The answer to EVERYTHING!

I have a Facebook Page called "Slow Life"
( https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slow-Life/127006940668282 )
in which I started out extolling the benefits of slowing down my life.  Of course, that is easier said than done!   As a hand weaver, my existence is based on doing something that takes time.  I don't necessarily do it slowly, since I am making my living doing this, but it is, by it's very nature, a slow process.  I am weaving fabric thread-by-thread.  But as I started really exploring HOW to slow one's life down, it also became clear to me that as life slows down, one also starts to notice more things, and the things that tend to grab the attention are the things that are out of place.  Things like a McDonald's wrapper in the woods,

Photo credit - Tim Barnes

or as I take time to really appreciate my life, it is difficult to ignore the lives of others that aren't so great.  These contrasts are what make us sit up and take notice.  If we don't have some cloudy days, how can we really appreciate the sunny ones, right?

I found myself at the beginning of a large maze where I could catch glimpses of ideas to improve one's quality of life, through being greener, healthier, more generous.  I could see little snippets of concepts for slowing down so one could enjoy good health, a robust environment, and  good relationships even with people we don't know.  The further my thoughts wandered, the more I realized that the ways our great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents lived made a lot of sense.  It wasn't always the most convenient to have to grow all their own food, and then process it, and put it on the shelf for consumption within a few months at most, and do without when things ran out!

Nor was it convenient to walk to most places, or save every bit of paper because it was such a treasure.  All this took more time and thought!  But it seems that many things they did are things we are trying to do now.  Growing a garden, canning the harvest, walking to places, cutting back on consumption.  And we are finding that all this takes extra time and thought.

The creation of time-saving devices and the idea of circumventing inconvenience both seem to start out with good intentions.  Time and convenience seem to be the commodities that have spurred so many 'improvements', from the washing machine and dryer to the car and robotic assembly lines. These things do save us time and do make things more convenient in accomplishing the objective of the various devices, but it seems we are finding there is a huge cost.  I have a multitude of time-saving devices and modern conveniences; a car, a coffee maker, a washer and dryer,

That was then.

This is now.

For which I am thankful!

a vacuum, canned food from the grocery store, electricity, automatic heating and cooling in my insulated home.  But the question is, do I really have more time as a result of all these time-saving additions??   Is my life really better with all these things?  I think it is more affluent . . . . but better??  That has me really thinking.  If we have all these conveniences and time savers, why is it that I am still so short on time, and I am always finding that I am inconvenienced?!  The answer is simple:  All these wonderful time-saving devices and modern conveniences cost money and in order to be able to afford them, I have to work longer hours.

Are we just chasing our tail here??  Does it seem a bit puzzling that to save time we have to spend time and in order to have things more convenient we have to be inconvenienced??

Now we are getting closer to the center of the labyrinth.  Because very few of us are capable of doing everything to sustain our lives in a comfortable way, we have specialized, each of us doing something that we are really good at doing, and we have brought specialization to such a fine razor sharp edge that sometimes there is only one group or even just one person in the world who provides a specialized service or product!  Many steps now need to happen and there are many more people on many more levels involved in accomplishing one task.  From garden to plate, there could be hundreds of people involved in getting that broccoli to you.  As a result, each of us as a consumer is so far removed from the actual production of a product as to make it's production almost non-existent.  The example of the thousands of children who have never seen a real farm animal comes to mind!

See that hamburger in your hand?  It came from that herd of huge animals over there called cattle!   Most children stare in disbelief!  Shock is next.  Then comes the, "Ewwww!"

So now, at the center of the labyrinth, I realize that, of course, we can't go back to exactly how things used to be for our great-grandparents.  We have distanced ourselves too much from each aspect of producing what we need to live.  So now we are back to having time-saving devices and modern conveniences, but with a twist.  All of the things we consume we need to scrutinize.  We need to be the oversight committee for all the things we eat and use.  We have trusted others with our welfare and are now becoming aware that the trust may have been misplaced!  We are realizing that our welfare may not have been their primary concern, but rather, profit and the bottom line.

