..

Land Based Careers:

1. Wild Food Forager-

That is, as long as you are leaving enough of the product behind that its able to still reproduce and keep at the same numbers that it has always been, or even better that its population is able to grow even while you are collecting whatever you are collecting. 

This is local, it requires you to use your observation skills, you are obtaining nutritionaly superior foods, above anything in the grocery store, you are adding to people's knowledge of local wild foods, to their health and attracting interest to conservation of local wilderness.  Great job! 

2. Vegan, Chemical free Farmer -
You are an amazing example to the world that it is possible.  You are free of toxic residue on your plants and in your soils.  You are off the hook from being blamed for degraded water quality.  In fact your site serves as a water purifier with all of your green plants and organic compost piles.  You are not contributing to animal suffering, hopefully you are using as many wild local plant varieties as possible, to reduce your need to interfere too much with the process.  You are supporting your local community by giving them excellent non contaminated food options, teaching them the importance of local, organic, toxic free food! 

3. Sustainable Land Designer-
Permaculture consultants, Eco-village creators, Green City Designers, etc.  These careers, help everyone become more aware of the land that they are using and how to best incorporate wild life aspects into their development.  How can we spend less money, work with nature, use less energy, be more connected, have a better community, etc.  What are the ways in which we can integrate with our surroundings in a more peaceful way! 

4.Professional Tree Planter-
You may or may not be able to be paid for this one, unless you make a NGO or you are involved in planting trees for people's excess carbon points.  There are places in the world, who will provide you food and shelter (this would be for long term volunteers > 1 year) for merely planting trees and helping in water conservation work. 
http://sadhanaforest.org/wp/volunteers/

5. Ecological Restoration-
There is amazing work being done in this field at the moment, Paul Stamets has written an incredible book, "Mycelium Running"  He hosts workshops worldwide on mushroom cultivation and how to remediate toxic soils with these methods.  Recently he has gained a lot of recognition from the government as well as a variety of Universities.  Check out his work:
http://www.fungi.com/blog/items/fungi-perfecti-brings-mycorestoration-to-south-africa.html

http://www.fungi.com/blog/items/mycofiltration-for-urban-storm-water-treatment-receives-epa-research-and-development-funding.html

Healers and Teachers

6..  Energy Healer -
The great thing about this, is that absolutely no medicine, or lengthy scary treatment is needed for this!  Everyone feels more relaxed and at ease because of it, and nothing has been injected, no scary side effects and no contaminents contributed to the water supply.. awesome!

7. Nutritional Health Coach-
Teaching people the miracles of food!  How wonderful, showing them it's possible to reverse multiple disorders from food alone!  Teaching them the wonders of plant based foods, and vegetable juices! 

8. Chiropractors - 
Are probably one of the most sustainable doctors around, they are actually trained more in nutrition and anatomy than your family physician!  Simple adjustments can go a long way and can reduce significantly your need for medicine! Wonderful :)

9. Therapist, Life Coach, Counselor-
All you need is a room, and a voice or an ear or a mind to comprehend what is being said and maybe some helpful advice or a bit of compassion for the other.  You are helping the world in a very simple way!  It's great!


Teachers who get you active!

10. Yoga Teacher -
Assuming you are providing eco-friendly mats, this is a very wholesome career!  Teaching people how to come into themselves and be more loving as well as flexible!  Learning to listen to their own bodies and build strength and wonder through simple movements, this is a fascinating discipline and always something beautiful to learn!  Thank you for the work you do! 

11.  Hula Hoop Instructor -
Assuming that you use spent pieces of pipe for your hula hoop??  This is just fun.  It gets you in shape, it gets you, again, more in tuned with your body.  This is an awesome way to spend your time, it means less time online or watching TV.  Way to be :) 

12.  Dance and Exercise Instructors
Same thing, assuming that they have eco-friendly costumes and props, this is an awesome career.  Getting people moving and active, connecting more with themselves and their inner creativity and energy. Wonderful!

Artists

13. Local Singers
Support your local artists!  They bring so much beauty to our world.  You don't have to travel to see them, they don't have to travel to see you!  It builds community and if the crowd are all of your neighbors in a local hub- most likely a microphone won't even be needed. 

