What Is My Truth Today.. WIMTT? 1/28/10 - Get Green for Real

What is my truth today?
I don't know about you, but I think about the environment and my little space in it.  I really can't go protest to save the rainforest in the Amazon, but I can stop buying little plastic bottles of water.  Little plastic bottles of water end up in our landfill and they will remain there.  According to stats from the Clean Air Council... "Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.  That is alot, folks.  So...

Today
I was very pleased to read a story by David Bois on Tonic.com about Coca Cola Co. developing their new PlantBottle they estimate "represents a carbon footprint improvement that may approach a 20 percent reduction in impact."  Good for Coca Cola.  Here is the link to the story http://www.tonic.com/article/cokes-new-plantbottle-hits-the-shelves/

Today
Purchasing bottled water is something we are really comfortable with these days and many people can't do without it.  I am fortunate to live in an area with great water, however, those little bottles are so handy, aren't they?  One answer to the dilemma...purchase large 5 gallon-sized water bottles, you know those that come with a dispenser the company will place in your own home -- Culligan, Arrowhead, Crystal Geyser -- and fill up a water bottle you buy at your favorite store that you use over and over again.  One person can make a difference...really.  No, really.

WIMTT?

Resist the convenience of those little bottles.                              

Happy weekend!                                                           

DCR

   

What Is My Truth Today.. WIMTT? 1/27/10

WIMTT?
Paying Attention!  Actually, my truth today is the importance of paying attention, as in...it is really important to tune in and focus on what someone is saying when he or she is speaking to you.  Let me explain...

So, I need to make a cosmetics purchase and zip right down to my favorite local department  store  cosmetics counter.  I go there often enough that we all know each other in a vague, Zen-like sort of way.  I talk with Bekka, (not her real name) who is working the counter, and she begins hawking their latest brand of facial moisturizer -- sort of casually. 

We discuss the stuff I actually came to purchase, locate it, chat some more and she once again starts discussing the virtues of this moisturizer.  "It plumps the skin" she says.  I think, "Who knew I needed my skin plumped...hmmm."  I move around the counter, looking at this and that, semi-listening to her. Kaboomsky...she says something, and I don't remember what it was, that had me saying, "Yeah, I need moisturizer."  (Actually, I did).

So, as I am checking out the lipstick, or gloss, or lotion, or perfume, or....Bekka gathers my purchases, including the moisturizer and rings them up.  We chat a minute more and as I am walking away, she says about the moisturizer as if she hadn't already made the sale, "Oh, it brightens, too!"  I say, "Thanks, Bekka," my mind already seven steps down the road into my busy day.

Okay, flash forward.  It is bedtime and I go through the whole cleaning my face process and slather on my new plumping and brightening moisturizer.  Great, nice...smells good.

Okay, flash forward.  It is morning and I get up, trudge to the bathroom and begin to wash my newly plumped and brightened face.  "Holy, moly," I gasp.  My face is so plumped I am having trouble finding the slits where my eyes are usually located...and, "Oh, yeah,"where are my eyebrows?   The eyebrows that Adriana (her real name) at Paragon Salon tints so nicely?  The eyebrows I pay to have tinted a nice smoky brown?  Obviously, I was not paying attention when Bekka said that part about, "brightens, too."  Apparently, brightens in cosmetics lingo, actually means lightens, as in bleach.  Aha. 

Okay, flash forward.

Today

I had a session with Adriana and my eyebrows are back. 
Today
I realized how important it is to really pay attention....to focus on the conversation at hand...to avoid listening to all the other thoughts whirling around in your own mind while someone is talking to you and you think that what they are saying is trivial.  Listen....focus....connect, it can make quite a difference.

I hope I have brightened your day!

What Is My Truth Today.. WIMTT? 1/26/10

What is My Truth Today...WIMTT?
Teaching the recognition of love...
I have been thinking about the quiet kinds of love that empower individuals to connect and share.  It is the type of love that makes us want to reach out to the people of Haiti to help and comfort.  It is the sort that binds us all together -- we become a universal family, metamorphosing into a far more selfless expression.   

How far can that expression of love reach?  Is it what causes someone to be kind to the waitress when the chef didn't get the order right?  Or, is it what causes one to act -- mow the lawn for the neighbor who can no longer afford the gardener? Is it what has us shaking our heads when we read about the conditions of calamity, disaster, disorder, chaos and desperation prevelant in the media -- to feel that thump in our hearts?  Is it what calls upon us to say a kind word to uplift the checker at the store, who seems so tired and deflated?  Is it what causes the hairdresser to have the courage to ask her client sporting yet another bruise, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"  Is it what prompts a person to ask the shivering homeless man, "Will you be right here for a few minutes, and if you wouldn't mind, can I go get you a coat?"

Gratefully, I have often been the recipient of love's selfless focus.  It happens day in and day out with my family and close friends...it is how we live our lives.  We were taught and given opportunities on how to love with the quietness that does not demand recognition, but remains love none the less -- that sharing and caring for another person.  

Today

I just want to say I am grateful.

Today

I want to share with you this thought...teach everyone around you by your actions how to ask themselves, "What can I do to make someone's experience a little happier?"

What Is My Truth Today.. WIMTT? 1/25/10

What is My Truth Today...WMITT?

Today

I had the opportunity to experience genuineness in action. We all get in the groove or grind of daily life -- thinking our own thoughts, going our own way -- get up, go to work, work, interact, lunch, work, interact, go home, interact, go to sleep. We do that day in and day out. Here is the thing that stood out to me today...the quality of the interact part...

