Happy You, Happy World

Those who know me won't be surprised that when exploring an idea I turn to books. So, I'm reading How to Be Alive: a guide to the kind of happiness that helps the world, by Colin Beavan. (Beavan is the author of No Impact Man , the story of how he divested himself of attachments and lived off the grid for a year.)

I am impressed  with much of his book and wanted to share some of it. For instance,

Your life + all your relationships added together
All your relationships added together + Your relationship to the world
Therefore, your ife + Your relationship to the world 
which means
a. What you do in your life affects the world
b. What happens in the world affects your life
c. You are important to the world and the world is important to you

This reflects my beliefs about how we are instruments that create the tomorrows for everyone. We seldom really acknowledge that we are responsible for our lives to that extent. But we do create our tomorrow by the seeds we plant today. Even at the minute choices of the day we create the atmosphere of the immediate future. Think about it.

Did you know that you cause 600 square feet of Arctic Ice to melt each year? Check it out: http://www.moneytalksnews.com/you-cause-600-square-feet-arctic-ice-melt-each-year/

And then there is something as small as our choice of breakfast. Who really thinks about all that is involved in providing our food - egg, meat, bread, butter, coffee/tea/milk? Yet our very consumption of these creates a relationship, of sorts, with all those who produce them and the ecological effects of producing them.

Are the eggs cage free or produced on chicken farms with chickens given no more than the space of their bodies in the crowded buildings they are kept in. How is the chicken waste they produce disposed of? Do you know? Care?

What do we really know about the conditions of the animals that are raised to feed us? What chemicals are sprayed on the wheat that ends up as flour for our bread? Are the coffee and tea from fair trade growers? Do they have pesticides on them? And what are the consequences to the earth from all of this?

Yes, even our breakfast changes the world. And the important thing is that recognize our personal power to choose.

What do you recognize as parts of your day that impact others?

Check out Colin Beavan's book at http://colinbeavan.com/howtobealive/