“ A human being is a part of the whole called by us Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty”
- Albert Einstein
WE ARE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER
We are all intrinsically connected to each other and to the world that surrounds us.
It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day crap that creates endless amounts of stress in our lives.
We compare, compete, judge, gossip and procrastinate. We over-spend and over-consume.
These things have been heavy on my heart lately.
I have spent the last few years trying to make better connections. A better connection to myself and to others.
A better connection to nature.
A better spiritual connection.
I began practicing minimalism and becoming a more conscious consumer about four years ago. It has become extremely important to me to make less of an negative impact on this planet and more of a positive impact on humanity.
Beautiful Mother Earth
We are all small parts of a larger whole. Each of us a microcosm of the larger macrocosm.
We are attached to a big blue ball that is spinning through space at about 67,000 miles per hour.
We are little parts of a huge web that is woven through the entire Universe.
They have even recently found that dark matter (once thought to be just empty space) is actually sub-atomic particles that are interacting with one another.
So everything is alive and buzzing with energy!
So how do we become so disconnected??
It is so easy for us to get caught up in the stresses of our day to day lives.
We are inundated with messages on television and social media about what kind of life we “should” be living. We work and work more and more and sleep less and less.
We are on a hamster wheel running and running.
Trying to keep up with the proverbial Joneses…
What is the end result?
What are we running towards?
He who has the most stuff wins?
The stuff. Oh boy! We have all accumulated SO much stuff!
So how can we change?
One small change at a time is how.
Start with taking a look around your home environment.
Just take a little mental inventory of all the things that you have.
Can you donate some?
How about what you’re consuming food wise?
We don’t have to declare ourselves Vegan and swear off processed food forever.
But take a few days and just notice what you’re putting in your body.
Did you know that eating one plant based meal every day for a year (instead of meat and dairy products) you will save 200,000 gallons of water and the pollution equivalent to about 3000 miles driven (roughly LA to NYC)!
That is a tiny change that can make a HUGE impact.
Put some almond milk on your cereal instead of cows milk.
Eat marinara sauce instead of meat sauce.
Little changes make big impacts.
Get connected to the people around you.
Put your damn phone away and be present with the people in your life.
Your social media followers don’t give a shit about you. I’m sorry to say… But it’s the truth.
The people in your life deserve your attention.
Studies show that physical touch is just as effective as narcotic pain medication to people on hospice. That’s amazing!!
Hug your friends! Smooch your kids faces! Give your partner a big wet kiss!
Become more aware of the present moment.
One of the best stress reducers ever: Mindfulness.
Be where you are and be all there.
As the Holidays approach, be conscious of the money that you spend and the things you buy and the wrap that you use.
Over-buying causes stress, debt and resentment.
Choose to do things just a little bit different this year.
Our world deserves a better us.
If each person tries to be a little more conscious of the impact they are making, the trajectory of humanity can change.
We deserve better. The planet deserves better. Our animal friends deserve better.
So now that you know better, DO BETTER.
Widen the circle of compassion.
