"As a poet, I hold the most ancient values on earth. They go back to the late Paleolithic: the fertility of the soil, the magic of animals, the power-vision in solitude, the terrifying initiation and rebirth, the love and ecstasy of the dance, the common work of the tribe. I try to hold both history and wilderness in mind, that my poems may approach the true measure of things and stand against the unbalance and ignorance of our times."
-Gary Snyder, A Controversy of Pets
Showing posts with label we have a choice: live simply. Show all posts
Showing posts with label we have a choice: live simply. Show all posts
Friday, December 12, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Who Will Help? - by Heather Havey, M.A.
"Who Will Help?" by Heather Havey, M.A.
This is the vow for the Friends of Compassionate Earth Awareness, a group of people who have devoted themselves to caring for and honoring Earth and all of its inhabitants. To join this group, please visit their site at www.ourbelovedearth.com/friends.html
Who will help the animals?
Who will help stop the poisoning of the Earth?
Who will help the rivers that are filled with pollution?
Who will help the oceans that are heating up?
Who will help the trees that are being cut down?
Who will help the air that is being filled with poisons and greenhouse gases?
Who will help all the reefs that are bleaching and dying?
Who will help promote alternative energy - solar power, wind power, geothermal power?
Who will help promote local organic farms and farmers? Who will help people to be treated with kindness, care, and respect? Who will help to feed everyone? Who will help to bring comfort? Who will help us all to learn ways of living that honor all life and create beauty, rather than harm or destruction? Who will spread the idea of peace through kindness? Who will spread love rather than fear in this world?
Who will help? This is your answer...Say to yourself....
Who will help the animals? I will help.
Who will help stop the poisoning of the Earth? I will help.
Who will help the rivers that are filled with pollution? I will help.
Who will help the oceans that are heating up? I will help.
Who will help the trees that are being cut down? I will help.
Who will help the air that is being filled with poisons and greenhouse gases? I will help.
Who will help all the reefs that are bleaching and dying? I will help.
Who will help promote alternative energy - solar power, wind power, geothermal power? I will help.
Who will help promote local organic farms and farmers? I will help.
Who will help people to be treated with kindness, care, and respect? I will help.
Who will help to feed everyone? I will help.
Who will help to bring comfort? I will help.
Who will help us all to learn ways of living that honor all life and create beauty, rather than harm or destruction? I will help.
Who will spread the idea of peace through kindness? I will help.
Who will spread love rather than fear in this world? I will help.
We cannot expect random overstressed politicians to save the world. We ALL must save the world, one person and one animal and one plant at a time. Our world is a Garden of Eden and we treat it like it is a fallen, sinful place; this is our greatest error. Our world is our greatest gift, and it is healed and upheld in its true essence when we live as Christ and the great spiritual teachers live: LIVE LOVE.
Every choice you make - makes a difference!
Please make a vow to yourself, that you will practice making a difference.
The world REALLY needs your help.
The world REALLY needs your love and care.
This means - the world really needs your compassionate ACTION. With your every step, your every choice, you either help or you harm. Just try; do the best you can. Try harder. Put your passion into it. You can do amazing things! When you throw one starfish back into the ocean,
you save that one starfish's life. Every life makes a difference. Every choice makes a difference.
This is a choice to live from a deep place of spirit - faith - and courage, rather than from the fear that most of the world lives by. This is the place that motivates all the great spiritual leaders of our world: Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and so so many more. You can live this way also. Every moment of kindness makes a difference; the world needs your love and care.
Please join us. Make a vow: "I will help." We are the Friends for Compassionate Earth Awareness; join us. There is no cost. It is simply a vow that you will care for the life around you. This will be our shared passion, action, and mission, and together we can inspire each other. It will be a never-ending process, for there is much love and care that is needed in our world.
© 2008 Heather Havey
For more information, please see www.ourbelovedearth.com or www.peacethroughkindness.com.
This is the vow for the Friends of Compassionate Earth Awareness, a group of people who have devoted themselves to caring for and honoring Earth and all of its inhabitants. To join this group, please visit their site at www.ourbelovedearth.com/friends.html
Who will help the animals?
