Tragedy strikes! My favorite fair trade/organic/vegan online store is closing down. But every cloud has a silver lining, no? Everything they sell is on clearance because they are liquidating. So quickly take a look… I bought a pair of my favorite non-Nike Chuck Taylor-style high tops, and a cute hoodie. Besides it being great stuff at a remarkably cheap price, Bienestar International and No Sweat have a solid mission and vision for international trade and need our support. Luckily, they will be continuing their wholesale/bulk sales so any companies or groups can have fair trade organic cotton shirts printed for them.

Today is World Fair Trade Day (as it is the second Saturday in May) and you should definitely celebrate. If you don’t want to take my word for it, listen to Sir Paul McCartney:

“Fair Trade is essential for millions of people who work and struggle for survival everyday. It’s all about justice and human rights…”

Now if only he resurrected the deceased members and reunited the band and then made that into a number 1 hit pop song. Maybe it would really catch on! Since that seems unlikely, it’s up to us to spread the word.

If you’re up in Canada you can head over to The Docks Seafood in Chilliwack for some free fair trade coffee. Or, if you’re in Slovenia, do some of that running I spoke of and join the Slovenian foreign minister for a fair trade jog. There’s bound to be something for everyone. In Seattle, a SNL-style skit educating about Fair Trade will take place at Jamtown in North Seattle at 10.

For those of you who aren’t internet or gaming nerds, the title means “Fair Trade Day For The Win”.

After a few crazy-busy weeks of classes, work, and trying to maintain a social life, I finally got my butt in gear and did some of my yoga/pilates workout yesterday. I am feeling the effects today of my unforgivably long respite from physical fitness. And yes, it hurts so good.

I’m encouraging you all to join me in doing a little something to get your blood pumping. We all know exercise is good for us. Now we have the added bonus of boosting our immune systems (”Take that, swine flu!”) and even better, helping others. Relays for life, walking for diabetes, racing for the cure to breast cancer… the opportunities are endless. And not only do they involve you, but they educate those in your community and hopefully inspire others to give as well. A new non-profit called Erace Poverty is yet another way for you to run your way to good karma and a better world.
And even if you can’t get out there and get sponsors and run a marathon, you can do a few stretches in the morning and take a walk in the evening and release some endorphins so maybe you’ll be a little more pleasant to those you meet and spread a bit of greatness.

I hope it’s all right with the person in question (I don’t know since it was anonymous), but I want to share this out-of-the-blue do-greater sort of moment. On Facebook, there is this lovely application called Honesty Box, used for people to anonymously tell people what they really think of them and such. Today I changed my honesty question just for kicks and asked people to share with me.

My question, open to anybody I am “friends” with on Facebook or anyone in my university network, was “What have you always thought but never said”. Interestingly enough, here is one conversation that followed…

Anonymous: I don’t really care very much about the enviornment, or the world I’ll leave to my children. I feel like I have enough on my plate just trying to live.

Do-greater: That’s a legitimate concern. Why is it something you don’t share with people openly?

Anonymous: To be honest, I just feel so apathetic about it, I just don’t worry about it. I feel like if I started worrying, it would just overwhelm me. There is just so much wrong with what we’re doing to the planet, I don’t think I could function as a part of normal society if I tried to take it all in and care about it all. I feel like whats happening is happening, with or without me, and it would break my heart to care about what is going on. I just feel like the only way I can live a normal life is to just try and be as detached as possible from it, or every time you see someone throw away a yogurt can, or a newspaper, or flick their cigarette in the gutter, or let their car warm up in the driveway for 10 minutes before they go to work, and so on, all of those things would just cause you so much unnecessary grief on a daily basis, that it would be hard to take. I feel like they would happen whether or not I care and do anything about it, so it’s hard to commit to that kind of unavoidable frustration and pain. Does this make me a bad person?

Do-greater: No, I think it makes you normal. I don’t inform myself nearly enough of every bad thing going on. I don’t read the news regularly and I mainly focus on living my own life. But within my own life and those around me, I do what I can. Tackle the problems that are on your front porch, literally. Like I went to a party last night and as I was walking out I saw a bunch of beer cans in the street so I nabbed them and tossed them in the recycling because it was right there, and why not? It didn’t traumatize me with the overwhelming nature of humans to be wasteful and inconsiderate. It just was a simple action that cost me seconds and made me feel a little better about my ability to improve the world, if just a little bit. You don’t have to totally change your lifestyle or anything, just change little things within your lifestyle. Does that make any sense? It has nothing to do with being a good or bad person. We all deal with the stresses of the world in different ways. But try to find a way to make those problems smaller, and just nibble away at them so they can be solvable, if not yet solved.

Anonymous: Wow, I really like the way you put that. Thanks, I’m actually going to try and see things like that!

Do-greater: I’m really glad. Good luck with it… and don’t beat yourself up about not being able to fix the world. It requires a collaborative effort.

So there you have it, folks. I have to say, this conversation definitely added a dimension to my day and has triggered a thought-provoking train of ideas. I am really glad and surprised I managed to say something that apparently clicked for her, and I hope maybe it can do something to clear things up for others too.