14. Sculpturers and Designers
I'm talking about those who are using re-usable, recylable materials - or even better those items that would have been classified as waste.   Spent plastic forks or knives...
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2011/06/recycled-plastic-sculptures-by-sayaka.html

Green Technology

15. Small scale, green technology for home and business use. 
Sometimes the effectiveness of using huge plots of land for solar or wind energy, is depleted as the local wild life diminishes as a result.  Its about being integrated with nature not obstructing nature.  Granted alternative energy is better than fossil fuels, but in order to make most use of it, it needs to be on a small scale.  Solar paneled roofs and energy efficient building techniques.

16.  Natural home builders
- how about a home made of clay?  In a place that gets hot, this is a wonderful way to keep your home cool! 

17. Green Tech Inventors
Make sure all parts are sustainably sourced and you are good to go!  How about a solar powered blender?  The more green gadgets we have the better off!  The less we consume unsustainably from the grid. 

Commercial , Political Advertising, Politics
 I don' think this kind of a job exists as of yet.  But it needs to!

18. Wild Native food, Vegetable Lobbyists and Campaigners
Stick with me on this one.  Right now, we have a ginormous Milk and Meat Industry and Insurance and Pharmaceutical industry which are pretty much running the country.  We need people whipping up incredible advertisements on the healing benefits of plant foods.  The wonders of the natural world, throwing buckets of money at political leaders to save  beautiful wild places, listen to indigenous people of the world, fund organic vegetables, non-gmo produce, local vegan farmers!! This would be amazing.  Fund tv shows like: Reversing Diabetes the natural way, How to meditate, 60 days on a juice fast! Best green technology of 2013, how to make your car run on algae oil - how to make your own algae oil (check out my previous blog on sustainable technologies :) )
If there is a will there is a way.  Maybe it can start out as an NGO and gain enough momentum and popularity to become the biggest lobby in the nation.. :)

19. Environmental Policy Maker/Anyone in office who can vote for environmental causes, or create change.
Unsustainability is so interwoven into our system at this point, it's going to take much more than just individual efforts to make an impact  (Unless every person literally moves to an eco-village in a place where there are no government taxes, spends their time developing ecosystems, never visits a government regulated hospital or restaurant - however the likelihood of this happening is.. definitely less than 0%).  The truth is, that the majority of the population (at least in USA) believe in the way we do things, and even if they don't, they are 95% clueless how to make it any different, and frankly, afraid of it becoming different.  It's important not only to have personal commitment, but also a commitment from our government to transition to eco-friendlier policies.
For example I was thinking just about plastic.  Many people have switched over to canvas bags.  And every bag, makes a huge difference.  However, even if everyone in their personal lives decides to omit plastic from their lives.  We cannot escape the reality of our 'hygenic' codes and laws in our restaurants and hospitals, which states we have to use plastic.  In restaurants in America, you are required by law when handling food, that the food handler must wear plastic gloves, and every time that person switches a task they have to throw away those gloves, wash their hands and put on a different pair of plastic gloves.  I watched an interview of this guy who said he typically would wash his hands 25x in  day!! That is a lot of plastic gloves we are shifting through.  That is only 1 guy in 1 restaurant.  How about all of the people who work in the food industry as well as hospitals where they have similar codes.  How can we develop technology to help us use less plastic - and more re-usable wear and sanitary items.  We need people working in places in the government to help make these new kinds of codes and vote for them.


Cross-Cultural Affairs

20. Translator/Anthropologist
This is a big one. Currently we are living in a world where it is cheaper to buy a product which was designed in USA, assembled in China-with parts coming from mines located in 4 different countries, packaged in England, and distributed from Chicago, then it is to buy something made by a local artisan in your town.  We all know that we live in a fully connected globalized world, but we don't allow ourselves to really become too involved with what it means to those countries making the products for us or what it means for our own country.  We still have pride in "our" nation, whatever that Nation may be, and we hardly make an effort to learn a second language - if English is our own.  Many Americans say that English is the language of USA, and that others should learn it before they come.  However, if we were to be a little more politically correct, perhaps we should be learning the languages of the native Americans who were here before us.  The more we can understand, different cultures fully and wholeheartedly, the more we can work together and care about the same things.  Instead of only caring whether or not a landfill is created right next to our home, the more we learn about other people around the globe and the trials they face, the more we will care if a landfill is put right next to their home.  We live an absolutely interconnected world, the more we can understand each other, the better.  The more sustainable we will end up being. 