Who will help stop the poisoning of the Earth?
Who will help the rivers that are filled with pollution?
Who will help the oceans that are heating up?
Who will help the trees that are being cut down?
Who will help the air that is being filled with poisons and greenhouse gases?
Who will help all the reefs that are bleaching and dying?
Who will help promote alternative energy - solar power, wind power, geothermal power?
Who will help promote local organic farms and farmers? Who will help people to be treated with kindness, care, and respect? Who will help to feed everyone? Who will help to bring comfort? Who will help us all to learn ways of living that honor all life and create beauty, rather than harm or destruction? Who will spread the idea of peace through kindness? Who will spread love rather than fear in this world?
Who will help? This is your answer...Say to yourself....
Who will help the animals? I will help.
Who will help stop the poisoning of the Earth? I will help.
Who will help the rivers that are filled with pollution? I will help.
Who will help the oceans that are heating up? I will help.
Who will help the trees that are being cut down? I will help.
Who will help the air that is being filled with poisons and greenhouse gases? I will help.
Who will help all the reefs that are bleaching and dying? I will help.
Who will help promote alternative energy - solar power, wind power, geothermal power? I will help.
Who will help promote local organic farms and farmers? I will help.
Who will help people to be treated with kindness, care, and respect? I will help.
Who will help to feed everyone? I will help.
Who will help to bring comfort? I will help.
Who will help us all to learn ways of living that honor all life and create beauty, rather than harm or destruction? I will help.
Who will spread the idea of peace through kindness? I will help.
Who will spread love rather than fear in this world? I will help.
We cannot expect random overstressed politicians to save the world. We ALL must save the world, one person and one animal and one plant at a time. Our world is a Garden of Eden and we treat it like it is a fallen, sinful place; this is our greatest error. Our world is our greatest gift, and it is healed and upheld in its true essence when we live as Christ and the great spiritual teachers live: LIVE LOVE.
Every choice you make - makes a difference!
Please make a vow to yourself, that you will practice making a difference.
The world REALLY needs your help.
The world REALLY needs your love and care.
This means - the world really needs your compassionate ACTION. With your every step, your every choice, you either help or you harm. Just try; do the best you can. Try harder. Put your passion into it. You can do amazing things! When you throw one starfish back into the ocean,
you save that one starfish's life. Every life makes a difference. Every choice makes a difference.
This is a choice to live from a deep place of spirit - faith - and courage, rather than from the fear that most of the world lives by. This is the place that motivates all the great spiritual leaders of our world: Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and so so many more. You can live this way also. Every moment of kindness makes a difference; the world needs your love and care.
Please join us. Make a vow: "I will help." We are the Friends for Compassionate Earth Awareness; join us. There is no cost. It is simply a vow that you will care for the life around you. This will be our shared passion, action, and mission, and together we can inspire each other. It will be a never-ending process, for there is much love and care that is needed in our world.
© 2008 Heather Havey
For more information, please see www.ourbelovedearth.com or www.peacethroughkindness.com.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Simple Ways To Afford Your Green Lifestyle! - by Heather Havey, M.A.
Simple Ways to Afford Your Green Lifestyle! - by Heather Havey, M.A.
The economy may be challenged, and our own wallets may also be challenged, during these times. However, we still would like to eat right. It is more important than simply a desire to eat well; it is a non-negotiable. It is your Life we are talking about!
That said, the NUMBER ONE excuse that I hear from people is that they "can't afford to eat healthy." I have a few responses to this that I hope will really help us all!
So you understand where I am coming from: We are all in this together, and I feel your pain. I live as a monk, a very simple lifestyle with very few possessions and low income, and I understand the challenges that can be presented for our wallets in this endeavor towards healthy, holy living. But, we can do it! Here are some helpful tips...
(1) Pay now, or pay later! You can pay a little more now for organic produce and natural foods lifestyle, or you will pay later in feeling tired, feeling bad, and having high medical bill potentials.
