Vote with your money this holiday season!

This free Christmas gift clip art is brought to you courtesy of Vladimir Zuñiga of Foca.tk.

Each year I post about F.A.C.E. values:

• Fair trade (employees treated well)
• Artist made (originally American made)
• Charities paid 
• Environment saved

You can choose to purchase gifts that will give back, that are in line with your values, and that will help our world (and the people) to thrive.

This means that it is best to seek alternatives to the big boxes that carry cheap products and treat their employees badly.  There are many, many alternatives.  Here are a few suggestions:

1. 10 Ways to Shop for Good 
2. Etsy - gifts by artists, real people
3. CD Baby - music gifts by musicians
4. 29 online gift stores that benefit nonprofits
5. 19 holiday gift programs that benefit nonprofits
6. Shop at a nonprofit thrift store in your area
7. Go to local arts & crafts festivals to shop direct from local artists
8. Buy tickets to a local event
9. Make sure your gift is green 
10. Create your own gifts using one of your talents.  I am knitting some gifts this year.
11. Skip buying from the 10 companies that pay their employees the least

I hope you have a fabulous holiday season, and happy shopping for good! 

SDF

Easy to hide behind a smile and an avatar

Sometimes life isn't the greatest.  There may be reasons why your heart is broken even if on the surface everything appears to be just fine.  It is easy to hide behind a smile and an avatar and just say, "I'm fine" or "I'm okay" if anyone does ask.

There is a movement to becoming our more authentic selves, yet it takes bravery to be the one to claim in that moment, "No, I'm not okay right now."  What would people do?  Would they flee from you?  Would they not want you around?  Is everyone so happy with the way things are, hiding behind a fake smile and an avatar online?

I bet there are people in your life right now that could use some help, but they are afraid to appear to be not okay.   Society has drilled into us to appear just fine, even if you are not.  It only seems okay to have a breakdown if you are an actor in one of those real dramatic movies.

There are people in your life that it will be okay to tell the truth. Sometimes, though, it is hard to tell who they are.  Even some people's parents rather you hide behind that smile and avatar just like they were taught. Or maybe they taught you...

Or perhaps you are hiding behind alcohol or drugs.  It can get super serious, all this hiding to appear to be okay.  The problem with all this hiding is the fact that you are likely to push more people away due to these vices if they get out of control.  Your vices can bring you to take advantage of the best people in your life. 

I am not judging.  I'm rather discussing the fact that maybe if we were a society that could be more real, we wouldn't resort to some of the vices we use to appear okay.  It would be okay to state, "I'm not okay." And, we can all be okay with this.

Of course we need to evaluate how much detail to expose.  We don't want a perfect stranger knowing our entire life story, or do we?  What would happen if we all dropped the masks?

The one challenge to being real would be dealing with the emotional vampires who love to soak up this depressed energy. They would not be the ones that would want to cheer you up or help you to find solutions.  They rather have you drenched in self-pity to feed on. At least we would know how to fake it around these people.  Maybe this is why we needed to learn how to hide?  

Until we can figure it out, it is easy to hide behind a smile and an avatar.  Everything is just fine.