Today

I had lunch with a friend I hadn't seen in awhile. We took the time to have a real conversation and I realized how he is good at that...generating quality discussions -- the meaningful stuff -- not the gabfest where you talk about how much you paid for the new shoes at Macy's -- or the bare your soul kind of discussion that can often violate everyone's sense of privacy. Our conversation had depth -- it was an simple exchange of commentary about our lives -- what we are doing now, interests for the future and appreciation of some shared history. It wasn't fluff, because he took the time to ask questions and move the conversation in a meaningful direction. Why? Because he was genuinely interested. He listened... because he was genuinely interested. He asked questions... because he was genuinely interested. He took the time to express appreciation... because he was genuinely interested. Wow, what a concept.

I am reminded about how often we talk about nothing just so we can fill up the space and get on to the next important thing. How often we talk about the same problems, situations, work or people -- over and over and over again--not with any expectation, but because it seems to cover our obligation to be social. It is our own safe form of blah, blah, blah.

Today I discovered that the somewhat lost art of genuine interest improves relationships. Sincere focus on what the other guy is saying, makes the other guy feel like he or she has something worthwhile to say. Who doesn't want to feel that way? Hey, next time you are with a friend or family member or colleague, tune in, focus, listen and ask questions. I've already started and I could tell the other person felt pretty good -- me too.

What Is My Truth Today.. WIMTT? 1/22/10

What is My Truth Today...WIMTT?My friend, Patti, sent me the item below to share...

PERCEPTION... Something To Think About...This is apparently a true story that a friend said she verified on snopes.com!
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later:The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes later:A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes later:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
45 minutes later:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
1 hour later:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
The questions raised:• In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
• Do we stop to appreciate it?
• Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.......
How many other things are we missing?

What Is My Truth Today.. WIMTT? 1/21/10

What is My truth Today...WIMTT? I have been thinking about the Haitian woman, Hoteline Losana (Natalie), pulled from the rubble of the earthquake in Haiti nearly one week after it happened. That she was rescued is truly wonderful and a great cause for happiness. What I can't stop thinking about is that she was singing when they pulled her free. I saw it on the news. This was no feeble, terrified woman. This was a woman with conviction that she was going to be found alive. They pulled her out on a stretcher, she drank some water and rested (the process took nearly 14 hours), then got in the car with her husband (sitting up in the passenger seat), the cameras filming as they drove away. She was smiling and looking around.
Today
Now, really, I have asked myself, would I be that brave? Would I be that strong; have that kind of faith, or would I be crying and diminished? I want to know what it was that Hoteline knew. It kept her safe and strong. I have a pretty good idea that she was saying her prayers. When the crowd was asked what she was singing, they said, "It is a song of God."
Today
I am going to continue to think about Hoteline's courage and singing -- and try a little singing of my own when faced with difficult moments. I mean nothing I am facing even compares, but what I am taking away from it, is my own ability to make a decision to react with strength and a "song in my heart" when the bad stuff happens. We all have the opportunity to choose how we will face loss, pain, tragedy, betrayal, illnesses, disaster and on and on.... I will be thinking about Hoteline Losana (Natalie). I will be singing.

Here is a link to story:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6995708.ece

What Is My Truth Today.. WIMTT? 1/20/10

What Is My Truth Today...WIMTT?
I have noticed the ever-increasing and annoying medical ads on television. No wonder medicine costs so much -- the drug manufacturers have to pay for all that prime time ad space! But more importantly, I have begun to suspect these ads are more than what they appear to be -- avenues to hawk the latest drug for the newest disease. If you listen to the long dreary lists of side-effects, they seem to be suggestions of what could be wrong with you. At the very least, your subconscious mind, ever in the fight or flight mode, asks itself, "Do I have those symptoms?" How could one ever expect to be healthy, alert, vigorous, vital, strong, fit and active after week's worth of taking in all those suggestions of what might be wrong in your body and/or mind?
WIMTT? I decided to investigate to see if I was the only one wondering about the possible dire effects of exposure to pharmaceutical ads. I am not. I recommend an article (click to link) in USA Today, August 10, 2009, Reporter: Theresa Howard, Headline: Push is on to end prescription drug ads targeting consumers. Today, I validated my questioning and intuition about something that just didn't seem right. Today, I have made it a priorty to be alert to the negative effects of medical ads and refuse the suggestions of ill health. Today, I am healthy, alert, vigorous, vital, strong, fit and active... so are you.

What Is My Truth Today.. WIMTT? 1/19/10

Everyday we search for our own truths -- to make sense out of what surrounds us -- relationships, connections, interests, media, environment, the wishes of our hearts -- the human landscape. I came up with the idea of asking myself, on a daily basis, What Is My Truth Today...WIMTT? In sharing/posting these ideas I am hoping to encourage readers to begin to recognize their own truths -- daily discoveries that nourish themselves and others. The wholeness of truth is revitalizing and opens the door to new avenues of peace, security and courage. Truth reinvents and revisions purpose. It is a fresh, new look.

What is My Truth Today...WIMTT?
I have been really interested in the blog exchange for some time, but felt a bit intimidated by the process and frankly, wondered what I could offer on it. Today, with my son's help, I have a blog; a fantastic idea to share for the good of the order and the absolute joy of a pat on my own back for taking this step. Today, my son helped a wish become a reality -- which is very, very cool -- my sincere and heartfelt thanks to you. Today, I know 1000% more about blogging than I did yesterday and am actually willing to learn more. All in all, a very good day. I hope this exchange ecourages you to discover your own truths and not only share them, but share the gratitude for them... with yourself, with friends, family, colleagues... and me.

The many avenues of Truth 1/18/10

How to explore truth?...
Truth, such a lofty word. To explore truth, it seems reasonable that one would begin asking questions. What does truth mean? And then comes the next inevitable question, what is MY truth? Do I accept everything I hear or see or read as truth? Or not? This is the exploration point...this is where you open the door of your thought and begin to make decisions. This is where you begin to ask...and answer..."What do I think?"