Some Alternatives

It's important to balance our self interests with the needs of our planet. Changing the way we think about consumption is one way to do that. And changing our way of shopping during this holiday season could be a good way to start getting rid of some bad habits we've become increasingly stressed out from anyway. A new trend is on the way this year to make gift donations to good causes in a loved ones name that comes with a greeting card explaining how the money will be used. Also, more and more environmentally conscious people are shopping locally this year.

Much of America has become addicted to impulse shopping and overconsumption and it's a hard habit to break. Ecotherapist Robert Francis Johnson puts it this way:

"The consumer culture, it's a mind virus. When you get a virus in your computer, what it does is it destroys your system, your files. So this same idea occurs with consumerism because it destroys our moral and spiritual values. The word (virus) means burn, deplete, destroy, disintegrate, deteriorate, shrink, use, use up and waste or waste away."

If enough of us choose to think more spiritually than materially this season, it would do a lot of good in a whole lot of ways. ~ Patty Ann Smith

Something to Think About

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. ~ Annie Dillard

Giving Thanks!

For "The American Land" by Bruce Springsteen...from the Seeger Sessions

The Wisdom of the Trees

the light of the forest

ADVICE FROM A TREE
by ~ Ilan Shamir

Dear Friend,

Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter

Feel the wind and the the sun
And delight in their presence
Look up at the moon that shines down upon you
And the mystery of the stars at night.
Seek nourishmnent from the good things in life
Simple pleasures
Earth, fresh air, light

Be content with your natural beauty
Drink plenty of water
Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes
Be flexible
Remember your roots
Enjoy the View!

*"J", one of my MySpace friends, has this on her site and I just LOVE IT!
Visit "J's" site by clicking on the Headline below:

J ~ Have A Nice Today

"History is a race between education and catastrophe."
~ H.G. Wells

Veterans Day

photo by Craig Smith 

The Condition of Your Heart....Determines Everything

photo by Craig Smith


"...Our lives can change with every breath we take...Let go of what's gone. Hold on like hell to what you've got. Each other. We've all got meanness in us, but we've got goodness, too. And, the only thing worth living for is the goodness..." ~ from "Where the Heart Is"

Meaningful Goals

Without meaningful goals, you are wasting the precious gifts your Creator has given you.

Whatever we do in our daily lives becomes a prayer....planting flowers, doing yoga, building a chair. So, it's very important to choose good things to do because it all ripples out and affects others.

The "Biggest" crisis we have today is a Crisis of Consciousness and whether we are going to face it or escape it. ~ Patty Ann Smith

"The Incredible Shrinking Man"

photo by Craig Smith


the closing soliloquy narration from the 1957 movie:

"I was continuing to shrink, to become...what? The infinitesimal? What was I? Still a human being? Or was I the man of the future? If there were other bursts of radiation, other clouds drifting across seas and continents, would other beings follow me into this vast new world? So close - the infinitesimal and the infinite. But suddenly, I knew they were really the two ends of the same concept. The unbelievably small and the unbelievably vast eventually meet - like the closing of a gigantic circle. I looked up, as if somehow I would grasp the heavens. The universe, worlds beyond number, God's silver tapestry spread across the night. And in that moment, I knew the answer to the riddle of the infinite. I had thought in terms of man's own limited dimension. I had presumed upon nature that existence begins and ends in man's conception, not nature's. And I felt my body dwindling, melting, becoming nothing. My fears melted away. And in their place came acceptance. All this vast majesty of creation, it had to mean something. And then I meant something, too. Yes, smaller than the smallest, I meant something, too. To God, there is no zero."