(2) Buy local, from farmers...or grow your own organic vegetables/fruits. Local farmers are going to charge you significantly less for their products than you would pay in a grocery store, health food store, or coop. So seek out your local organic farmers, CSA farms (Community Supported Agriculture), and so on. Another option is to grow your own organic vegetable garden. Local foods do not have to be shipped cross country or around the world, so they can be sold to you much cheaper. It is okay to choose local produce that does not have organic certification, as long as they grew them "unsprayed" (without applying pesticides).
(3) Plant fruit and nut trees all over your property. Not only will this make the birds and squirrels happy, but trees protect smaller shrubs and crops from harsh weather conditions, and provide healthy habitat for many types of life. Also, you will get hundreds of fruits each year off of every single healthy tree. Planting trees helps not only your and your family, helps not only the animals and plants, but it also helps the world to combat greenhouse gases and global warming! Trees release more Oxygen into the atmosphere, and we are clear-cutting the entire planet right now. WE DESPERATELY NEED TREES! And they will lower your grocery bills! If you have enough trees, you could even sell your fruits and nuts locally, and MAKE money off your trees.
(4) Buy bulk! Bulk bins make items SO much more affordable, and they give us the double benefit of saving on packaging materials and plastic bags. Many, many items - ranging from cereals, beans, grains, chocolates and desserts, herbs, spices, honey, nut butters, and even household items like soaps, shampoos, and cleaning products are available at health food stores in bulk bins.
(5) Eat Natural Foods. Though organic foods may SEEM expensive, really they are a much better deal than conventional produce. The reason for this is that they are far higher in nutritional value than conventional produce, so you get far more nutrition for your penny. Also, they have no poisons within them, so they are not filling your muscle tissues with small amounts of poison that build up over time to break down your health. Also, the most expensive food choices out there tend to be the most highly processed, and least healthy, ones. So when you go shopping, simply choose the most natural, whole, raw, and organic choices that you can.
Some ideas include eating fruit salad, vegetable salads, smoothies, juices, and sandwiches or wraps that you make yourself at home. These options are endless, are all natural, support your own health and the health of the planet, and cost less overall. Meat and dairy are the most expensive choices out there that you can make.
(6) Adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet. Diet is a personal choice that everyone must make, but veg choices are the healthiest and the most afforable choices out there.
(7) Grow your own food. It is actually very easy to grow food. It does not take much time after you set things up. All you really need is a small pot or seed sprouting tray, some basic soil, a little soil nutrient (organic fertilizer or compost or manure compost), seeds, and love. You can grow quite a few things indoors. Pepper plants (bell, or jalapeno, or other types) grow very beautifully and well indoors. So do most herbs and many other plants. I am currently even growing starfruit trees all over my room because it is too cold at nights for baby trees where I live right now. Plants need sunlight, water every few days, nutrients occasionally, and love. With half an acre of land, you could grow enough food for six families or more. A little land, and a little love for it, can go a LONG way. To get started, get some organic or heirloom seeds from Seeds of Change.
(8) Prepare your food at home rather than eating out. You will save a lot of money doing this - on gas, on tips, on restaurant food costs, and so on. It is easy, it is fun, and it is a wonderful bonding experience to either cook for your family/friends or cook with your family/friends.
(9) Bring your lunch to work/school rather than eating out there. You can ensure that you eat much more healthy choices this way, and it will cost you far less than it would to eat out everyday at work or school.
(10) Live simply, and eat simply. The more simple the meals you make, the less they will cost. Also, simpler meals tend to be healthier meals. The simplest and easiest lifestyle, and one of the world's healthiest, is to be an organic raw foodist grazer. This means that you eat only raw, organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains, and you simply snack on items whenever you feel like it. Your body will become cleaner and healthier, you will feel more energy, and you will lose weight if you need to. You will feel great. Simplicity and quality are the keys.
(11) Love, Love, Love. This is the answer for everything: for your own body and health, for the plants and trees and wildlife, for our friends and family, for the soil, for the entire world. The more we live with love and regard for others in our hearts, the happier and healthier our worlds will be. And best news yet! Love is totally free and an unlimited resource.
