Green Really is the New Black

Going green basically means thinking in terms of lessening the waste that we create and creating less of an impact on our environment. There are many simple and manageable things that we can do everyday that add up to huge change. Saving electricity by unplugging any charger that is not in use is a great beginning. Changing to compact fluorescent light bulbs not only saves electricity but it also reduces the amount of waste because they do not need to be replaced as often as incandescent bulbs. Buying local... anything, saves petroleum and supports local business growth. Recycle your grocery bags or even better buy re-usable bags and put all of your old plastic bags in the re-cycling bins that are popping up in grocery stores and pharmacies. This saves a lot of plastic and it will also reduce the amount of plastic that is produced in the future. Of course turning off any lights or appliances that are not being used is so easy and yet so important. Turning off the faucet when you are not actually using the water. All of these things are great ways to begin to lessen our carbon footprint on this planet.

I have found that as I begin to do these small things my attitude towards waste is changing. Every time I am about to put something into the garbage I pause and ask myself if there is not perhaps another purpose for the item. Over the holidays I found so many ways to recycle that I'd never thought of before. I glued wrapping paper from presents received to cardboard from unusable gift boxes and then I cut them out, punched a hole in the top, put a piece of re-used ribbon through the hole and they became 100% recycled gift tags. Catalogs that I never wanted have become a wealth of images to collage into gift cards and boxes. Old wine bottles are turned into vases and water bottles for the dinner table. I have found that ideas just start popping into my head throughout the day. The amazing thing is that with most of my recycling and re-using I almost always end up saving time, money and gas. The idea of disposable anything should really cease to exist. Old t-shirts make great cleaning rags and cloth napkins add elegance to any meal while saving paper...

Alternative fuels and power sources are a piece of the puzzle but, contrary to popular belief, our petroleum burning cars are not the biggest culprit in global warming. Cows, sheep and other farm animals are contributing huge amounts of methane gas to the atmosphere through burps and flatulence. According to Sara Lewis of The Argus, cow's four chambered stomachs cause them to release enough methane in one day to fill 40 party balloons, from flatulence alone. Lewis goes on to report that one kilo of methane gas warms the earth 23 times as much as the same mass of carbon dioxide. Take a moment to consider the amount of wasted meat in grocery stores, in restaurants and in our own homes. So, in my opinion, one highly effective way to go green is to put a higher value on the meat that we eat. Buy local organic meat if you can, if not then purchase the highest quality meat and buy only what will be consumed. If we all begin to treat red meat as a luxury food item the number of methane emitting animals will lessen, the quality of the meat we buy will heighten and we will all be healthier to boot. Of course if you want to be really green then just stop eating meat altogether.

Our concept of recycling needs to grow far beyond bottles, cans, clothing and cell phones. Many people are wanting to build themselves brand new green homes but the reality is that when you take an old house and green it up you are recycling that house which is saving a huge amount of waste and energy. Driving a used car that runs on bio-diesel is a whole lot more sustainable than buying a brand new hybrid. We just simply need to let go of the idea that everything we own must be brand new. If every person on the planet bought a new car every year we would be living in a parking lot in no time at all. Perhaps it would help if we changed our perception of what it looks like to be successful. That should be really easy since green really is the new black, it's terribly cool to be green.

The long and short of it is, in my opinion, the best way to go green is the way that works best for each individual. Trying to do it all at once will likely result in overwhelm which generally leads to giving up. So start with the changes that seem manageable to you and grow from there. If you have the desire to change and you take the first steps, you will be amazed at the ideas and inspiration that will come to you. And last but certainly not least, share your ideas and your enthusiasm. Write, blog and talk about what you are doing. Be the example, the inspiration for others. "Be the change that you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

I Saw Tammy Faye Doing Yoga

Recently a TV program that I had recorded on my dvr ended and suddenly Tammy Faye's smiling face was in front of me, larger than life. I must say that I've always had a lot of respect for Tammy Faye, she was an amazing woman who radiated love and acceptance. And though I generally try to avoid wacky reality TV, I've found myself lingering on her televised escapades from time to time. She always seemed to me to be a lovely, kind and wonderfully kooky soul. (She passed away on July 20th, 2007. You go girl!) Anyway, I digress... a lot. The program was about the various ways that Tammy Faye was trying to heal herself. In the ten or fifteen minutes that I watched she had some acupressure done and she went to a yoga teacher to learn meditation. Her daughter Tammy Sue had suggested the yoga teacher. The last thing that I saw was Tammy Faye saying that, if nothing else, the yoga and meditation had definitely made the chemo easier for her to handle.

