I still marvel at the many different aspects of coaching, especially when speaking with people about their visions and dreams. It is when we invest some time to ask ourselves what is meaningful to us that we get a sense of how we would like to live and feel. Have you ever asked yourself “what moves me, what do I what to create, what kind of world do I want to live in, what do I want to contribute?”
In India they have a beautiful practice, it is called SEVA, an ancient Sanskrit word meaning selfless service or compassion in action for the common good. It is based on the understanding that what we do for others we do for ourselves and that what we fail to do for others, we also fail to do for ourselves. It is also based on the observation that giving to others or working for common goals is when people receive the most joy in their lives and the most meaning.
It is the sense of community that inspires people to act with compassion, working together, feeling part of a bigger vision, feeling connected.
If that holds true on an individual basis it also holds true on a collective basis. If, as a human race we would have a dream, a great vision of how to live our lives lighter, distribute our resources better, connect to our essence deeper we would create a different reality. Realizing that there is enough for everyone and that everything we think and do effects everything else we would act accordingly. Energy follows thought. The way we think and feel determines the way we act and behave.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Saving our Environment - NOW!
It was only a few months ago that I joined an Organization called Clean up Greece (www.cleanupgreece.org.gr), a branch of clean up the world, which has been working for years to educate individuals, schools, businesses, municipalities and governments how to better respect and protect our environment.
Growing up in a country with a "green" movement, I developed an awareness for using and promoting environmental friendly practices. From cosmetics to cleaning materials I buy "green". Now the time had come that I felt the urge to do something on a bigger scale, to work together with others for sharing information and finding solutions.
I started talking to people on the island where I live and found that everyone I spoke to was interested in exploring the possibilities of better rubbish management, re-cycling and a cleaner island. So we had some meetings, put a loose plan together and made some proposals. We spoke to the Municipality, head of Schools, parent associations and individuals. Some schools promised to contact Clean up Greece and organize educational workshops for the students. Some of the grown ups were game to participate in a clean up day.
So we decided to have a go and last Sunday a few of us went off and started to collect rubbish from the roadside. I have to say that I was blown away. We had planned to walk and cover a large area, but the amount of plastic bottles, tins, paper and cigarette butts we collected on a strip that was only a 100 m long and 3 meters wide on each side of the street was overwhelming. We filled 16 large bags and it seemed like we had done almost nothing at all. I was amazed.
Plastic bottles and hundreds of cigarette butts each taking between to 1 - 5 years to disintegrate while poisoning the ground and water in the process along with all the rest of the stuff and this was not even the tip of the iceberg.
I know that experts have been warning us for years to treat our environment with more care and collecting all that rubbish really brought it home to me. I ask myself "what is it that keeps us from taking the warnings seriously? What compels people to throw rubbish into the road, the sea, the forest and the beach like it doesn't matter? What keeps the rest of us from standing up and speaking out and doing all we can every day for the protection of the environment we live in?
Do we feel so disconnected from our surroundings that we fail to realize that it is our very source of live which we are damaging? What are we waiting for? Lets face it - together we can make a difference!
For more information on ways to act more environmental friendly consult http://www.cleanupgreece.org.gr
http://www.cleanuptheworld.org
Growing up in a country with a "green" movement, I developed an awareness for using and promoting environmental friendly practices. From cosmetics to cleaning materials I buy "green". Now the time had come that I felt the urge to do something on a bigger scale, to work together with others for sharing information and finding solutions.
I started talking to people on the island where I live and found that everyone I spoke to was interested in exploring the possibilities of better rubbish management, re-cycling and a cleaner island. So we had some meetings, put a loose plan together and made some proposals. We spoke to the Municipality, head of Schools, parent associations and individuals. Some schools promised to contact Clean up Greece and organize educational workshops for the students. Some of the grown ups were game to participate in a clean up day.
So we decided to have a go and last Sunday a few of us went off and started to collect rubbish from the roadside. I have to say that I was blown away. We had planned to walk and cover a large area, but the amount of plastic bottles, tins, paper and cigarette butts we collected on a strip that was only a 100 m long and 3 meters wide on each side of the street was overwhelming. We filled 16 large bags and it seemed like we had done almost nothing at all. I was amazed.
Plastic bottles and hundreds of cigarette butts each taking between to 1 - 5 years to disintegrate while poisoning the ground and water in the process along with all the rest of the stuff and this was not even the tip of the iceberg.
I know that experts have been warning us for years to treat our environment with more care and collecting all that rubbish really brought it home to me. I ask myself "what is it that keeps us from taking the warnings seriously? What compels people to throw rubbish into the road, the sea, the forest and the beach like it doesn't matter? What keeps the rest of us from standing up and speaking out and doing all we can every day for the protection of the environment we live in?
Do we feel so disconnected from our surroundings that we fail to realize that it is our very source of live which we are damaging? What are we waiting for? Lets face it - together we can make a difference!
For more information on ways to act more environmental friendly consult http://www.cleanupgreece.org.gr
http://www.cleanuptheworld.org
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