Aloha, have a blessed day, Heather Havey
© 2008 Heather Havey
For more information, please see www.ourbelovedearth.com or www.peacethroughkindness.com.
Please send ecards to your friends and family.
The economy may be challenged, and our own wallets may also be challenged, during these times. However, we still would like to eat right. It is more important than simply a desire to eat well; it is a non-negotiable. It is your Life we are talking about!
That said, the NUMBER ONE excuse that I hear from people is that they "can't afford to eat healthy." I have a few responses to this that I hope will really help us all!
So you understand where I am coming from: We are all in this together, and I feel your pain. I live as a monk, a very simple lifestyle with very few possessions and low income, and I understand the challenges that can be presented for our wallets in this endeavor towards healthy, holy living. But, we can do it! Here are some helpful tips...
(1) Pay now, or pay later! You can pay a little more now for organic produce and natural foods lifestyle, or you will pay later in feeling tired, feeling bad, and having high medical bill potentials.
(2) Buy local, from farmers...or grow your own organic vegetables/fruits. Local farmers are going to charge you significantly less for their products than you would pay in a grocery store, health food store, or coop. So seek out your local organic farmers, CSA farms (Community Supported Agriculture), and so on. Another option is to grow your own organic vegetable garden. Local foods do not have to be shipped cross country or around the world, so they can be sold to you much cheaper. It is okay to choose local produce that does not have organic certification, as long as they grew them "unsprayed" (without applying pesticides).
(3) Plant fruit and nut trees all over your property. Not only will this make the birds and squirrels happy, but trees protect smaller shrubs and crops from harsh weather conditions, and provide healthy habitat for many types of life. Also, you will get hundreds of fruits each year off of every single healthy tree. Planting trees helps not only your and your family, helps not only the animals and plants, but it also helps the world to combat greenhouse gases and global warming! Trees release more Oxygen into the atmosphere, and we are clear-cutting the entire planet right now. WE DESPERATELY NEED TREES! And they will lower your grocery bills! If you have enough trees, you could even sell your fruits and nuts locally, and MAKE money off your trees.
(4) Buy bulk! Bulk bins make items SO much more affordable, and they give us the double benefit of saving on packaging materials and plastic bags. Many, many items - ranging from cereals, beans, grains, chocolates and desserts, herbs, spices, honey, nut butters, and even household items like soaps, shampoos, and cleaning products are available at health food stores in bulk bins.
(5) Eat Natural Foods. Though organic foods may SEEM expensive, really they are a much better deal than conventional produce. The reason for this is that they are far higher in nutritional value than conventional produce, so you get far more nutrition for your penny. Also, they have no poisons within them, so they are not filling your muscle tissues with small amounts of poison that build up over time to break down your health. Also, the most expensive food choices out there tend to be the most highly processed, and least healthy, ones. So when you go shopping, simply choose the most natural, whole, raw, and organic choices that you can.
Some ideas include eating fruit salad, vegetable salads, smoothies, juices, and sandwiches or wraps that you make yourself at home. These options are endless, are all natural, support your own health and the health of the planet, and cost less overall. Meat and dairy are the most expensive choices out there that you can make.
(6) Adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet. Diet is a personal choice that everyone must make, but veg choices are the healthiest and the most afforable choices out there.
(7) Grow your own food. It is actually very easy to grow food. It does not take much time after you set things up. All you really need is a small pot or seed sprouting tray, some basic soil, a little soil nutrient (organic fertilizer or compost or manure compost), seeds, and love. You can grow quite a few things indoors. Pepper plants (bell, or jalapeno, or other types) grow very beautifully and well indoors. So do most herbs and many other plants. I am currently even growing starfruit trees all over my room because it is too cold at nights for baby trees where I live right now. Plants need sunlight, water every few days, nutrients occasionally, and love. With half an acre of land, you could grow enough food for six families or more. A little land, and a little love for it, can go a LONG way. To get started, get some organic or heirloom seeds from Seeds of Change.