Professional Sports
Not all sports are created equal.  After a good amount of time thinking, I came to the most sustainable sport being,

21. Surfers
- No park is needed, not too much of crazy equipment or energy needed - perhaps a part from a ride to the beach - which could be done on a algae oil bus?? :)
-The only needed equipment is a surfboard and a swimsuit - both can be eco-friendly made:
http://www.faeriesdance.com/swimwear-c-25_13.html
http://www.btcelements.com/products/?view=sub_product&sid=2498&cid=391
http://www.firewiresurfboards.com/news/firewire-launches-new-sustainable-surfboards-verified-by-sustainable-surf/

22. Street Skaters
- Hey no carbon usage in the use!  Get around for free :) 
again no parks need to be made and ecofriendly boards are available:
http://inhabitat.com/bamboosk8-eco-friendly-skate-decks/

23. Chin lone-
Check out this amazing Myanmar sport.  It reminds me of a jazzed up, meditative version of hacky sack.  They need a small soccer-like ball and a people standing in a circle.  It's beautiful to watch, and it can be done anywhere :)  It's not about winning or losing, but how beautifully the game is played. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nnB42yX-kA

If the environment needs to be altered too much for the sport to take place.. I would say its a no go. 
 

Football, soccer, even snowboarding take a lot of resources to maintain environments in a certain way.. not to mention golf.  They can also leave behind quite the consuming trail - from out of towners and everyone knows the kind of junk eaten on game days! 

NGO's -- And these aren't necessarily green, but if the management is done right, they can definitely be green and wonderful additions to all communities.

24. Animal Sanctuaries
Taking in abandoned animals and nursing them back to health

25. Orphanages
Taking care of those who have no homes

100 ways to help the planet

Here are some of the ways in which we can do our part to help out some of the pollution, global warming.. etc. 

1- Eat whole plant based foods - not only will your body, mind and soul thank you for the added nutrients to your pallate, you are helping the world more significantly than any other one thing you do.  You reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, anxiety, arthritis, obesity - saving that many medications from being made and also being eventually flushed down the toilet.  Connecting to whole plant foods, releases our support on factory farms and the suffering caused to thousands of animals daily in those concentration camps.  A reduce in the demand on animal foods reduces animals on the farms and their emissions- methane - a compound 20x more of a greenhouse gas than CO2.  The consumption of plants supports wildlife and forests, as animal farming has taken up more than 70% of the amazon rainforest either by directly raising cows or raising grains for animal feed on its soils.  (check out the documentary, "Eating" by Mike Anderson).  Eating plants is great karma!  It feels good on the conscious and the soul!

2- Buy less -  Be a conscious buyer, everything you buy leaves an impact on this world, are you supporting people who are respecting the earth and its resources, who use re-usable, recyclable material?  Who don't take advantage of indigenous cultures or developing countries?  Is there product in order to better the world or your health?  What kind of impact does the production of that product leave on the earth, is there a lot of pollution involved in it's creation? 

3- Make it yourself!  Develop your talents, make you own gifts for people.  Experiment with making, rice milks, soy milk ( I just bought a nut milk maker, amazing!), make your own breads, experiment with homemade pickles, cereals, homemade salt (I actually just made some tonight, cut up celery into teeny pieces and dry it in a dehydrator for a few hours!  An amazing salt substitute and great for the health!)  Can you sew?  Can you knit?  Can you paint?  Use material laying around the house, get creative. 

4- Fix it yourself!  Why throw anything away!  Superglew it, tape it, re- sew it, cut it up and make something new.  Get creative.  I keep so many jars and glasses, I use them for all sorts of things!  They are handy to have, and eliminates my need to go buy stuff!

5-Buy Local!  Support your farmer and your community!  Help your neighbors, get to know your farmers, tell him your interest in sustainable farming, ask him/her about how he/she grows his/her crops, offer your help to increase the man power on the farm and reduce fossil fuel needs! 

6- Buy organic and sustainably sourced foods - non gmo - support those doing it right!  alleviate the pollution load on the planet!

7- Avoid products that contain known products which are extremely damaging to the environment - for example - palm oil.. most peanut butters contain them, most butters, check twice, read your labels!  If you don't understand the ingredient.. forget it, find a more natural solution.

