“You are, by accident of fate, alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet. Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something.” ~Carl Sagan
In the month of December, I had the absolute privilege of traveling to India, and then a week later, to Maui. From the streets of Mathura filled with feces to $18 cocktails at the Four Seasons. It has taken me this long to be able to articulate my experience, beyond the word “contradiction”. But for what it’s worth…here are my thoughts.
- We Are Connected. My greatest take away from a year of world travel is this; we live on a very beautiful, and very broken blue and green ball. And we live here together. We are interconnected and interdependent, whether we want to admit it or not. What is happening right now in India is affecting people in Indiana. And vice versa. We have been making choices for far too long without consideration of the impact. I have had a wake up call, and sit today with a new awareness of the impact I have on this planet. It will take each of us making small changes to make a big difference. For example…what if we each took on ONE of these:
- Re-use grocery bags, or at least change to paper
- Recycle plastic bottles…keep them out of our landfills…better yet, use glass water bottles
- Keep tires properly inflated to save gasoline
- Pay bills online
- Turn water heaters down to 120 degrees
- Reduce computer default margin to .75 for printed materials
- Go Meatless Mondays
- We are the Same. From Delhi to Denver. We all wake up wanting to love and be loved. We want to live a life that makes a difference. We want to be held. We want to know that when we are gone, we will be missed. The things we fight about…money, borders, mine mine mine, are really just distractions that are easier to focus on what it would take to really get outside of ourselves and connect with each other. It will take each of us making small changes to make a big difference. For example…what if we each took on ONE of these:
- Commit to one hour a day of “no screens”
- Make eye contact
- Shake hands, better yet become a hugger!
- Make one old fashioned phone call a day…to an actual person on the other end
- Say I love you 12 times every day. Yes, to 12 different people
- Thank someone sincerely for bagging your groceries, fixing your car, delivering your mail
- Be open to being loved back
- We Are Human Bodies. And we only get one…at least this time around. The quality of our life is directly related to how well we take care of them. It seems to be harder and harder to be healthy, with sickness being served to us so readily and easily. We are literally sitting ourselves to death! And I know that when I don’t feel well, it’s almost impossible for me to get outside of myself and take care of anyone else. It will take each of us making small changes to make a big difference. For example…what if we each took on ONE of these:
- Begin each day with just a few minutes of sitting and breathing. Some call it meditation.
- Walk…every day…even if it’s just for a few minutes
- Stand up and stretch every 30 minutes if you have a desk job.
- Drink lots of water…64 oz. is a good goal
- Do yoga for crying out loud! It’s fixes everything 😉
- Laugh more
- We Need to Learn SELF Love. I believe that this is the root of all of our unhappiness. We can’t see our own light. All we see are our mistakes, our failures, our shadow. We think that if everyone else really knew us, they couldn’t possibly love us. We have a very hard time forgiving ourselves, and therefore we can’t fathom forgiving others. We all know that it starts here, but it seems so distant. Where to start? It will take each of us making small changes to make a big difference. For example…what if we each took on ONE of these:
- Start with an affirmation. I am ____________ (strong, beautiful, kind, brilliant, funny, lovable…)
- Write that every-freaking-where. Bathroom mirror, bedside, car dashboard, get a tattoo, just see it a lot.
- Journal one thing every day that is awesome about you. Come on…it’s not that hard.
- Create an “I Love Me” playlist and keep it on repeat
- Listen to Brene Brown, Oprah, Tony Robbins while you drive. They’ll convince you…
- Again, yoga and meditation. It’s the ultimate vehicle that brings you back to your heart.
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