(8) Prepare your food at home rather than eating out. You will save a lot of money doing this - on gas, on tips, on restaurant food costs, and so on. It is easy, it is fun, and it is a wonderful bonding experience to either cook for your family/friends or cook with your family/friends.
(9) Bring your lunch to work/school rather than eating out there. You can ensure that you eat much more healthy choices this way, and it will cost you far less than it would to eat out everyday at work or school.
(10) Live simply, and eat simply. The more simple the meals you make, the less they will cost. Also, simpler meals tend to be healthier meals. The simplest and easiest lifestyle, and one of the world's healthiest, is to be an organic raw foodist grazer. This means that you eat only raw, organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains, and you simply snack on items whenever you feel like it. Your body will become cleaner and healthier, you will feel more energy, and you will lose weight if you need to. You will feel great. Simplicity and quality are the keys.
(11) Love, Love, Love. This is the answer for everything: for your own body and health, for the plants and trees and wildlife, for our friends and family, for the soil, for the entire world. The more we live with love and regard for others in our hearts, the happier and healthier our worlds will be. And best news yet! Love is totally free and an unlimited resource.
Aloha, have a blessed day, Heather Havey
© 2008 Heather Havey
For more information, please see www.ourbelovedearth.com or www.peacethroughkindness.com.
Please send ecards to your friends and family.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
We have a responsibility, by Heather Havey, M.A.
We Have a Responsibility. By Heather Havey, M.A., www.ourbelovedearth.com
Everyday I read an article about a tragedy on Earth; they abound on a global scale in our modern world.
A billion people are hungry or starving in this world day to day. If you can visualize before you one hungry person, and the suffering that goes with this, your heart breaks and you weep. You want to feed them. I would not wish starvation on one being. To try to conceive of a billion people near starving - is impossible for me.
We have already experienced a mass extinction that far exceeds that of the age of the dinosaurs. The killer whales' bodies are considered toxic waste; their numbers are fading. Fishes are disappearing from both global over-fishing as well as from environmental toxicity. Where I live in FL, a large number of dolphins turned up dead from mercury levels in the water 21 times higher than what is deemed not-safe.
Coral reefs worldwide dying. Glaciers melting. Food propagation being owned as "intellectual property" and being genetically altered to include pesticide or pharmaceuticals within their slender green frames. So much conflict and war. So much discrimination, division, separation, death, and pain.
The examples are endless. Our world is filled with conflict, suffering, death, extinction. Because of the extent to which humans impact the world - which at this point I would consider ourselves somewhat responsible for what is happening to every level of life on the planet because we impact it so much -
WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP.
And there ARE things that we can do.
HOW CAN WE HELP?
Infuse your life with kindness and care - toward yourself, toward others, toward animals, toward those before you in your life. PEACE THROUGH KINDNESS. This means not always making the choice that benefits yourself at others' expense. Rather, you can choose to make choices out of lovingkindness - choose that which would be most beneficial for the most life.
Please do what you can. You can choose which things to adopt wholeheartedly - to consider NONNEGOTIABLE - and you can choose levels of what you can do with the rest.
There are simple ways to start:
(1). Diet.
-ORGANIC: Everytime you choose to purchase or eat something grown organically, you are supporting healthy farming practices that lead to health for the plants, bees, soil, animals, wildlife, and people....and you are NOT supporting the pesticide industry that is poisoning the entire planet.
-VEGETARIAN: Everytime you choose to eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains rather than meat or dairy, you are supporting - again - healthy farming choices that use less resources than meat/dairy production; you are supporting health and NOT supporting torture of innocent beings, waste of resources, or indulgences.
-LOCAL: Everytime you choose to buy locally grown organic produce, you are supporting local farmers and you are NOT supporting the otherwise needed use of trucks/oil for distribution and also you are likely then supporting small-scale farmers rather than the corporate food production complex that does not typically have your health in heart. For nearly all big business, their primary goals are PROFIT AND GROWTH...NOT your health.