8- Use alternative products - for example use olive oil for lotion instead of lotion.. actually it feels great on the skin and maybe even moisturizes much better than lotion, use tooth powder or tooth soap instead of toothpaste.. its more natural and better for your teeth!  Use natural clay instead of baby powder, make home made food for your pets rather than buy it.  Get creative!  I used flax seed as shampoo before and its absolutely amazing for the hair!  It takes a bit to get the seeds out.. but hehe maybe if they are ground finer it wouldnt have been a problem.. however it is a great soap substitute :)

9- Don't take medicine if you dont have to.  Use medicine as your last resort.  If there is any way you can experiment with nutrition, alternative treatments, do it!  Don't support big industry support local healers and your own bodies ability to heal itself, learn to listen :)

10- Get out of the house! Exercise - the more active you are the less likely you will be spending excess amount of time and energy in front of energy consuming devices.  Enjoy the Earth!  The more active you are the more you will realize how beautiful the world is and how important it is for us to preserve it in a way in which humans can thrive :)

11- Work less - give up your monetary goals, spend more time with family, prioritize people and happiness rather than money.  The more focused we are on money the more we miss the big picture.. LIFE.. being alive :)  The more we miss our compassionate side and our ability to help each other out when needed.  Let's take a breather, let's have a good time. 

12.  Donate - it doesn't matter how little or how much you earn, billionaires have billion dollar problems, and beggars have zero dollar problems.  Give whatever you can to organizations you care about.  Share the love, help keep beautiful places, help support indigenous people and their knowledge, support people who work to expose the truth, who care about the health of people, happiness and peace in this world. 

13. Be nice -  one bad comment has its effects, one bad comment can ripple the whole world 'round till it comes back.  You never know what those kind of ripples can eventually create.  Don't take the chance.. be nice, even if you feel bad on the inside.. don't be afraid to ask for help.  Let's spread peace.  It always comes back.

14.  Care more than what you think the other deserves.  Everyone deserves a chance, everyone deserves to be listened to and to be cared after.  The more we can care, the more everyone else will care, and the more everyone else cares, the better of a place we can create to live in everyday. 

15.  Don't give in to temptation.  Just one more brownie, just one more cookie.. Just that new car, just one more ... whatever it is.. so what.. everything is impermanet.. don't let greed get the best of you.  Bless your neighbors who decided to move into a bigger 'nicer' home.  Who cares, be grateful for what you have.  It's okay.  In the end, it's gratitude that will get us further ahead.. not bigger and better stuff. 

16.  Don't give up.  Never give up your goals, your passion.  Your passion will inspire others to live their passion.  Do what you love, do what makes you want to get up in the morning happily!  Don't live your life in a cubicle.. express yourself.  Express your dreams.  It has the capacity to change the world!  Don't doubt yourself!

17.  Be adventurous! Get outside of your bubble.  Try something new!  Take that new class being offered at your local college.  Try something different, try something opposite from what you ever thought you could do!  The more we understand that which is different from us, the more well rounded we all become.  The more open minded we are and the more we are open to alternative solutions!  Break free!

18.  Pray.  Pray everyday in everyway that you know how.  Pray to your ancestors, to god, to the universe, to the animals, for your friends for your relatives for the planet.  Give thanks for your life and your gifts, for your friends gifts and your families gifts and the gifts of the world.  Pray for a happy, peaceful planet. 

19.  Set goals for yourself.  Everyday write down your goals, your dreams your motivations.  Check them off throughout the day.. throughout the weeks.  Go out of your comfort zone to make sure they happen!  Accomplish small things and maybe even big things!  Actually the smaller the better, small goals gather momentum to push big goals along!  Strive for your best :)

20.  Make everyday fun and exciting.  Do something crazy, do laundry in your bathtub, take a shower in the rain, build a compost toilet, start composting in your kitchen, make a recipe you have neverrrrr tried before, take your cat for a walk.  Be crazy.  Gathering fun experiences in your life, will create a life you will never forget and many stories that are much cooler to talk about than what you saw on tv last night.

21.  Don't believe anything you hear or see. This is said so often, that we don't even realize what this means anymore.  We are inundated with messages from the media every single day.  They do not have our health on their minds, they are catering to our weaknesses in order for us to support their businesses, never take anything at first glance.  Don't trust their recommendations for our lives, don't believe what they say we need or what will make us cool or sexy.  It's all rubbish.  Develop you, develop yourself.  Don't be fulled by their tricks. 

