Happy MLK Day!

This is still one of my favorite quotes.  - SDF

New Year's Resolutions

I have not posted in a long time, but I felt like starting again. This year, I have some goals in mind. 

1. To connect more with people. For the past few years I have been more of a loner, which is out of character for me. I think I will join some meetups, maybe join a congregation, and possibly look into joining a choir. I have thoughts of starting up my random acts of kindness group again too. 

2. To get back more into my music. I am a trained musicians that has not played music seriously for a long time now. I have a French horn, a piano, and a ukulele that is collecting dust. Let's dust off our instruments and create and play music again! 

3. To save as much money as possible for the next two years. I have financial goals to reach. Part of my blog this year will be to find as many free to cheap options in my area as possible. 

4. Read more books, listen to more podcasts, and enjoy more music. 

5. Create spiritual daily rituals and stick with them. Meditating twice a day comes to mind as well as a morning yoga practice. The goal is to become centered and peaceful again to be part of the positive movement for a better world. 

6. Get healthy and stay healthy. We all know the drill: workout, take walks, eat more fruits and vegetables. Detox once in a while. Cut out processed sugar, breads and pastas. We know what to do to get healthy. I would add to this that adding education about health is part of getting healthy too. 

Feel free to join me as I start on my journey. I will be posting from time to time about projects I am doing to work on one of these 6 goals for the year. 

What are you aspiring to do this year? 

-SDF

Life Lessons

I decided to start a new type of blog post: Life Lessons. These are the lessons that are "whispered" to us in life, if we decide to listen. We each get different messages, although some have the same meaning. Today, I learned a great deal by listening.  Don't be surprised if I start tweeting these with the appropriate hashtag #lifelessons.

In random order, because this is how it comes to us:

• We all are on individual paths.
• We all have life lessons to learn, and we learn in our own time, at our own pace.
• We see other people's challenges so easily, but we have to learn that it is not our path.
• We cannot control other people's journeys.
• We can understand that we all have our own issues and time frames to deal with these issues.
• People need to understand more to cause less conflict.
• Our experiences in life are different so our perspectives are different.
• We can agree, and we can agree to disagree.
• It is out of love that we can understand and help when the other person wants our help.
• We can't force our perspective and ideas on someone else.
• People can choose to listen and learn from us, but they may not choose to, and we can be okay with this.
• We can love and pray for someone else, to support them.
• Conflict arises when we are not allowing freedom. 
• Freedom of perspective is important. 
• Each of us have our own blueprint in life, going against this blueprint will harm ourselves.
• Happiness comes from living our own truths.
• Attempting to make someone else happy by disowning your own truth makes everyone miserable.
• Expecting other people to act a certain way only makes everyone miserable.
• Hoping and praying for the best is part of supporting other people.
• Visualizing the best is the best.
• Positive energy does help.
• Negative energy does not help.
• You may mean well, but that is all it will be, meaning well, not doing well.
• People need to take action when they are ready to take action.
• People have different paces for action. 
• Positive baby steps are to be celebrated! It means someone is headed in the right direction.
• Teach by means of example, but know that your example might not bring meaning to someone else.
• You have a say when enough is enough. Sometimes we have to move away from negative people to be a positive, happy person.
• Jesus wanted peace and love. To follow Jesus (and/or the other main religions) is to follow peace and love.
• Jesus does not want war.
• Jesus would help the poor, any way possible.
• War comes out of hate and intolerance of other people.
• War does not come out of love.
• Any war in the name of a religion is a false belief. 
• Religion does not cause war, bad, misguided people cause war.
• If we all followed peace and love, which is what is taught from the main religions, we would not have war.
• Following false people in power is like following false idols. 
• We all want to belong. We can belong to the side of good and doing the right thing! 
• Growing peace and love will diminish fear and hate.
• Our world is imbalanced. The greed for power and money has dangerously taken over.
• These greedy people have bought our media, our religions, our beliefs.
• Beware of the information that you receive if it comes from greed.
• Many people at the top are not doing the right thing (out of peace and love). 
• Many people at the top are not paying fair wages, equal wages, and instead are hoarding the profits for their own greed. 
• The people at the top who are doing the right thing are prospering and helping other people prosper too.
• We need to vote again, all of us, it is our right.
• We need to vote with our money and stop investing in the greed. 
• If you see a company doing greedy, harmful things, you don't have to buy from this company. 
• We have the power to understand, tolerate, and take positive action.
• If people are focused too much on other people, it means you are ignoring something that needs to be focused on in yourself.
• You have to make yourself happy. Do not expect other people to do this work for you.
• Substances in life are good for temporary solutions, but not for life solutions.
• Let other people do what they want unless it truly is harming someone else. 
• Laws are made to keep us from harming other people (and sometimes ourselves).
• Laws made out of beliefs to force other people to your way of life are not good laws.
• Tolerance of other people's perspectives is the only way we can have true freedom.
• It's best to not challenge unless it is truly harmful.
• We create conflict by not being tolerant.
• Is their lifestyle choice really harming you? It may not be what you want to see, but does it affect your every day life? 
• What if they said that your lifestyle was bad? It's about perspective. Other people have different views. 
• Your attempts to force other people into your box is harming other people.
• You cannot save someone who does not want to be "saved."
• Creating more poverty and bad life situations is not a good solution. 
• If you want positive change, become a positive solution.
• Forcing other people to bow to your perspective creates conflict, and ultimately war.
• Cast no stone unless you are free from sin. Most of us, especially politicians, should not be casting stones at one another.
• Stop and see if it is a part of you before preaching what is right or wrong.
• If right is part of you, go ahead and preach, but people still have the choice to listen.
• If wrong is part of you, quit preaching.
• Defending yourself is different than causing conflict.
• In a best world, defending yourself without violence is best. 
• Violence does not have to be a choice. It is a choice, but we do not have to choose it.
• Being greedy does not have to be a choice. It is a choice, but we do not have to choose it.
• We can choose to help our fellow man and still have enough for ourselves.
• Maybe it is time for us to figure out what is enough. 
• Maybe growing as a person is more important than growing your bank account.
• When keeping money that you don't really need harms other people, that is greed.
• You can't take it with you. Doing good for other people will transfer since good will live on.
• Creating a power gap, pushing and forcing people into a state of poorness can only cause more conflict.
• Do the right thing! Act out of peace and love. WWJD? 
• If you are not acting out of peace and love or WJWD, then you are causing conflict, and you are part of the problem, not the solution.
• Be a positive force in this world. We all have the choices in front of us. Choose well. 