-NATURAL: Eat food that is fresh, whole, raw, organic, non-processed, and nutritious. Buy bulk. If it is packaged, canned, jarred, processed - you can choose either NOT to eat it, or to at least buy things in jars or cans that can be recycled. Recycle everything. LIMIT your use of packaging. Use canvas bags rather than plastic or paper bags.
-FREE RANGE: If you choose to eat meat/dairy, please choose to eat animals that have been raised in healthy ways that honor the animal - NOT animals that have been mass factory farmed, which leads to a life-time of horrific abuse and neglect for the animals - beyond comprehension.
(2) PASSION:
Choose a career path that brings out the passion in your heart. What are you most passionate about? As a famous quote says, the world needs people who have come alive - who Are alive - so please follow the passion of your heart, to make a difference in this world, even if that is to the person sitting by your side - choose that which gives you greatest passion and aliveness...for that is where your greatest care lies, and it will only grow.
(3) SIMPLICITY:
Do you really need those things, or is it an addiction or an accessory?
(4) THINK OF OTHERS:
When you make choices, does your love extend mostly to yourself or does it include others? Please think of others; help someone carry their groceries, smile at people, offer an open door, live generously, share ("God is in the sharing." -Neem Karoli Baba), volunteer in homeless shelters or food banks or hospices or visit the elderly once a week. The possibilities for this lie within each and every moment, and they are vast.
(5) CHOOSE THE PATH OF PEACE AND KINDNESS:
Find a spiritual path or community that helps you to find the depths of your own heart and essence, that help you to find the deep peace that lies within, underneath the wounds that shut us down and make us react in ways that we otherwise would not. Peace begins within each heart; and spreads out into the world from that place.
(6) SUPPORT LOCAL COMMERCE:
Support local artisans, local metalworkers, local artists, local business. Support American commerce, because much of our commerce has been outsourced internationally, and we need to strengthen our ailing economy.
(7) SEEK ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY:
Bicycle, subway, train, bus, walk, hybrid or hydrogen vehicle, etc.
Make your home solar, wind, geothermal, etc powered.
There is always more that we can do. I think at its heart this issue comes down to consideration of others and the Earth in our choice-making. At the heart of this, lies kindness.
The heart, our innate and deepest essence, is one of peace and sharing. It is only the wounded heart that hoards, divides, shuts down, rejects, judges, and so on.
We have all been badly wounded, and we can all heal our wounded hearts. This is the first step towards our own personal freedom and also the health and freedom of the world.
© 2008 Heather Havey
For more information, please see www.ourbelovedearth.com or www.peacethroughkindness.com.
If you would like to copy this on your site, please copy/paste the following link onto the article:
Original article from The Nature Way:
http://the-nature-way.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-have-responsibility.html
& See their website, Our Beloved Earth:
www.ourbelovedearth.com
Everyday I read an article about a tragedy on Earth; they abound on a global scale in our modern world.
A billion people are hungry or starving in this world day to day. If you can visualize before you one hungry person, and the suffering that goes with this, your heart breaks and you weep. You want to feed them. I would not wish starvation on one being. To try to conceive of a billion people near starving - is impossible for me.
We have already experienced a mass extinction that far exceeds that of the age of the dinosaurs. The killer whales' bodies are considered toxic waste; their numbers are fading. Fishes are disappearing from both global over-fishing as well as from environmental toxicity. Where I live in FL, a large number of dolphins turned up dead from mercury levels in the water 21 times higher than what is deemed not-safe.
Coral reefs worldwide dying. Glaciers melting. Food propagation being owned as "intellectual property" and being genetically altered to include pesticide or pharmaceuticals within their slender green frames. So much conflict and war. So much discrimination, division, separation, death, and pain.
The examples are endless. Our world is filled with conflict, suffering, death, extinction. Because of the extent to which humans impact the world - which at this point I would consider ourselves somewhat responsible for what is happening to every level of life on the planet because we impact it so much -
WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP.
And there ARE things that we can do.
HOW CAN WE HELP?
