How to Be Green

1. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth.
2. Put a plastic water bottle filled with water and some pebbles or sand in your toilet tank. It can save 1-2 gallons of water per flush. DO NOT put a brick in the toilet tank as it can break down and cause plumbing problems.
3. Shorten showers by 3 minutes or more. (Use an egg timer to help keep track of time.)
4. Turn your air conditioning two degrees up in the summer, and lower your thermostat two degrees in the winter.
5. Use a push mower instead of a riding mower.
6. Buy organic food.
7. Take a canvas bag when you go to any store, not just the grocery.
8. Use silverware instead of disposable eating utensils.
9. If you are printing a long document, save paper by printing on both sides of the paper.
10. Recycle! Glass, metal, plastic, paper, the possibilities are endless.
11. Use old rags or sponges to clean up messes instead of paper towels.
12. Use old t-shirts to make rags.
13. Buy organic clothes.
14. For the gals, buy organic beauty products. Physician's Formula has a good all-natural line out. Use less hair spray and more hair gel.
15. Buy a hybrid car. They do cost a lot, but they save you money and reduce CO2 levels in the air.
16. Do not grow a superiority complex. People see this and assume all green people are annoying 'Holier than Thou' people, which turns them off being green.
17. Plant a tree. Again, it reduces CO2 levels and adds oxygen, even if you plant just one. :-)
18. Eat less meat! Going vegetarian reduces your carbon footprint by 1.5 tons a year.
19. In the Winter, wear a sweater in the house instead of turning up the heat, in the Summer, open the windows to let hot air out and cool in, instead of turning the air conditioner on.
20. Give harmful waste to neighbors who will use it instead of dumping it down the drain.
21. Don't litter! Don't dump anything down sewer drains, in any body of water, or on the ground.
22. Turn the gas off when done cooking, and turn the lights off every time you leave a room.
23. Buy the exact amount of what you need, not too little, not too much. Give leftovers to other people you know.
24. Consider having fewer children, or no children at all. You can adopt or be a foster parent. If you have fewer kids, or no kids, more resources will be available to the children who are already born. The carbon footprint of your children should be included when you are determining your impact on the earth. If we fail to save our planet, the children will be the ones to suffer the most from lack of essentials such as food, water, and energy. Some children of the world are already suffering greatly.
25. Buy energy efficient light bulbs, costly but helpful. Think about the polar bears and rain forest and nonrenewable resources!!!
26. Turn off unnecessary appliances during the day and at night.
27. Try to make your garbage as small as possible to help reduce land fill size.
28. Recycle batteries!
29. Don't flush the toilet after just one use, unless its poop.
30. Turn off lights when you leave the room, it saves electricity and saves light bulbs.
31. Turn off your cell phone when you're not using it. Cell phones don't use too much but everything helps. Also cell phones can give you cancer so turning them off reduces that risk.
32. If you have pet birds, instead of throwing old seed away, throw it outside, it may grow or be eaten by other birds.
33. Have a garden if possible, you can plant herbs(great if you're a wiccan) and fruits. You're helping the environment and you have a nice treat too.
34. Wear dark clothes during the winter and bright clothes during the summer to reduce the need for heat and A/C.
35. If your destination is only a few blocks away, WALK!
36. Unplug nightlights during the day.
37. Recycle old notebooks.

Small Opportunities

Big opportunities come to those who make the most of the small opportunities. Small opportunities are present in each moment and in every situation.
Today is filled with small opportunities. In little bits of time that might otherwise be wasted, there is treasure waiting to be created.
Having a clear sense of purpose brings those small opportunities to light. Living with a strong commitment to move forward compels you to seize those opportunities and make the most of them.
Small steps, taken consistently, put you in position to take big steps. Save a few dollars a day, day after day, for example, and soon you have hundreds or thousands of dollars available to invest.
Honing your skills on the small things, by learning what works and what doesn't, will prepare you to successfully handle the big challenges and opportunities. Time is your friend when you make continuous use of it to grow stronger and more capable.
Everywhere you look; there are small ways for you to make a positive difference. String enough of them together, and absolutely anything is within your reach.

Select Your Direction

Your destination depends not on where you are but on which way you go. Your results depend not on what has happened, and not on what you have, but on what you do with it all.
From here, you can go anywhere. There are pathways leading in every direction.
What matters now is which of those pathways you choose. What matters now is the next step you take.
Give yourself permission to decide what you truly desire for your life and for your world. And know that there is a way, right now, to begin creating it.
When your thoughts and actions have a clear, specific purpose, each moment will carry you closer to the fulfillment of that purpose. When you move consistently in a chosen direction, you cannot help but reach the destination you choose.
Lovingly, thoughtfully and carefully select your direction today. You are always moving towards something, so make that something exactly what you wish.

Run Joyfully Toward Life

Run joyfully toward life and embrace it with open arms. Each day brings its own treasure in the flavors, aromas, sights, sounds, situations, experiences and interactions that come your way.
Don't get bogged down attempting to resist or deny what has already happened. Put your energy into using what you have to make life better than ever.
Embrace the beauty, the joy, the wonder and the abundance of life. At the same time, embrace the challenges, the setbacks, the disappointments and the difficulties.
Be genuinely thankful for every moment, whatever it may contain. For in each moment is your opportunity to fully live, to grow, to learn, to experience, to share and to create unique, lasting value.
Welcome the ever-changing richness of life as it dances before your eyes in ways you've never seen before. Join passionately in that dance and be a part of the richness.
Follow the winding path as it moves up, down, over and around through the steadily increasing abundance and fulfillment of your life. Know more fully, as each moment passes, the profound joy of being.

