by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

A friend shared a story the other day about her experience of a would-be city mugging several years back. Though a truly frightening moment, it had a happy ending with the mugger running off. The punch line, only amusing in retrospect, was that for unusual reasons, my friend happened to have $2,000 cash with her at the time.

It got me to thinking about how some decisions are darn simple - based on an innate instinct of survival - one that could not be ignored. If the mugger holds a gun to your head and says, “Your money or your life?” It’s a no-brainer. You’re either James Bond, or you give up the money.

So, why, in contrast, do our sustainable “life and death” choices seem so difficult to make? For me, it goes back to my early work in nutrition. I could easily convince people to by supplements and exercise, but hit a road block when, with the organic food movement still young, I struggled to convince people that paying more to eat organically was truly a choice between their money or their life (and the life of the planet.) It took not just facts, figures and threats over pesticides in our bodies, water and soil, but the willingness of my clients  to see the larger, long-term picture that shed light way beyond their wallets.

I started to take small groups through the natural food store (newly owned by Whole Foods) stopping in each department to talk about the truth regarding conventional and organic choices. I knew my stuff and was nothing if not passionate about the topic. I even shopped on a tight budget myself and managed it while committing to eating close to 100% organic food. Surprisingly, my conversion rate was a mere 40%, leaving me feeling not just disappointed, but baffled. Wasn’t the choice obvious? Wasn’t this something that could make us healthier right now and protect our future? Wasn’t it simply a matter of money  - and not all that much of it?

I’m an idealist, if not an optimist, so the wake-up call was difficult - though I did (not surprisingly) get offered a position at that store, where I continued to share my excitement about the whole foods/organic food business for several years. Local eating came along later and the transition by consumers has been similar in many ways - slow in coming, wrapped up in the long, arduous process of getting enough information out to enough people and the commitment of small groups of dedicated farmers and consumers.

Now our money and life choices have extended to living sustainably in many other ways and perhaps the questions change slightly when it comes to our cars, our homes, our use of resources, our wasteful habits. Your life or your luxuries? Your life or your conveniences? Your life or your ego?

The answers still feel knee-jerk certain to me - more no-brainers. What’ll it be? Your money or your life?

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Do you like lists? I do. A to-do list is like cliff notes to a good book, only the book is your life. Each time I look at my list, I’m reminded how much there is to do, to share and to be. Even if I don’t “do” everything on my list, the things that drop off most often lead me to another place, idea or action. Lists also help me remember the more mundane things that make up daily life, you know - chop wood, carry water - which is, of course, what brings balance to life and helps you stay humble.

And I like looking at other people’s lists, just in case there is something I haven’t thought of yet. (Ever found one in the street? You can’t help looking at it, right?)

I came across several lists today worth sharing. One is from my favorite eco-blogger, No Impact Man. He and I have both posted several green-minded lists over the last year - his new list of eco-steps is up to 40. He must like lists, too.

The other is a compilation of lists on GoodHumans.com. Although this site is supposed to be known for being a family owned and operated leading retailer of environmentally responsible products, lists make up much of their site. They call their steps, “Guidelines” and cover every topic I could think of. Each section has a very long list since it is an interactive site where you can add your own, which is a cool idea since there’s always something someone hasn’t thought of yet. Or, maybe we have, but never wrote it down. Writing it down is always a good idea for humans like us because we tend to be not all that aware in the moment. I’ll tell you the topics so that you will be enticed to go visit soon:

Clothing, Education, Entertainment, Gardening, Government, Health, Household, Housing, Nature, Personal Finances, Pets, Relationships, Transportation, Travel. It’s interesting that the topic with the biggest list is “Relationships” - reaching 141 -  which must mean that the most important reminders we need are to be kind and realize that we are all in this together.

The lists don’t skip the obvious things, but I think it’s a good idea to write down things like, “Tip street performers, Let the cocktail waitress through the crowd, Wash and reuse the plastic cups after keg parties, and, Be nice all the time”, so that we remember that the little things really matter.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I’m not really into many “bodycare” products. Perhaps it’s my overexposure over the years of employment at Whole Foods Markets, but if you haven’t noticed, it’s gotten crazy out there - the numerous brands and scents and specialty cleaners and creams and body washes - bottles and more plastic bottles - eek! Thanks anyway, but I’m happy with Dr. Bronner’s castille all-purpose liquid soap, a shampoo bar, my homemade tooth powder and some moisturizer to put on my face and hands.