A girl I went to high school with spent spring break rebuilding houses in Texas from Hurricane Ike, and now the organization she works with is doing a video contest between the teams of do-greaters who gave their breaks to help these families in need. Voting is for one day only and the winner gets a donation in their name to the foundation, which is pretty neat. Watch the videos and vote, even if not for the team I’m rooting for (Team Sheep), because it is important to recognize and applaud others for the good works they do.

I decided to do some personal enrichment about a month ago and registered myself for the annual Global Health Education Consortium conference, or GHEC. I thought I would have a partner in crime, a fellow student, but at the last minute she couldn’t attend and I was left dreading the awkward conference talk alone. I called my mother to complain (as a music therapist, she attends these sorts of things pretty regularly) and she reminded me that it is important to go and network if you want or just sit in the back if you want but in the end it is a place to learn and grow. Which of course it was. So my challenge to everyone else is to do something similar - go to a lecture at a library or local college, or attend a conference. I have been trying to force myself recently because I know I have such unique opportunities to broaden my knowledge base and it would be a shame to waste them. I went to a nursing and immigration panel on campus a month ago, and I plan to attend another on nursing in rural Peru in a week or so. Open doors around you. And get your fill of donuts and crappy coffee! (I ate two. And a bagel. I know better but I am currently broke and didn’t want to pay for lunch. But the nutritional plight of the impoverished is another conversation for another day.)

I forgot to update everyone on my wasteful-bathing-practices dilemma! I have successfully found a super cheap, healthy, and ecologically friendly solution to my sensitive skin issue. Instead of using those disposable cloths like I had been for a few years, I now use… baking soda! Yes, the wonderful all-purpose ingredient. I’m serious - it whitens teeth, buffs skin, unclogs drains, creates world peace… Anyway, I found this solution when sitting killing time at a bookstore with some friends and flipping through a Real Simple book (you know how I love that magazine). I just poured half a box of baking soda into an old mayo jar and put it in the shower, and each day I use a small amount and mix it with some Cetaphil to make a paste and then use that to exfoliate and clean my face. Leaves me bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. And no more piles of my face cloths in the landfill.

I was getting excited because spring has officially begun and I cannot wait to plant my vegetable and herb garden so I can have some delicious, organic, carbon-dioxide-reducing, animal-cruelty-free treats. I’m thinking zucchini, sugar snap peas, and acorn squash, plus things like peppermint and basil. I live in an apartment so I don’t have tons of space, but I am excited to do with it what I can. The only problem is that it is currently snowing.

If this isn’t an outcry by mother nature against our depletion of the ozone layer, I don’t know what is. Let’s do our best to prevent the worsening of global climate change, shall we? Join me in planting something. That is, once the snow stops.

I’m back from a whirlwind of a crazy wonderful service immersion to Belize and I don’t know how well I’ll assimilate back into the grind tomorrow when I resume my classes. I know there’s a level of burnout among us all, but I had no idea how much more clearly I could see the world when I left the internet and my cell phone behind for seven days. The sun and sea breeze didn’t hurt, nor did the ability to reflect and introspect with an amazing group each night. I found so much there that I can’t take back with me, but I know there are some things that will never leave me and can be a force for energy for me in the future. I guess what I’m saying is that we all need to find those moments that reboot us, so to speak, and store them for those times we just need to really feel firm ground under our feet.

I’m about to embark on my spring break trip to Belize and I am aware many of my friends are going fun places for their own vacations. I just want everyone to remember that it is important to be safe wherever you go and to remember and respect that you are a guest wherever you travel. For me in Belize, this means carting any recyclables back in my suitcase because they do not have a recycling system there. For everyone else, it means being present wherever you go, patronizing real local restaurants and stores instead of tourist traps that take your money and immediately ship it out of the country. Make sure that when you travel, you learn about where you are and who you are with, and also remember that for you, it may be a curiosity but for others, it is a way of life. Make at least an honest attempt to figure out the local customs for greeting and extend that greeting to those you meet.

And don’t forget to have fun! Safe travels to you all.

I just read about the very minor earthquakes that occurred in my hometown in California today, and it reminded me of the importance of being prepared (as my father likes to say, “for the big one”). No matter where you live, things can always come and catch you by surprise when you are wrapped up in your latest work deadline or kids’ soccer tryouts or whatever. I found this out the hard way when the power at my house went out for 8 hours back in October, right in the middle of my birthday party. We didn’t really have any candles besides decorative ones, and our flashlight was running very low on batteries. And it was cold. Not a huge deal, but it would have been much better had I been prepared. We didn’t have a lot of canned food or bottled water and no D batteries. I just went out and bought some. So next time the power goes out, I’ll be ready. I think it is important to make sure you can focus on the future and keeping yourself and those around you safe. And as always, look out for each other in times of need. We have to keep that in mind with the crazy weather patterns that happen… Hurricanes, flash floods, tornadoes… And currently here in Seattle, our odd dusting of snow. Just an hour ago it was a sunny, cloudless sky!
Ah, well. At least I’m prepared. I’ve got my blanket and kitty cat and I can enjoy watching it from in here.