DanielleRichardet
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Aww... Beth.... :(
Confession: I was in this complete funk on Wednesday before we talked. Literally in tears over things I cannot change or control (long story)... but then *poof* our 2 hour conversation wiped it all away. :) Thank you :) Of course nothing is fixed... BUT... what I realized (once again) is that I can choose to focus on the positive or the negative. (granted this was before the tragedy on Friday) But nonetheless, focusing on the good in turn makes me feel good. Sure some people are hell bent on being miserable and bringing others down with them... but fuck them. There is a lot more good in this world and that's where I'll spend my energy. :D
Have you read the SuperForest Humanifesto? It's in video form here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwzjSo5pj5Y
Here's the text:
What is going to save the human race?
Please. Thank you.
Three words that will totally change this planet. More than solar power. More than recycling. More than wind energy.
Why?
Because if we all started treating the people and things that we interact with every day with respect and compassion, the effects would ripple through every aspect of our lives, transforming society.
Our parents taught us the manners “rule-sets” that we use every day, and as a result, we feel that we have (through years of introspection) begun walking the path towards enlightenment. Our manners dictate the way we treat the external world, the Environment. We feel that it is primarily our manners that dictate our success as humans.
Folks talk about wanting to save the “Environment”, and that conjures up images of bubbling brooks and unspoiled forests. But “the Environment” isn’t just greenery and pretty scenery. It’s our slums, our airports, our houses, our supermarkets. The Environment is everything that disappears when you close your eyes.
If you want to improve it, you must begin with what you see and encounter every single day of your life.
Before we can set about elevating our present society from a carbon-based one to a solar-electric one, knowing full well that solar-electric decentralized power means a higher quality of life for all, we must first pause and ask ourselves: Why? What is worth saving?
Human Consciousness.
Our gift and curse as humans is our incredible consciousness. We are aware, and that is the greatest and worst thing we’ve got going for us. Because we can clearly see how well we could be living, how politely we could be treating one another, how incredible life could be; we feel it is our duty to delight and inform our fellow humans in the hopes of creating a better world.
There is no reason every human on Earth could not have access to:
Clean Water
Nutruitious Un-modified Food
Shelter
Education
Open Source Communication
Freedom from Oppression and Fascism
But, as is painfully obvious, most humans don’t have those things. Most humans don’t have two of the six!
They could, but they don’t.
Why?
Bad Manners.
Nearly every religion this planet has yet produced has as one of its tenets the idea that to be happy, you must treat others as you yourself would hope to be treated. A failure in this respect is simply bad form.
When a company decides to dump its waste into a river that others downstream use for drinking water, that is bad manners.
When a society chooses to isolate its citizenry in prisons and not offer any chance at rehabilitation, that is bad manners.
When a person decides to walk into a school and open fire on their classmates, that is extremely bad manners.
That is why we MUST START NOW.
All new generations must be schooled in the art of good manners if we are to survive, let alone flourish, as a species.
Try your hardest to treat others as you hope they would treat you, and actively look for ways to help the people around you. Do this from a pure place within you and watch the effects ripple outward!
Why?
Because so few are doing it.
Good manners make you stand out like a struck match in a dark room.
Three Essentials:
Make eye contact with anyone you interact with. Smiling is optional but highly encouraged. Use the words “Please” and “Thank You” as often as you can. Seek out ways to improve the lives of others. This can be as small as carrying someones bag up a flight of stairs, or holding a door open.
Do these three things and your life will change immeasurably. And you will begin to change the lives of those who come into contact with you in a measurable and positive way.
WHOA... this is ridiculous. Though, the more I think about it... I'm not overly shocked about some things. I think that there (obviously) is A LOT of room for improvement. BUT... what is irking me the most is that if people are trying to do the right thing by bringing their own mug... they are completely blind to the fact that Starbucks is creating the trash anyway!! What's the point of telling people to "BYOM" ?? To appear environmentally conscious?? To make people feel all warm and fuzzy for doing the right thing?? I don't get it.
Ok... so I don't frequent Starbucks. The only time I go there is when we're traveling and there's nothing else. They do have ceramic mugs... BUT... you have to specifically ask for them. Same goes for a spoon... when asking for a spoon use the term "metal spoon" otherwise you are sure to get single-use plastic. How come they don't ask, "for 'here' or 'to-go'"?? You answer "here", you get reusables. How much money could Starbucks save on product and trash service by making a simple change?? (I'd venture to say a lot).
Another thing that isn't in this post that bothers me is their little honey packets. When I go to Starbucks (which isn't often because of this), I only get hot green tea (which I should say that, as a "high-end" coffee shop, they should do bulk tea in the paper pouches). Anyway, every time I get a tea there, I do so without honey because those packets are so stupid! Honey is sticky... you'd be lucky to get a half a teaspoon from a packet. Every other place that I have gotten tea from has a little honey carafe (and some even have agave in a squeeze bottle).
Oh, and here's a pic of the very rare reusable mug at Starbucks ;) http://statigr.am/p/338837001_9844788
I'm actually banned from their FB page...
We pick up way too much plastic crap on the beach... a lot not necessarily littered, but most often things that have been forgotten. Because of our beach clean ups my kids now have a stores worth of plastic beach toys. Of course they play with them, but most often our favorite things to take to the beach for my kids to dig and build with are (drum-roll) their hands.
Hands can't be forgotten. They're plastic free and provide hours and hours of play for my kids ;)