The next day, after my own yoga practice, I was meditating on the grass. Just as I was emerging my beagle, Duda, started barking wildly and went tearing off to the fence where a precious Puggle and the couple who were walking him stood. I looked back at them and the man smiled and gave a friendly wave so I waved back, got up and strolled over to say hello. The young couple, Dave and Sharon, were finishing up college in Long Island and they were up here, in the Catskills, visiting Dave's grandmother. We started conversing about rescues because both of my pups were rescues and Fleck was too. We discussed organic dog food and I was so pleased to hear of more dog owners who put a good deal of consideration into their dog's diet. After all, dogs deserve to enjoy their food and maintain good health too, we all agreed.

After awhile I invited them to bring Fleck into the yard to play with Duda for a bit. They did and we conversed awhile longer. We spoke about buying dog food from small company's which led to a discussion about corporation's which led to me telling them about the film The Corporation. Finally we talked about how amazing it is that people are really becoming more and more aware and awake. We all felt that the world around us really is changing in a positive way. Then I asked if they had seen The Secret. Sharon smiled and said that she had the book and she'd been lent a copy of the dvd by Dave's grandmother. Dave said that he hadn't watched it because he felt that he already believed these things and didn't need confirmation. I laughed and told Dave that I had a spiritual teacher since I was eleven and that I watched The Secret every day for over a month after seeing it for the first time. I explained the reason I loved it so much was not because it was new information to me, it really wasn't. The reason that I enjoyed it so much is that it confirms, for me, everything that I know in my heart to be true. It's really just a bunch of phenomenal teachers speaking from their heart and offering their knowledge from the work that they have done on themselves. The light in each of them is evident and when you put them all together in The Secret, the light is blinding. The reason that I watched it every day for over a month was because changing habits takes repetition, and I wanted to change some old habits! Thirty dollars is a bargain for a tool to help me with that, if you ask me.

A friend of mine told me that he had heard someone claim that The Secret was brainwashing. Well, sugar, I can't speak for anyone but myself but I will say this... Wash My Brain. Clean away the negative self talk, the low self esteem, the reveling in resentment and anger and the creepy desires to feel superior or inferior or whatever bizarre silliness my brain comes up with next. Bring on the brainwashing machine and wash away! I am ready to feel strong, empowered and joyful. And as a very pragmatic friend of mine said on the subject of The Secret, "Even if you don't end up getting everything that you are asking for, well, you just feel better about your life. What's to lose?" Yup, it's pretty much a win/win.

I warned you about my digressive tendencies! Back to Sharon and Dave and our conversation. Dave became excited to watch The Secret and said that he would do so that very evening. Our conversation turned again to how things are changing and people are growing and ideas are flowing. I mentioned that I had seen Tammy Faye getting acupressure and doing yoga and we discussed how wild that was. Also the popularity of The Secret and other such films. Not to mention the popularity of yoga, meditation and (so called) alternative therapies. I mentioned that I design t-shirts with the intention to inspire and bring joy. Sharon chimed in that my t-shirts would be great for Dave's grandmother to wear at her yoga class. lol

I can only speak from my perceptions and experience. In my 39 years I have watched public perceptions of yoga, meditation, (so called) alternative medicines and (so called) alternative lifestyles metamorphose from feared to tolerated to accepted to embraced. And I saw Tammy Faye doing yoga, baby! Rock on, Tammy Faye, wherever you are. Change is here and change is now and I want to express my gratitude to every person that intended this and every person who manifested this and continues to do so, including myself! We are on our way gang! Keep up the good work!