Fresh Opportunities To Be

Appreciate your shortcomings for where they have brought you. Then release them and be free to rise above the limitations.
Savor the disappointments one last time and remember all you have learned from them. Then let them go and eagerly look forward to new and fruitful experiences.
Sincerely and completely forgive those who have brought you pain, including yourself. And feel the healing that immediately takes hold.
Be truly thankful for having been through so much. Then get busy creating the best of what can be.
Let go of the useless drama that is already over. Hold on to the positive value that you've gained from it all.
Always there are new possibilities to explore, new ways to grow, and new worlds to experience. With each new now, the world is filled with fresh opportunities to be.

No Struggle

Make the effort, to be sure. But do not make it into a struggle.
Struggle is not a specific condition or action. It is a label that casts a negative spin on your efforts and unnecessarily puts you at a disadvantage.
If you see yourself as struggling, your expectations are already lowered and the best you can hope for is to break even. Yet there's never any reason to see yourself as struggling.
Yes, the challenges may indeed be great. And you have what it takes to make real and steady progress in the face of those challenges.
Instead of seeing yourself as a victim, see yourself as making the most of a valuable experience. Rather than living in fear of being pushed back, seize with enthusiasm every opportunity to move forward.
Every situation is what it is, but it never has to be a struggle. For you are capable of doing much, much better than that.

Be Different

To make a difference, you often must be different. It takes courage and confidence to go against the grain of negativity that surrounds you, and such courage can bring great rewards.
Where others see only doom and gloom, look for the bright glimmer of opportunity. For it is most certainly there.
When everyone is looking for someone to blame for what has already happened, turn your focus toward the future. Exploring the current possibilities will create infinitely more value than arguing over past failures.
When you encounter rudeness and irritation, generously offer your own polite and confident patience. When you bump up against the arrogance of another person, melt it away with your own sincere, self-assured humility.
Just because everyone is heading in a negative direction doesn't mean you must go that way too. On the contrary, it's a valuable opportunity for you to set a positive example.
In times of great difficulty and stress, choose to be a beacon of encouragement, understanding and positive purpose. Be different, and you can truly make a valuable positive difference.

Fulfillment Now

A beautiful, fulfilled life requires nothing more than what you already have. Fulfillment depends solely on your decision to accept and experience it, in the moment where you are.

There are some achievements that may take a lifetime to reach. Yet at any point along the way, from the very moment you begin, you can know fulfillment.

Reaching any goal is a matter of commitment, discipline, intention and effort. Fulfillment itself is immediate, for it is a matter of knowing that you are living true to your highest purpose.

Do not become trapped by measuring success based on what you've already done or failed to do. Learn to see that success is entirely a function of how you are feeling and thinking and acting right now.

Your past cannot hold you back and your future cannot intimidate you, unless you allow it. This moment has every possibility of being the most fulfilling time you've ever known.

Your life is infinitely more wonderful than any possession or event or circumstance that you can imagine. And somewhere inside, you know it. - Ralph S. Marston, Jr.-

Your moment to fulfill

This day is too valuable to waste. The people in your life are too beautiful to ignore.

Take a moment to remember how fortunate you are to be you. Take a look around, with your eyes lovingly and enthusiastically open to the possibilities.

Most of what you fear does not even exist. Much of what you love is closer than you realize.

You are just one small step away from being on the path toward your most treasured dream. You are just one brief thought away from understanding the richness that is your life.

You have traveled a long way to be where you are. With every step you have gained something of real and lasting value.

Now is a day to move forward with more experience, knowledge and wisdom than ever before. Now is your moment to realize and fulfill the miracle that is your life.

Magnificence of Being

In this moment you are free to live without limitation. You are able, through the whole of your being, to express who you truly are.
Everything that is now is here to fulfill your most profound purpose. Positive possibilities stretch out far beyond the horizon in every direction.
As moment passes into moment, new substance and richness are born. A goodness that is already beyond measure grows.
You can choose to focus upon what seem to be limits and then become a slave to those perceived limitations. Or you can let go of your resistance, and let the ineffable magnificence of being flow through you.
This moment demands nothing from you. Yet when you grasp just a small fraction of what this moment offers, you'll rush to give it all you have.
Life is fresh and new and begins all over again right now. Let it be so in you.

Free Yourself

Arrogance is the worst kind of loneliness because it is entirely self-imposed. If you become impressed with your own importance, everyone else ceases to be impressed at all.
The worst kind of ignorance is to think you know it all. For that is an ignorance into which you sink more deeply as each moment passes.
Those who are most genuinely admired are those who have no need to be admired. Those who learn the most are those who have the honesty to admit what they do not know.
Anyone who must announce that he is an expert most likely is not. The real experts are those who spend their time listening and learning rather than boasting and preening.
Humility is a virtue that will carry you far. When you are free from the crushing demands of ego, there is so very much more you can accomplish.
Let go of the need to be better than others. And you'll free yourself to reach magnificent heights of success and fulfillment.

PARABLE OF THE PENCIL

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. There are 5 things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.

Three: You will be able to correct mistakes you will make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside.

And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you; always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct mistakes you might make or grow through them.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to serve God in everything.

By understanding and remembering, let us proceed with our life on this earth having a meaningful purpose in our heart and a relationship with God daily.