Create a Healthier Planet for a Happier You

green earth

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When Earth Day started 45 years ago, it wasn’t a federal holiday yet. But 21 million people concerned for our environment took part. Air pollution was only one of many concerns about the damage we were doing to our earth.

For some people, concern for the environment was sparked long before the first Earth Day celebration. It was 1979 when at age 16 when Jadav “Molai” Payeng noticed that a flood had washed ashore many snakes who died in the heat without tree cover.

Pained by this sight, Payeng approached the forest department about planting trees, but they said it couldn’t be done. Unconvinced, he began his life-long campaign of burying seeds near his home in Northern India. Now at age 52, Payeng can look out over his 1360 acre lush ecosytem, the Molai Woods, that now protects birds, deer, rhinos, tigers and elephants. Hear his story in the following video.

 

We still celebrate Earth Day in ever expanding ways that help the earth but also make us happier with our lives.
In the video below learn about the impact of urban green spaces on our well-being.

 

You don’t have to live in faraway places or plant a florit to make positive change in the world. When Ron Finley grew weary of having his neighborhood in South Los Angeles being defined by fast food places and  liquor stores, he built gardens on traffic meridians and abandoned lots. Listen to his TED talk.

 

There are endless ways you can help save the environment. Until you’re ready to plant a forest, throw out your TV or make your wedding dress out of bread bag clips.

Some of things you can do won’t dirty your hands or involve an insect diet.The idea is to make “green” a way of life and not just a once-a-year celebration.

Here are loads of ideas some of which are small and easy ways to get started.

  • Earth Day 2015
    Discover events, resources, actions ideas, and the history of Earth Day

What do you do on a daily basis for the Earth ? Have you simplified or decluttered your life lately? What new ideas did you get from the ones shared here?

Article box by Flora Morris Brown

How to Create the Happiness You Deserve

 

Pursuing happiness has become a cliché not just because it’s overused, but also because we misunderstand it and go about it all wrong.

When the authors of the U.S. Declaration of Independence penned that Americans have the right to “the pursuit of happiness” they meant we have the right to occupy our lives with moral and spiritual activities that would lead to the well-being of humanity. Their view of happiness was not limited to accumulating material items and fulfilling personal desires.

There was no right to be happy, but rather the right to practice moral lives that would contribute to the good of us all.

Well, not quite all of us.

Thomas Jefferson is credited with changing the original phrase from “life, liberty and property” to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
This change is certainly more lyrical and appealing, but since it didn’t really apply to many Americans at the time, it wasn’t as broad as some think.

In fact, Jefferson’s property at the time included about 200 slaves. Since he certainly didn’t allow them to pursue any definition of happiness, he might as well have left the word “property” in the document.

On the surface, many of us claim that we believe happiness is well-being and feeling good about ourselves. In actuality, however, too many of us still seek happiness from material solutions and possessions.  Even though we’ve been let down repeatedly by the quickly-fading high we get from new possessions, we still pursue them. We even cheat, lie and kill to accumulate things.

Let me quickly point out that I’m not suggesting that owning material possessions is bad  or that it’s better to be poor than wealthy. Not at all. On the contrary, research has revealed that people who nurture their inner well-being first are more likely to reduce their stress, enjoy satisfying relationships, and make more money.

How can you create happiness that begins on the inside before it shows up in our outside lives?

Here are five ways to start.

Let go

Henrik Edberg on The Positivity Blog
5 Powerful Steps to Help You Let Go and Feel Less Pain

Learning to let go of something in your past, of something that is just an unimportant distraction or of trying to control what you cannot control can free up huge amounts of the energy and the time you have to use for something better and more fulfilling.

Provide warmth for a stranger

Nadine Kalinauskas | Good News at ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs
Good Samaritans Leave Scarves for the Homeless in Canadian, U.S. Cities

Some Good Samaritans are helping warm the homeless (and scarf-less) this winter by leaving scarves and hats wrapped around poles, fire hydrants and lamp posts in chilly cities across North America.

 Learn to enjoy being alone

Tony Robinson on LifeHack.org
When You Start Being Alone, These 10 Things Will Happen

Some people think of “being alone” as a bad thing. It either means you’re anti-social, or unwanted, neither of which are a good position to be in.

But actually, being alone isn’t’ necessarily a bad thing, as there are a handful of benefits that emerge once you learn to embrace solitude.

Declutter

Linda Luke on Life Coach Linda
From Clutter to Clarity–A Client Story

My client Carol came to me for support with some big decisions to be made with her upcoming retirement.  She felt unclear and overwhelmed as to what to do.

The situation became even more interesting when during our first call she described her life as “itchy”.  I hadn’t heard that one before, so I asked her to tell me more.  She shared that her home felt like a burden instead of a sanctuary, volunteer work and other obligations were filling up her time, and she didn’t feel like there was space for her in her own life.

View discontent as your call to action

Flora M. Brown on Barbara Ardinger.com
Discontent Can Be Your Savior

The moment you realize you’re not satisfied with a situation, person, job, location, or even yourself, your mind gets to work—processing ways to get out, over, or around it. If you don’t heed the solutions that bubble to the surface, then your discontent will only grow.

A common habit and often our default reaction when things don’t go our way is to reenact the situation over and over in our heads. We then call, email, or text our friends reliving the wrong, and maligning the perpetrator. These reactions may give temporary relief, but they are not helpful in the long run.

 

 Guard your happiness with positive habits.
Pre-order your autographed copy at
ColorYourLifeHappy.com before
October 3rd for a special price.