It is becoming apparent that we may have turned our heads while individuals and corporations with money hired lawyers to find a way to point fingers at anyone or anything else for mistakes that have been made which ultimately have damaged us, others or our earth.  It is no longer something we as individuals or the earth can ignore or even bear.  Whether on a corporate level or a personal level, having enough money to hide mistakes is not something with which our children can exist.  Now that we are an interacting PLANET of knowledge, commerce and powerful  nations, more than ever we need to take responsibility for our actions.  Today our mistakes don't just affect the guy sitting next to us.  They can affect the guy down the street, or the group in the next county, or the nation that is the poorest and can't afford to protect themselves against drought, famine, and disease, resulting from climate change.  Each of us needs to accept the responsibility of taking care of ourselves and our earth.  We need to read labels at the grocery store and buy things grown without pesticides and artificial hormones.  We need to be aware of our food sources, and know that humane treatment is provided to the animals we process into food.

This is a picture of life for a corporate farmed egg-laying hen.
Note the de-beaked, featherless hens, packed 6 to a cage with a floor the size of a newspaper.

Take a close look because we are what we eat!!  Perhaps there is some correlation between our horribly treated farm animal food sources who are highly stressed during their whole lives, and the level of stress in the world today!!  But that's a completely different topic!  I want to know that my food sources are pure and grown in a positive manner.  The same holds true to everything else we consume!  If we only knew some of the corporate secrets!  The treatment of 3rd world labor, the pollution just under the surface, the frightening toxic things added to products that we consume, the profane treatment of animals that are raised for food, the presumption that if the consumer buys it, everything and anything is justified for a profitable bottom line.

Each of us was raised with the naive idea that corporations keep our best interests at heart.  We have the innocent belief that what we don't know, won't hurt us.  We have the dangerous misdirected trust that if it is on the shelf it is okay to buy!  Too much has been been done for the benefit of the bottom line to put our health and well-being in anyone's hands but our own.

So we have reached the end of this maze and here is what we have found:  At work we need to demand a more gentle planet. . . each of us needs to take responsibility and do the RIGHT thing!!

We need to speak up when something isn't right, we need to step up and absorb costs rather than sidestepping them by abusing something or someone for that extra profit.  We also need to take responsibility at home and quit assuming that all things in the store are suitable for purchase.  Much of this does take extra time, and it certainly won't be convenient.  It may even involve risk.  But it does come down to YOU AND YOUR CHOICES both at work and at home!

So, this maze wasn't so very huge, but maybe it was full of  twists and turns.  In order to enjoy a slower life filled with better health, a sparkling environment, and more positive relationships apply the following checklist:

1. Read those labels!
2. Make responsible decisions, and assume that each decision you make affects you directly!  (. . . because it does, eventually!)
3. At work and at home, treat others (even those you can't see) with respect and dignity, as you would want to be treated!
4. Do the right thing in all aspects of your life!

This all takes more time and effort and thinking, but in the long haul, we all benefit!  In my next post I will talk about how you can do this in your everyday life.  Stay tuned!

Ever have one of those months??

So, it's coming to the end of the month and I have to ask . . . Who has stuck with their New Years resolutions??  No pressure, I'm just asking.  Have you been good? . . . Or very, very bad??!!  Me??  I have been very, very bad.  I have not exercised more or eaten more healthy local groceries.  Bad me!  BAD, bad me!!  Off to the corner for some time out to think about what I did (and didn't do)! 

It has been less than 30 days and I couldn't even stick to my resolutions for 30 days!  Okay, then. . . what is the problem??!!  I have one of the best organic food stores quite close to my home. 

I have a wonderful trail system, also close to my home, (used to be a railroad line, now converted to a walking/riding path) that is miles long and surrounded by wonderful woods, wetlands, and wildlife.

So I have the environment that should allow me to fulfill my resolutions which were to eat more healthy, organic and local foods . . .

and to get more exercise.

 
What caused me to derail almost immediately??  The honest answer to that one is what happens to each of us when trying to change bad habits to good ones.  We get our sites set on lofty goals and don't build the structure that is required to maintain the weight of our goals!  In other words, we often set our goals too high and we go for those goals hell bent on achieving them in 6 months or less, without doing any preparation or easing into things and building up slowly!!!  So, it is a recipe for failure!  Then throw the variables of everyday life into the mix and failure WILL happen, and you can be sure it will take place sooner, not later!  So here is why I failed:  I had decided to change my eating habits.  I decided to get more exercise.  I did not define what it was that I needed to eat or what kind of exercise I needed to get.  The goal was way too vague and open to slack interpretation.  Agree so far?  So I should have defined that I would be eating more fruits and vegetables from Lakewinds.  Good!  Even more definition would  be great!  Like, decide how many fruits and vegetable I should have per day.  Maybe even establish a diet that guides me for at least a couple of weeks so I am not susceptible to slacking or misinterpreting my resolution.  That's even better!  As for the exercise, I should have identified which areas on my body needed help first and established that as Phase I.  Don't think for a minute that I could start out like an Olympian running miles and miles and bench-pressing twice my weight when I am overweight and out of shape.  I have to start out SLOW and build up.  So, I should prepare an outline that defines what I will be doing for the next few weeks and add to that and tweak it as I achieve each phase.  Wonderful!  I feel like this is providing a much better basis on which to start!
 
