You *are* the change

Are conformity, outdated habits and norms … keeping you from doing the right thing with your life?

Is fear keeping you stuck — “working for the man” — in the age of climate crisis?

Is it causing you to contribute needlessly to the destruction of our world? Mother Earth — our air, climate, food & water?

Is “playing it safe” really what you want and need to be doing with your life energy?

Take the leap — work for change! GoodWork.ca/Now

#purpose #meaningfulwork #greenjobs #greencareers #rightlivelihood #sustainableliving #greenliving #careerchange #socialchange #activism #advocacy #survival

Overwhelmed? Or inspired?

It’s our choice. Work for…

10 tips for great urban walking…

We all know how to put one leg in front of the other. But how many have really learned how to walk? Once you’ve mastered the tricks of the trade, walking is fun, great exercise and good for the environment.

(1) Time of day. Mornings can be ideal… it tends to have the bluest skies, and is the best time to enhance your circadian rythms, e.g. a good night’s sleep. But anytime is good, whatever works for you. Once or twice a day is ideal, but if you can’t do that, aim for every second day. Continue reading “10 tips for great urban walking…”

Birds worth protecting…

“I share this photo every spring, of a Scarlet Tanager pair that I found on the ground by a neighbor’s glass door. It was spring, and he must have been chasing her (she’s the one with yellow plumage). They both hit the glass and died instantly.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR WINDOWS SAFE:
ABC | FLAP Canada | more 

“I thought about the long journey these stunning neotropical migrants had made from their wintering grounds in South America, and all the challenges they’d overcome to return to their breeding grounds here in upstate NY. It just seemed heartbreaking and senseless for them to die this way.

Continue reading “Birds worth protecting…”

School Strikes for Climate

Students Strikes for Climate Action
Friday May 3, across Canada

Toronto: Toronto Queens Park, May 3, 12:30 – 2:30pm | Ongoing
Ottawa: Parliament Hill, May 3, 11am – 3pm | Ongoing 

Many more locations:
https://cop24climatestrike.com/

Facebook |  #FridaysForFuture | #SchoolStrike4Climate | #ClimateStrike

Fridays worldwide: 
Fridaysforfuture.org (2) | #FridaysForFuture 

More info, organizations, volunteering: GoodWork.ca/fridays


Plant a tree, grow a forest!

BE THE CHANGE! Plant a tree | Ecological restoration | Eco-friendly gardening | Urban forestry | Eco-gardening jobs & volunteering | Grow local food | Woodlot stewardship | Sustainable forest management …

“To save the lives of our children, what would we not do?”

If you care about our children, and haven’t watched this extraordinary 10 minute speech by @Elizabeth May you need to do so right now…

“The good news is we still have a chance to save ourselves. To save the lives of our children, what would we not do? We as homo sapiens, the clever species, the smart ones, have at most 10 to 12 years to ensure that we stop greenhouse gas emissions. We are stepping up. We are going to rescue everybody…” — Elizabeth May | Youtube | Facebook

Climate change jobs, volunteering, more:  GoodWork.ca/be-the-change

Continue reading ““To save the lives of our children, what would we not do?””

Don’t despair: the climate fight is only over if you think it is

“After the panicky IPCC report on climate change, it’s easy for pessimism to set in — but that would be conceding defeat. Climate change is an inescapable present and future reality, but the point of the IPCC report is that there is still a chance to seize the best-case scenario rather than surrender to the worst. A bunch of her friends posted variations on “we’re doomed” and “it’s hopeless”, which perhaps made them feel that they were in charge of one thing in this overwhelming situation, the facts. They weren’t, of course. They were letting understandable grief at the news morph into an assumption that they know just how the future is going to turn out. They don’t.

There’s no time for wallowing in denial or despair! It’s time for individual and collective action, not avoidance! Our lives depend on it.

Full story: Don’t despair: the climate fight is only over if you think it is | Rebecca Solnit | Opinion | The Guardian

Guardian: ‘Feeling “This is too big for me” is no use to anybody’ 

Grist: U.N. climate report shows civilization is at stake if we don’t act now

Denial, despair or action?

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is climate-change-action-02.jpg

How do you feel about social and environmental problems?

Some people deny there’s a problem — surely nature, God or the government will take care of things.

Others, maybe after learning a bit more, suddenly feel exactly the opposite: the problem is enormous, overwhelming, nothing can be done!

But both these extremes are emotional cop-outs — sad excuses for cynicism, apathy and inaction.

Each of us needs to find the middle ground: neither denial nor despair. To find the courage to care, but without letting our fears and uncertainties overwhelm us. In every situation, the answer is simple: to do the right thing, as best as we can.

Because that’s what being fully alive is all about.

Just do what you can, as best as you can. No more and no less. But really do it, grab it by the horns! No avoiding, making excuses, hiding your head in the sand.

Overflowing dumpster

Are you doing your best? Are you fully applying your gifts, your skills, your creativity? Are you leading, not waiting to be led? Could you take a leap, launch a project, even change careers to something more green and meaningful?

If our eyes are open, there’s no denying what needs to be done. And for better or worse, there’s no escape from this wonderful and troubling world. So let’s choose the third option, the only happy option: positive action.

Rather than worrying about the future, let’s focus on all the great, positive, meaningful things we can do, today.  Our guiding light need not be “can I save the world?”, it’s a self-defeating question to say the least. But rather: “Am I using my gifts, my life to its fullest, while I’m here on this planet?”

So let’s turn off the TV and other distractions. It’s time to stand up and take positive action in our homes, workplaces and communities, like never before. At this enormous moment in history, how can you and I rise to the challenge?

— Peter Blanchard


Find the light within yourself

“The question is not ‘can you make a difference?’ You already do make a difference. It’s just a matter of what kind of difference you want to make, during your life on this planet.” — Julia Butterfly Hill

“The world is changed by your example, not your opinion.” — Paulo Coelho

“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” — Edmund Burke

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” — Dale Carnegie

“The future will be what you contribute to and create.” — Greg Lake

More: https://www.goodwork.ca/jobs/be-the-change-48066

What do you think? What is the right thing to do in these crazy times? Share your thoughts and comments

Welcome neighbours!

“No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbour” — sign on a front lawn in a wealthy neighborhood. Available here or print your own: www.welcomeyourneighbors.org

Photo: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License | full size