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Getting to What You Were Called to Do

Courtesy of George Hoban, publicdomainpictures.net

Courtesy of George Hoban, publicdomainpictures.net

Whenever we have a series of overcast and rainy days, it’s easy for me to succumb to the gloom and start to feel down. I began to feel sorry for myself recently and questioned if  I was where I wanted to be at this point in my life.

Yes, I’ve enjoyed many wonderful life experiences and reached many of my life goals. As a matter of fact, I now focus my work on helping others create happiness in their lives. And yet, because I’m human, I get sometimes get seduced into looking at the glass as half empty instead of half full.

When I get into such a funk, I don’t like it at first. Sometimes it hurts a lot to feel uncertain, unsure, and unclear.  But then I realize that it is a blessing. It keeps me humble and it gives me a project from which I know I’ll eventually emerge as a stronger person and a better coach and writer.

Not only that, my search for relief makes me test new techniques and revisit ones that have worked for me before. That way when I share ideas with you, they come from a real place, not a theory. Sharing my life experiences to encourage you on your journey is what I was called to do.

One thing that I do when I get into these moods is search for motivation and words of encouragement.  I was recently drawn to visit one of my favorite websites, TED.com to listen again to Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University.

The point that always resonates with me in this speech is the idea that sometimes you have to drop out in order to drop into what you are called to do. I think about that in my life when I think of endeavors I abandoned because I no longer had passion for them. There are other times when a project appeared to be a failure, but later I saw that it freed me up to something even greater. Jobs urges us to trust the process and the path we are on when we follow our passion.

I invite you to listen to Jobs share three poignant stories from his life. Draw from his stories the lesson that will make a difference in your life. Then share in the comments a time when you dropped out in order to drop in.

If you enjoyed this article, share it with your social media friends. Thank you.

 

Enjoy Your Climb or What’s a Journey For?

no roses-resized

 

“It makes no difference how many peaks you reach if there was no pleasure in the climb.”
—Oprah

We’ve heard this expressed many ways. Some say stop and smell and roses or the best part of the journey is what you see along the way. But why are these things true?

By observing the things along the way we appreciate the destination so much more.

Have you ever heard someone recount the fun they had camping, for example? The best part is their account of getting lost, finding their way, choosing the best resting spot or encountering critters who decided to enjoy the campsite as well. If you don’t enjoy the things that lead up to your destination, you’re likely to be singing “Is that all there is?” because you missed the juicy part.

By feeling the exhiliration of a journey, our joy at the end is intensified.

When I was returning from visiting my oldest daughter I had planned to read a book on my flight. It was a great book, but because I chose a window seat I decided to enjoy the view instead. When we left San Jose the sky was overcast, but as soon as the plane reached its altitude we were floating on meringue clouds. I was in awe thinking about what an amazing creation our planet is with its many features depending on the perspective from which you view it. Wow!

Later as I waited for my luggage at the turnstile, I felt so peaceful and thankful to have absorbed nature’s beauty.

By observing and making note of our activities along the way, we build skills for future events and journeys.

Take going to school, for example. The classes that challenge you to stretch your mind and learn new techniques are the ones that best prepare you for not only future classes, but other life tasks and challenges as well.

Each time I must stretch my abilities to learn how to master even a small task with my websites and blogs, for example, I’m better prepared for the next challenge. While I sometimes get frustrated and even break into tears over garbled code that stands between me and a new blog theme, I have learned that I won’t die from it. Once when moving to a new host, I lost a blog with years of rich content. (That felt like a death for a few minutes.)  I lived to meet another challenge and accepted it as a part of the process.

What about you? Have you tried one of these ways to enjoy your climb and your trip to your goal? Tell us about how you overcame a fear or met a challenge.

Call Her Madam, First Self-Made American Woman Millionaire

walkerMadame C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove in poverty-stricken Louisiana in 1867, went from picking cotton to become the first self-made American woman millionaire.  But it was not a straight line.

“There is no royal flower-strewn path to success,” she once observed. “And if there is, I have not found it – for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard.”

She married at age 14, gave birth to her only daughter in 1885, and two years later became a widow. Upon her husband’s death she moved to St. Louis where her four brothers were barbers. She saved enough money working as a laundrywoman to educate her daughter.

How she began

During the 1890’s Sarah began to lose her hair due to a damaging scalp ailment. She was so embarrassed by her appearance that she began to experiment with scalp conditioners and healing formulas made by another Black entrepreneur, Annie Malone. She soon became a sales agent for Annie and moved to Denver. There she met and married Charles Joseph Walker.

How she progressed

Sarah changed her name to Madame CJ Walker and founded her own business selling Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower, a scalp conditioning and healing formula. She conducted an exhausting door-to-door sales campaign throughout the South and Southeast. She even opened a college in 1908 to train her “hair culturists.” Her corporation at one time employed over 3,000 employees.

In fifteen years she amassed a fortune and is the first known African-American woman to become a self-made millionaire. She died at age 52 in 1919.

Learn more

Learn more at her official website, http://www.madamcjwalker.com, maintained by her biographer and great-great granddaughter, A’Lelia Bundles.

February is Black History Month when we pause to remember, acknowledge, celebrate, and express gratitude for the many black men, women and children who overcame great odds and endured hardships to become successful in their endeavors. The life of Madame C.J. Walker reminds us all that the secret to success is no secret at all. As she once explained, “I got my start by giving myself a start.”