One last thing to add to the formula for success:  Motivation!  I am doing this for MYSELF!!!  I want to live longer!  I want to bend over without grunting!  I want an end to blubber-bind!  I want to walk up the stairs without becoming winded!  I want the pain in my knees to be able to subside when they are no longer required to carry all this unnecessary weight.  I want to be able to fit in a nice swimming suit and not gross myself out!  And if that doesn't do it?? . . . I'll just have to get a critter with a big head and little tiny arms!!

Starting fresh

Starting a new year gives us the excuse to wipe the slate clean, to start over, to begin again!  Given such an opportunity, many people decide to take on huge challenges.  The top 10 resolutions that people make are:

1. Lose weight
2. Get out of debt
3. Quit smoking
4. Get fit
5. Spend more time with family and friends
6. Enjoy life more
7. Quit drinking
8. Learn something new
9. Help others
10. Get organized

Quitting smoking and losing weight make it into the top 3 resolutions that people make!  One of these I have managed to do successfully now for 18 years, and one, well . . . not so much . . . so I know from experience that either of these is like trying to quit breathing!  They are a huge, HUGE undertaking and I give all you people who are trying to do either of these things kudos and encouragement!!  One second at a time, right?!  Don't look too far down the road or you will panic and reach for your nemesis!  Just relax and lean into it!  You're doing great!

For all of you who are taking on equally huge challenges, keep up the great work!  Remember you are doing this for many reasons and one of the main ones is that you are doing this for YOU!!

For myself, I have decided that I need to exercise more, and on a regular basis.  I also need to start eating a more healthy and local diet.  In taking on these two things I hope that I will lose some weight!  As some of you know, depression kept me prisoner for over 10 years, and I self medicated with food.  Those old habits die hard!  But now with depression a part of my past, and a wonderful new year poised in front of me, I feel empowered.  During my illness I looked to others for strength and solutions.  Now, my strength has returned, my head is screwed on straight and I feel I am in control and can actually handle whatever comes my way!  What a liberating and invigorating feeling!  So now that I am ready to take on the world in my mind, I have to get my body ready as well.

I will check back with you over the next year to fill you in on my follow through and progress!  I love starting fresh!

Tis the season

Now is the time in which we have a chance to show our true colors.  We have an excuse, a chance, an opportunity to practice what we really want to be.  We all carry an ideal "me" inside.  Now is the time to really try and be that person we admire and wish we could be.  Why not make an effort during this time of forgiveness and rebirth?  Why not choose to smile at strangers and help them with their packages instead of walking by as they struggle?  Why not open the door for someone you don't know and let them ahead of you?  Why not tip a little more and help those that help us?  We all have so many gifts and blessings!  We certainly have enough to share with someone who does not have enough!  Shouldn't we be willing to give to those Salvation Army folks who stand in the cold and wish us a happy holiday instead of rushing by trying not to make eye contact so we don't have to put money in their little pail?  Why not celebrate what we have right now and be thankful for it, and not begrudge giving a little of it away?  Can you imagine the eyes on the child who gets to sleep in a warm bed for the first time in months?  Or the happy tears of a father who is able to give his family a warm dry room again?  Or the joyful hugs of a mother who is able to give her children a warm nutritious meal?    How is it that we try to avoid eye contact with something like that?!  Instead of judging those in need, why not open up a little.  Yes, they may be a troubled soul who will squandor our generosity, but then again. . .

Now is the time to shine.

Can depression make you a superhero?

I can't help but let people know about this post on 'My Space' that has gone viral.  It is about a 91 year old Hungarian grandmother whose photographer grandson saw that she was lonely and depressed and decided to try to cheer her up by taking her on a zany and humerous photo shoot.  It is a tale of family love and concern, mixed with a great sense of humor and some spandex!

Through the holocaust, depression and loneliness . . . Look! Up in the sky!  It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's Super Mamika!
See it here!  ENJOY!!
Superhero Mamika

Slow it down!

