It Starts with You and Me!

In the spirit of taking action, making a positive impact and being part of the solution as we have been called to do by our new President Obama, I am starting my first blog. I have come to realize that I have much to share and contribute and I now feel inspired to be a beacon of information on how to help make the world a better place for all of us. It starts with the vision of what is possible and then following up with being-ness and action. My goal is to illuminate the vision, inspire others to be in line with that vision and provide the tools, insights and information needed for action.

The purpose of this blog is to bring awareness and provide valuable information as to how we can all take responsibility for the world we live in by making changes in our daily life that will have a positive impact on our communities and the world. I intend to cover a variety of topics such as environmental issues, community involvement, social issues, health and wellness, personal and spiritual growth, human and animal rights, and an other relevant topics. My personal interests include cooking, entertaining and travel so I will be including information along those lines which tie in with the overall mission of making our individual lives and world better. And, given the current economic challenges we are facing, I will also be looking at ways to save money and maximize efficiency. My love and respect for my amazing friends and community at large means that I will most certainly be highlighting people and businesses that I know personally whenever appropriate. Eventually, I hope to do interviews with exceptional people of interest. I also invite input and ideas from any of you who will be reading and are engaged in this movement. This is a collective raising of consciousness and we are all in this together!

The first thing to realize is that each and every one of us is making an impact on the world at all times with every thought we think, action we take, every thing we buy, and so on. My biggest message to all of us is to become totally conscious and aware of all that we do. This may seem daunting at first, but with practice and continued awareness it will become second nature.

Let me give an everyday example of what I mean here. Let's say my fridge is bare and I need to buy some groceries. I might first start to prepare for my trip to the store by coming up with some menu ideas for the upcoming week and preparing a list of ingredients to buy so that I can be efficient with my shopping time and not have to make a return trip later for something I forgot. Next, I will think about what store to go to. It is important to look at what stores we patronize and what they stand for. When shopping for produce, I try to go to the local farmer's market for fresh, organic, locally grown produce. My second choice (for produce and a wide array of specialty items) is Whole Foods which has a good selection of produce and it is labeled where it is grown and whether it is organic. For my basic essentials and some produce, I go to Trader Joe's which has a widening selection of organic items at very reasonable prices. Lucky for me, Trader Joe's is within walking distance so if I'm not getting too much stuff, I can walk over with my rolling cart and my own bags. Otherwise, I'll drive our Prius which is very fuel efficient and make sure to bring in my re-usable canvas bags that I keep in our trunk. When selecting items to purchase, I look for organic and fair trade options, fresh foods, limited prepared foods with wholesome ingredients, minimal packaging that is re-usable or recyclable, primarily vegetarian food with an occasional wild caught Alaskan Salmon thrown in the mix, products by companies that are leaders in the movement towards environmental and social responsibility. When I pay for my items, I will strive to use a credit card from a socially responsible bank. My purchase will be placed into the bags I brought. When I go home I unpack items and place recyclable items such as egg cartons in my separate bin for recycling.

I can go into a lot more detail on each of the choices made above and will do so in future entries, but this is just a quick example to get you thinking. I know this may seem like a lot of things to think about and remember, but once you start doing these things regularly it isn't that hard. The thing to really keep in mind is that each of the choices made has an impact... the question is are you aware of the impact that your choices have and are you doing your best to make choices that will have a positive impact vs. negative? The practice is to become conscious and aware in every moment of the actions you are taking.

I do not know exactly where this blog will take us, but I hope that it will inspire us all to See and Be the Change and that the ideas will spread out like a ripple and eventually a huge wave across the sea of life that we are all swimming in!