Sitting is the new smoking

I have been doing some research on "sitting too much." Our way of life has changed to the point that we are all sitting more each day. Some of us sit all day for our jobs, and/or have longer commutes sitting in the car, and then we go home to sit in front of the television, computer or game system.

Here is a list of why sitting so much is not good for us:

• Greater risk of developing cancer
• Increases risk of obesity
• Susceptible to muscle issues
• Higher risk of developing depression
• Hypertension
• Great risk of heart disease
• More likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes
• Raises the risk of disability
• Interferes with LDL levels, the enzyme that breaks down fat
• Poor circulation
• Assorted aches and pains

The list can keep going on and on, but I think you get the point. You might be saying, "but I exercise at least 30 minutes a day." They have proven that all that sitting will negate the benefits of the workout. It is almost like you haven't worked out at all.

I am living proof of this. My life became more sedentary when I started working from home. I am constantly on my computer, like now. I did gain some weight even though I have been working out 30-90 minutes 6 days per week. I do some fairly tough workouts too, more advanced. The one time it was easy to lose weight was when I was at a conference for a 3-day weekend, and I was walking constantly around the city and conference center.

So, what can we do if we have to sit for our work? Well, maybe we don't have to all the time. Here is a list of advice:

• Get a standing desk
• Get the app Stand Up! for your iPhone which will alert you to stand up every 35-45 minutes
• Create a YouTube playlist for mini workouts (under 15 minutes) and do these throughout the day
• Take a walk on your lunch break
• Exercise while watching television or at least get up during commercial breaks which can add up
• Buy video games that make you move
• Put on some tunes and take a dance break
• Talk on the phone standing up
• Have a phone meeting during a walk
• Have a live meeting during a walk

In any case, we can do something active throughout the day to get the blood flowing.  Our bodies were made to move, not sit for hours at a time. 

Consider joining me for the rest of this month to take the stand up challenge. For the month of March, I will be using the Stand Up! app. I will weigh myself before and after, and also take my inches. We shall see if moving throughout the day makes the difference needed. 

Let's do this! 

Articles:

Ways Sitting is Shortening Your Life
Don't just sit there. Really.
Here's Just How Bad Sitting Around Is For You

Google "sitting is the new smoking" for more. 

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.

We can become aware...

I'm hoping 2014 is the year of awareness.

We can become aware that we can vote with our money and shop at stores that actually care about their employees (fair wages and benefits), where their products come from (fair trade), and how safe the products are for us.

We can become aware that we are beautiful regardless of how ugly the media, fashion world, and diet companies want us to feel for their own greed, and we can vote with our money again and say enough of this body/mental image abuse. 

We can become aware that the food we put into our mouths can make us healthy or make us sick, it is our choice. 

We can be aware that our differences on the outside are less than 1% of our DNA and that our more than 99% similarities are what matters most.

We can become aware that if our country (our world) is truly to be free, as long as the choices of others do not hurt us personally where we can continue to live our own lives as we wish, it is freedom that allows other people to choose their own direction for happiness, just as this same freedom allows us to choose our own direction for happiness. Call it a "No Judgement Day." 

We can become aware that our actions on this earth can either harm or nurture the earth. Many of us have felt the wrath of global weirding this year. 

We can become aware that spending all the resources on war is only going to produce more war and bankrupt countries and the people of countries. What you focus on is what you get. Let's focus on peace. 

Our resources, time, money, energy, thoughts, actions, can be spent making the world a better place for all, not just for the few that want to control all. 

Yes, I'm hoping 2014 is the year of awareness, and that we become aware that we have the power to do something to create a positive outcome (instead of all the 2013 crap we went through). 

Happy New Year!