Do you think that if we 'slow' down enough, we will not only see radiant beauty surrounding us, but will discover true meaning as well?  Slowing down, breathing, meditating, appreciating . . . all are the beginnings in the journey to healthy spirituality.  I feel there are 3 primary areas that make up each of us.  Our physical self, our emotional (mental) self, and our spiritual self.  All three together define who we are.  Each of these three selves needs balance and health for us to remain truly healthy.  If any of these areas is not 'fed' something healthy and conciously maintained, it will grow weak and frail.

The challenge is finding that balance that allows health to flow freely between all three areas.  The phrase, "Moderation in all things." comes to mind.  So, I need to boost up my moderate exercise just a bit, and maybe meditate more, but work less. . . be with my kids more, clean my house more, be on my computer less . . . slow down more, breath more, waste less. . . drink more water, eat less ice cream, hug more, drive less . . . garden more, eat more vegetables, heat and cool my house less . . .

Okay.  WAIT!  This is what gets me all messed up.  I need to start out with moderation too, yes?  How about I just look at the clouds in the sky as they skid across the afternoon sky, and breathe.  SLOW it down!

Did you all know that there is an election going on tomorrow?

It is always good to have good strong healthy opinions, no matter what they are. It is also good to be able to have a say in how the opinion of someone else impacts each of us. We need to ensure that the power of our voices is not eroded or worse yet, voted out of existence by politicians who have corporate agendas as their priority rather than that of the People! No matter what you have to say, whether for or against whatever issue there is . . . you need to let your opinion be known!


I have been politically apathetic too much of my adult life. I always felt that my vote had no power anyway so why even vote?  When (and if) I went out to vote, I wasn’t prepared. I was so confused about the issues and distracted by the mudslinging, that when the time came to vote, I didn't have a clue.  Many of the names on the ballots were strange to me and I had no idea how they stood on different issues. I remember one time I was so befuddled I voted because I liked the way a name sounded. Most of the time I just leaned heavily on the party line, trusting they would represent my opinions and beliefs. But all this time I have failed myself and my country. I have failed because I was just not motivated enough to learn about the issues, and hoped that someone I was voting for would know my mind and do my bidding without my having to do a thing! Here I was being given choices, and I was too busy and [tired, uninformed, unmotivated, uninvolved, uncaring, unresponsive, oblivious . . . ] unprepared to take a moment to vote and alter history and its impact on me, my children and my as yet, unborn grandchildren!

Now, FINALLY, as a mother and a business woman, I cringe at my past behavior! How could I let just anyone get elected and expect my concerns to be addressed??! Why did I risk the development of everything around me; the government that controls my neighborhood, my city, my county, my parks, my streets, my taxes, my schools (where our real treasures go to learn)?? Why did I leave it all to chance?? Wouldn’t that be like hiring a caregiver for ones child without interviews and background checks?? Or maybe it would be like hiring a person to be in charge of your finances, house, business, or other critically important aspect of your life without meeting them or reading their resume! That would be just plain reckless and negligent, right?? So why don’t people take voting as a grim and serious responsibility. Why is it that so many people see it as optional?? Remember, complacency will only deliver our freedoms, our interests over to people who WILL take action, and it most likely will not be in OUR best interest!! That is how we have gotten to where we are! Too many people assuming our government leaders will just take care of us without our having to do anything.

Well, it is NOT optional!! It is everyone’s DUTY to vote!! Not only that, it is everyone’s duty to vote in an informed way!! There is to be NO 'throwing darts' at the ballot form to help in making your selection! Do your research!! Be informed!! Yes, things are much more complicated than they used to be.  The issues are much broader, deeper, reaching further and weaving into other issues, etc.  But it is still so important that we take responsibility and educate and inform ourselves about the issues, and their impact on our daily lives and the lives of those yet unborn.  We can't do this while we are standing in line at the voting center. It is becoming more and more imperative that we all need to educate ourselves about the issues and participants ahead of voting day and then we need to get out and vote!

We still can be that great nation that Lincoln referenced in his Gettysburg address. We can still revive that awesome country where the government is again "of the people, by the people, for the people”! We can again have a government that will actually do the things that are in OUR best interest instead of the interests of rich corporations who are paying big money for lobbyists to sway politicians. But we ALL need to get out Tuesday and every election day and SAY SOMETHING OF SUBSTANCE!!!!