Infuse your life with kindness and care - toward yourself, toward others, toward animals, toward those before you in your life. PEACE THROUGH KINDNESS. This means not always making the choice that benefits yourself at others' expense. Rather, you can choose to make choices out of lovingkindness - choose that which would be most beneficial for the most life.
Please do what you can. You can choose which things to adopt wholeheartedly - to consider NONNEGOTIABLE - and you can choose levels of what you can do with the rest.
There are simple ways to start:
(1). Diet.
-ORGANIC: Everytime you choose to purchase or eat something grown organically, you are supporting healthy farming practices that lead to health for the plants, bees, soil, animals, wildlife, and people....and you are NOT supporting the pesticide industry that is poisoning the entire planet.
-VEGETARIAN: Everytime you choose to eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains rather than meat or dairy, you are supporting - again - healthy farming choices that use less resources than meat/dairy production; you are supporting health and NOT supporting torture of innocent beings, waste of resources, or indulgences.
-LOCAL: Everytime you choose to buy locally grown organic produce, you are supporting local farmers and you are NOT supporting the otherwise needed use of trucks/oil for distribution and also you are likely then supporting small-scale farmers rather than the corporate food production complex that does not typically have your health in heart. For nearly all big business, their primary goals are PROFIT AND GROWTH...NOT your health.
-NATURAL: Eat food that is fresh, whole, raw, organic, non-processed, and nutritious. Buy bulk. If it is packaged, canned, jarred, processed - you can choose either NOT to eat it, or to at least buy things in jars or cans that can be recycled. Recycle everything. LIMIT your use of packaging. Use canvas bags rather than plastic or paper bags.
-FREE RANGE: If you choose to eat meat/dairy, please choose to eat animals that have been raised in healthy ways that honor the animal - NOT animals that have been mass factory farmed, which leads to a life-time of horrific abuse and neglect for the animals - beyond comprehension.
(2) PASSION:
Choose a career path that brings out the passion in your heart. What are you most passionate about? As a famous quote says, the world needs people who have come alive - who Are alive - so please follow the passion of your heart, to make a difference in this world, even if that is to the person sitting by your side - choose that which gives you greatest passion and aliveness...for that is where your greatest care lies, and it will only grow.
(3) SIMPLICITY:
Do you really need those things, or is it an addiction or an accessory?
(4) THINK OF OTHERS:
When you make choices, does your love extend mostly to yourself or does it include others? Please think of others; help someone carry their groceries, smile at people, offer an open door, live generously, share ("God is in the sharing." -Neem Karoli Baba), volunteer in homeless shelters or food banks or hospices or visit the elderly once a week. The possibilities for this lie within each and every moment, and they are vast.
(5) CHOOSE THE PATH OF PEACE AND KINDNESS:
Find a spiritual path or community that helps you to find the depths of your own heart and essence, that help you to find the deep peace that lies within, underneath the wounds that shut us down and make us react in ways that we otherwise would not. Peace begins within each heart; and spreads out into the world from that place.
(6) SUPPORT LOCAL COMMERCE:
Support local artisans, local metalworkers, local artists, local business. Support American commerce, because much of our commerce has been outsourced internationally, and we need to strengthen our ailing economy.
(7) SEEK ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY:
Bicycle, subway, train, bus, walk, hybrid or hydrogen vehicle, etc.
Make your home solar, wind, geothermal, etc powered.
There is always more that we can do. I think at its heart this issue comes down to consideration of others and the Earth in our choice-making. At the heart of this, lies kindness.
The heart, our innate and deepest essence, is one of peace and sharing. It is only the wounded heart that hoards, divides, shuts down, rejects, judges, and so on.
We have all been badly wounded, and we can all heal our wounded hearts. This is the first step towards our own personal freedom and also the health and freedom of the world.
© 2008 Heather Havey
For more information, please see www.ourbelovedearth.com or www.peacethroughkindness.com.
If you would like to copy this on your site, please copy/paste the following link onto the article:
Original article from The Nature Way:
http://the-nature-way.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-have-responsibility.html
& See their website, Our Beloved Earth:
www.ourbelovedearth.com
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