22. Watch documentaries.  They aren't called documentaries for no reason.  These are made by passionate people who have dedicated their lives to a cause.  You may or may not agree.. who cares.. open your mind, learn something new. 

23.  Go a day without plugging one item into the grid.. See what its like!

24.  Fill up your tires  - some of these we have heard a million times, but it does make a different

25.  Use a bicycle, a scooter, a moped, something else?? How about your feet! Yes!

26.  Volunteer!  Get out there, help your community!  Do something awesome!  Don't be afraid to say yes!  The world will provide for you, don't be afraid :)

27.  Have sustainability on the mind!  Bring it to your work, bring it to your house, your lifestyle.. in what ways can you reduce consumption, help someone in need, use alternative energy.. get creative.

28. READ - read everything, don't limit yourself to your favorite novel set or magazines.  Expand your horizon, pick a random book from the library.  Learn something that previously repulsed you.  Seeing more sides to a situation can develop peace, awareness and compassion.

29.  Give away your stuff - Anything that doesnt add beauty, knowledge or purpose in your life on a regulary basis, get rid of.  Give it to your local thrift shop, sell it on ebay, ship it to a country in need.  Let's share! Make a business out of re-creating your unwanted stuff into treasures! 

30.  Stop listening to your thoughts.  Meditate more!  Realize that nothing in your brain belongs to you.  Its like a drifting cloud, don't attach to an outcome.  Don't attach to your reality.  Just be.  Allow life to flow. 

31.  Forgive.  Forgive yourself, forgive your enemies, forgive your children, forgive your partner, forgive your parents, forgive your circumstances.. you can't change it, its not worth it to fight it.  Just let it be.. allow it.  Forgive it. 

32.  How can you dedicate your life to helping others?  Do it.  Do it, regardless of what it might give you.  But don't do it unwaranted, make sure that it's actually benefiting someone else.. don't do what you think would benefit someone else.. do what you can postively be sure of the positive benefit not only in that persons life.. but the surrounding environment - nature, the world, YOU, and anything else connected. 

33.  Learn a new language.  Connect to a different culture, delve in its pecularities, its differences its similarities, enjoy the new rhythym in your mouth. 

34. Don't support chemicals - stop buying them, stop ingesting them, stop producing them, stop spraying them, stop driving with them.  They don't support life.  Period.  That's it. 

35.  Eat less - be conscious, be wise.  Most cultures who lived to be the longest, didn't indulge, and it was considered taboo to overreat.  Be mindful. 

36. Share your life!  Write a blog, tell your friends about the wonderful things in your life, share with them the secrets to your success, tell others about what you have learned.  The more we know the more we all benefit.  We all have such wisdom, let's relish in that! 

37.  Preserve your heritage. Not to the extent of becoming extremist, but to the extent that traditional values are considered, and languages are not lost.  To the extent that modern western life isn't the ultimate goal... Relish in the traditional ways.. the ones that make sense and support our neighbors, environment, wildlife and animals. 

38.  Get involved.  Write to your local leaders, politicians, share your voice!  Go to meetings, speak up about what is important to you.  Share it with school committees or other organizations in your area. 

39.  Never throw away electronics or batteries - Always always find a recycling center for these items.  Very toxic and damaging to the environment.

40.  Re-use bags.  Don't use the little bags in the produce section, or if you do.. wash them out when you finish the produce, dry them and use them again when you go back to the store.  Better yet.. if you go to the bulk section, bring your own containers! 

41.  Triple Challenge - Only buy products in the fresh produce section at your supermarket!  Try to avoid all package foods!  All packaged products.. can you do it?

42. If you happen to be in a country who uses paper products -napkins, toilet paper, paper towels - figure out ways you can cut consumption, or substitute them out.  Can you use water instead, cloth products?  Is there an option to buy from sustainably managed sources?

43.  Buy fairtrade

44. Stop using soap - they say that in order to absorb vitamin D from the sun you can't use soap for 24 hours after sun exposure.. not sure if it is true.. but I hardly use soap in the summer for that reason and surprisingly water and clay are pretty effective cleaners. 

45.  Go to a school of eyesight camp if you have glasses.  I have actually been meaning to go, because apparently its possible to improve your eyesight naturally.  I have yet to try but its something worth looking into. 

46.  Be nice to animals.  They dont have a voice, they dont have powerful weapons, lets be compassionate, they are co-habitants of this earth, lets respect them. 