But with all the choices, what is a good moisturizer? First and foremost, one without petroleum by-products and other chemical ingredients. Burts Bees is made with real food ingredients, so can’t go wrong there. But then I discovered Dr. Hauschka…

Their philosophy of purity and ingredients grown and tended in harmony with nature (biodynamics) has been in place “long before the green trend began.” In fact, the company was founded in 1935 by Rudolf Hauschka, a Viennese chemist who developed natural remedies. It added skin care products in 1967. WALA, located in southern Germany, is the maker of Hauschka and is an acronym for Warmth and Ashes, Light and Ashes and based on Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy of anthroposophy, combining the spirtual world with human intellect.

The company is legally owned by the German public - a kind of co-operative - and cannot be sold. Profits support operations or go to the workers. (For more on Hauschka, see this NY Times article.)

I have to admit, there’s a magic to the products that I was skeptical about until I used them. I’m still not willing to line my shelf with bottles, but I can’t go a day without the moisturizer. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt in or on my skin before.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I hope that you are still following the blog of No Impact Man. He has a lot to say about changing the world. He also talks a lot about how change can make us happy. Lately, he’s been asking us to not just talk about change or to simply give up some of our excessive consumption habits, but he’s asking us to take the next step - to be pro-active. So, if you have already changed your lightbulbs, stopped eating meat and driving your SUV, but don’t know what to do now - read this post where NIM says, “When It Comes To Saving The World, Just Try, Try, Try.” (Then search the word, “happy” and see how often his efforts have made him feel that way.)

It’s something that’s been in my thoughts a lot lately. I’ve been teaching some new yoga students and I’m reminded of what it’s like to be a human trying to do something new - something that we know will benefit us in the end, but in the moment it mostly seems inconvenient, awkward and/or difficult. Because I’m the old-school trained teacher, I emphasize the importance of using discipline and will to move through the hard parts.

In fact, by watching and listening to many yoga students over the years, I’ve written my own account and philosophy of the 3 stages that we all go through. The first stage is Arrrgh  - the hard part, the second is Ah-ha, when things start to make sense, and the 3rd is Ahhh, when you find the ease in the effort - the happy. I’ve also emphasized that without the struggle, yoga would be useless. For example, one student thought she was simply not cut out for yoga, coming to me to say, “I’m not strong, I’m not flexible, and I can’t focus. I don’t think yoga is for me.” My response went like this:

“If you came to me and said - I want to do yoga because I’m strong, I’m flexible and I have great focus - I would tell you that you don’t need to be here.”

I’d also like to share one simple definition of yoga that comes from the ideas of the great and enduring teachers. Yoga is simply doing something you could not do before.

So, yoga, as life, is about growing up and out and not just accepting change, but making it happen - whether it’s within ourselves, within our communities or in the world. It is about the work. It is about simply trying. And in the end, it’s about the freedom and happiness that comes with discipline. That’s why when my students come to me with all the reasons they cannot fit yoga into their lives, they hear two words - “Practice anyway.”

So, I want to point out that maybe this changing the world stuff is not supposed to be easy. What we can gain - personally and otherwise - just might come from the fact that we had to try. If you struggle to drive less, try anyway. If you struggle to use less water and electricity, try anyway. If you struggle to do something you haven’t done before, like talk to your congressman about change, try anyway.

What you learn from a yoga practice translates directly into how you are in your life. And how you are in your life translates directly into how we are in the world. It’s up to us to make change happen and to make ourselves happy along the way.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Words matter. What your read online, in the news, in magazines and books, what you see on signs, or scrawled, graffiti-style, on brick walls. It all becomes part of our consciousness and eventually, part of our belief systems and actions, whether we know it or not.

Now, we can wear our messages on our chests (hearts?) since the printed t-shirt is still alive and well. Here are some favorites that I like to wear, but it’s my sister who sports quite a collection of green and other message T’s. She wears them when waiting tables early mornings in Tahoe (where she works to support her singing and acting habit) and says they prompt customers to strike up interesting conversations (and sometimes extra tips). Beth thinks it gives everyone the opportunity to talk about things they may not be aware of yet.

That’s the important part - being aware. Being Awake. And now there’s people out there making T-shirts to inspire us to do just that. My Time To Wake Up says to Be Aware or Beware”, one of the many reasons they offer these cool mens, womens and childrens t-shirts made from organic cotton and bamboo. Supporting the organic textile industry is a wake up call in and of itself - as we try to conserve water, and save nature, wildlife and ourselves from dangerous pesticides - but their web site offers much more than that. Some of many inspirations from MyTimeToWakeUp.com :

“Our goal is to do our part in bringing about urgently needed change in our world by highlighting the need to Wake Up to the problems that exist, but more importantly to Wake Up to the need to take action.

We humbly look at our earth friendly clothing as small beacons of light. When you wear it you are saying that you woke up and got involved in something that you believe in that helps your fellow man and that you are urging others to do the same. A small effort by many can mean a huge change for all.”

