Happy Earth Day!

This cartoon is a little pessimistic, which isn't exactly my style- but I couldn't help but laugh.  Especially after seeing my results on the Earth Day Network's ecological footprint calculator.

If everyone lived like me, it would take the resources of 5 1/2 Earths to support us!  Unbelievable.

So this Earth Day, I want to celebrate by making a positive change in my life.  A choice to live a little bit more sustainably.  Over time, the small choices will snowball into a fantastically ecologically friendly lifestyle! I haven't decided yet what the change will be.  Perhaps not eating animal products before 3:00 pm... or pledging to always buy products with the least amount of excess packaging.  Carpooling? Biking more? Not complaining when I have to wash baggies?

Let's Brainstorm.

What changes will you make this Earth Day?

~Be the change you wish to see!

Dirt Makes You Happy!

Did you know that there are bacteria in the soil, namely mycobacterium, that causes serotonin to be produced in the body?  Translation: Dirt makes you happy!  Check it out.

That explains why I took to gardening when I was recovering from Mononucleosis a few summers back.  Digging my hands in the dirt felt so good.  This fact reinforces my unoriginal theory that the recipe for a happy, minimally stressed life includes a heaping spoon of the outdoors. I am still working out the other parts of the recipe.  I'll get back to you guys in 60 years.

Many have said it, and I believe it more every day, that connecting with nature is a part of our evolutionary biology and shouldn't be taken lightly. 
It's no wonder that after a career in the office many city dwellers decide they want a quite country life to "get away from it all."  Gardeners and children have it figured out.  Playing in the dirt is great!  Just make sure you wash your hands before dinner.

So if you are feeling down today, get outside!  The fresh air will make you feel great, but if you really want a dose of the happy chemical, you've got to get your hands dirty.

Getting Back to Principles

Lately life has been full of change.  Moving, leaving a job and a home, venturing into the unknown where possibilities abound- both exciting and daunting.





I often find myself in a fog, in an unclear mess where the walls quake in my spiritual "house" if you will.  When stress becomes predominant in my life, it becomes harder for me to stick to my principles.

Recently I read Fitness is Religion, a book written by Ray Kybartas.  It resonated with me.  Ray spoke the words that I had been missing every time I feebly tried to explain to a co-worker why I was going for a jog on my lunch break, or the ingredients in "that green thing" I was drinking.  It would be so much simpler if everyone understood that fitness is my religion.  It has become my way of life, my foundation, and the rituals associated with it keep me grounded.  I feel liberated when I am strong, and I feel amazing inside and out when I eat good food.

But when stress starts beating at my door, like the winds of a hurricane, the walls get a little shaky in my house.  The foundation is solid, but I feel the sway.  I may have three square meals in my day, but my nervous hands reach for the Cheeze Its in the vending machine.  They reach for more coffee to get me through my fatigue.  They "sin."

But after the storm is gone and life is a bit more settled, I get back to my principles.  Back to appreciating life in its fullness and for its change.  I take time to breathe in the smells on the wind, I recreate and enjoy.
And when I remember the hard times, they never seem so bad.  Without them, I would never understand how good the good times really are.