47.  The less gadgets the better.  All of these little electronic devices pay a toll on our planet.  Let's be mindful about how many new phones we buy in a year.. cameras, tvs, etc. 

48. Read environmental news as often as possible. Be up to date, know the facts. 

49.  Speak your mind.  If you know something, share it, don't let it burn inside of you. 

50. If you see something you dont like, speak up.  Don't let something be passed up because of social pressures or anxieties, if it bothers you, most likely it bothers others.  The power of asking for what you want and making it clear what you like and dont like in this world. 

51.  Use local materials to build your home.. or repair..

52. Go to bed with the sun, get up with the sun.  Reduce your consumption of lighting.

53.  If you wish to have kids, really consider adopting.  Help those children who don't have other options. 

54.  Don't do things just because you think you are supposed to.  You are a free person.  Do what you want to do.. Who cares if no one else is doing it.. actually all the more reason to do it! 

55. Eat more greens!

56. Cook your food less - its better nutritionally speaking, its better for your health, its easier on the planet, it uses less resources. 

57.  Buy more fruit and nuts from trees- this supports perenial plants, which supports soil health, which supports water quality, which supports wildlife and human health.  We are all connected. 

58.  Never make a decision without considering its impact to the people who will live 7 generations ahead of us. 

59.  Move to an ecovillage - support those doing it right!

60. choose a career which serves the world!

61.  Bury your weapons.. we don't need a world with them. 

62.  Go visit a beautiful place on earth.. fall in love! 

63 Go visit a gold mine which has had devastating effects on the locals.  See first hand the destruction made by us.  Don't just read about it, experience it. 

64.  Don't support industries with no real purpose - diamonds, gold, - these are just for show.. they cause massive amounts of pain and destruction in our world.. for what reason?  To show off what we have? It doesn't make sense.

65.  Shower with a partner.. save water!

66. Drive less

67. Love more!

68.  Stop wearing perfume.  Be natural.. too many chemicals in our world as it is.  Essential oils are okay :)

69.  Get geothermal energy

70. solar

71. wind

72. or another alternative!  Get creative! 

73.  Live out of the city.. and don't commute! 

74.  Create your life in a way that what you do directly supports nature.. grow wildlife.. sell wild dandelion leaves! 

75.  Dance. 

76.  Sing

77.  Make art of waste

78.  Start a compost in your yard

79 Build yourself a vegetable garden!

80.  Better yet, allow nature to take over your yard and learn native plants.. learn native plant recipes and enjoy the abundance! 

81.  Travel to the opposite side of the globe.. to learn everything you thought you knew but didnt. 

82. Be grateful for what you have.

83.  Enjoy the little things in life.

84.  Come up with your own list and share it :) 

85. Challenge: Consume more vegetables than grains.. :)

86.  Learn about almost extinct varieties of vegetables in your region.. do what you can to bring them back! Plant them, share them, talk about them! 

87.  Do not breed animals!  We have so many animals in this world who need homes.. there is no need to bring animals into this world at this point just for the sake of a pure breed.  Forget it.. give love to what we already have. 

88.  Support wildlife.. don't litter, be mindful about hiking in nature preserves.. treat it with respect.

89.  Stop consuming milk, meat, fish and honey.. it doesn't serve your health, it doesn't serve the world. 

90.  Recycle your microwave.  Honestly , it's good for nothing. 

91.  Request companies to stop using so much packaging.. why do we need all of that stuff just to be thrown away?

92.  Don't buy bubble wrap.. if it comes to you.. fine... keep it reuse it.. but no need to add more bulk of waste in the world.

93.  Tell your loved ones what they mean to you on a regular basis. Life is too short to not express yourself or your love fully.. Let them know.

94.  turn off lights..

95.  Start a monthly stuff swap with friends, family or neighbors.. host it and tell others to bring things that are nice but they don't use anymore.. set up everything nicely in your home.. whatever doesn't get taken home by somebody else.. give away to charity.

96.  If you hear something you don't believe, look it up.. you might be surprised to find it may be true. 

97.  Take public transit

98.  Remember to walk your dog on a regular basis.. he/she depends on you! 

99.  Give atleast one hug a day!

100. Remember to smile.  Don't be too hard on yourself.  It's okay.. Don't take life sooo seriously. 

All the best.