(The shirts in the photos are not from MyTimeToWakeUp. To see their shirts, go here. Be A-Wear!)

Build Sense, Inc.

“We only design and build genuine SUSTAINABLE houses. if you want a cheap code standard house, please don’t call us. if you want high utility bills and mediocre indoor air quality, don’t call 919-667-0404. if you like drafty and poorly lit rooms, don’t call us. if your weekends are better spent maintaining your home than relaxing with friends and family, please don’t visit buildsense.com. if you want to needlessly use enough water to drain falls lake, please don’t call us. if you need a five car garage for your hummer collection, please, please don’t call us. if you want to reduce your initial budget to bare bones only to pay twice as much as your “savings” in the first five years of operating costs, please don’t call us. if you think that global warming is a hoax perpetuated by nutty left wing liberals, please don’t call us. if you think that we will continue to have an inexpensive energy source in the next few decades, please don’t call us. if size matters more than quality, don’t call us. if you’re not interested in leaving a livable planet for the next generation, please don’t call us. if you’re content to live in a neighborhood without trees, don’t call us…”

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

There’s a lot of us out here making some basic changes in our living and driving habits and finding out that it not only doesn’t suck, but it’s a whole new world of suprises that feel good. My friend, Jeannie (watch her weekly posts on this blog) reaping the rewards of small town life in a camper with a dog and a bicycle. Another friend, Greg, living car-free and self-employed in Asheville who contra-dances his heart out regularly in his community. Of course, there’s the abundant declarations of No Impact Man and his family, who experimented during a year of off-grid, off-stuff life in NYC and never went back to much more than a laundry machine and lights.

It was an article I saw yesterday in the San Francisco Chronicle that drove this happiness message home for me. It describes a more conventional family of three, including a 12 year-old son, living small outside the city with lights but no television, a non-potable water supply for everything except drinking, a hand-crank clothes washer and only a fireplace for heating. Though one parent needs to commute to the city for work (he carpools with 2 others in a Prius), when the other was laid off, they decided that their cost-efficient lives could be supported on one income, stating, “Living simply makes it easier to weather what could otherwise be hard times.”

To sum it all up from the closing paragraph, written by journalist, Kevin Fagan:

The two say that if they suddenly became so rich that money was no object, and their impact on the environment mysteriously didn’t matter any more, they still wouldn’t change much in the way they live.

Good enough for me.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

According to an article in the NY Times, Arnold Schwarzenegger is planning on traveling the world to promote clean energy after his tenure as governor of California. The Republican has dutifully endorsed presidential candidate, John McCain, but when asked whether he would answer a call from Democratic candidate, Senator, Barack Obama, the well-known “Terminator” responded, “I’d take his call now and I’d take his call when he’s president - anytime.”

I can’t help it. I like Arnold, despite his fleet of Hummers (now all hydrogen-powered). I’m drawn to the superhero in him. Perhaps I’m especially moved because I recently watched another former film hero kicking butt for justice when I rented the re-release of the independent movies, Billy Jack and its two sequels, The Trial of Billy Jack and Billy Jack goes to Washington. The movies, originally released in 1971 - 1977, address many social issues of our time - then and now - including prejudice, education, child abuse, violence vs. pacifism and political corruption.

The title character is Billy Jack, a half-breed American Indian who, after dissenting from the Vietnam war, goes back to the reservation where he quietly but forcefully protects the wild Mustangs and the Freedom School, a creatively alternative school for troubled youth of all ages and races. Billy Jack is the imperfect hero, with a deep commitment to ethics and honor who struggles with the shadow of anger he feels towards injustice.

Tom Laughlin, raised the funds, wrote, directed, produced and starred in all three movies. His wife, Delores Taylor, co-produced and played the supporting role of Jean, who runs the Freedom School.

Known then and now as one of the most successful independent filmmakers ever, Laughlin is also an author, psychologist, social/political activist who ran for president as a Democrat in 1992 on a platform which included tax cuts, Universal Healthcare and alternative education. Despite his reputation as a political radical, he received 2% of the vote in the New Hampshire Primary. He ran again as a Republican in 2004 as an opponent of the Iraq was with a “realistic” exit strategy, one of the many topics you can read about on his website at BillyJack.com.

From epinions.com movie review by top reviewer, Jan Peregrine, “My appreciation for a husband/wife team that goes to such lengths for us, the public, knows no bounds. Tom Laughlin was a pioneer in Independent filmmaking and a creative dynamo with the guts to say what he saw happening in the United States…we desperately need more people like the Laughlins in the world.”

This excellent review reveals more about the movie series plots, which actually began with the lesser known film, Born Losers, of 1967. Here, we are first introduced to the character of Billy Jack who confronts the abuses of a motorcycle gang.

I’ll be renting that this weekend.