Sayonara Starbuck’s (and Plastic Bags)

Yesterday was Earth Day 2008. (You know what is really amusing? My first attempt at writing that sentence came out like this: Yesterday was Earth Day 2002. Temporary Brain Glitch). In any event, as I was saying, yesterday was Earth Day. Did you participate? Take any eco-friendly action, become more eco-conscious (like learning about sterile “terminator” seeds engineered not to reproduce themselves)?

I’m excited and proud of myself because I implemented two changes this week to reduce my Ecological Footprint. Both of them are just little things, but they’re positive steps in the right direction. Thinking about climate change, air pollution, disappearing bees, bats, tuna, and wild salmon, and the type of massive change and international cooperation that is going to be necessary to save the planet (and us) is too overwhelming. But, thinking about the little things each of us can do, step by step, to contribute to a more positive world, is totally within the realm of the possible. Here are the 2 little things I started this week:

1) Carrying a small reusable bag in my purse: I have an adorable little vinyl bag that I can fold up into a tiny square and keep in my purse. I’ve started carrying my breakfast to work in the bag, and also using it at lunch when I go out and buy a sandwich. Instead of using the paper or plastic bags all the lunch places automatically pack your food up in, I use my own bag (and even sometimes carry my co-workers food back to the office). It also comes in handy if I pick up something little – food or other things – after work. On Monday, I had a totally plastic-bag-free day. I want to build up to plastic-bag-free weeks, and eventually go totally plastic-bag free. That’s one of my goals for this year.

2) Saying sayonara to my daily cup of Starbuck’s: My friend Sage had the brilliant idea (she does it every day) to bring a french press to work and to store loose-leaf tea and coffee at her office. Each morning, she makes her own coffee or tea at work and uses a real mug. I’ve had quite a long love affair with Starbuck’s but it’s time to say goodbye. The coffee is not that good, it’s an unnecessary expense, and most importantly, I generate unnecessary garbage by patronizing them. At a cost of $2 per cup, I spend at least $480 per year on Starbuck’s, and toss at least 240 paper cups into the trash every year. That’s horrible! I want to clean up my own act and start living in a more sustainable way. Today, I’m happy to report, I used no disposable items to make my coffee, and it tasted quite good!

What eco-friendly little things do you do? What could you do?

Beauty Detoxification

Despite the chill that has descended upon New York with a vengeance, I had a terrific weekend that was the perfect balance of social and me-time activities. I started the weekend off with yoga in my favorite studio in the city, lead by the best yoga teacher ever. He makes everyone laugh while they’re gritting through their downward dogs and is constantly talking about this or that pose feeling “yummy” and “delicious.” He could easily be the poster child for positivity and I love him. From yoga, I went to Sounds of Brazil, where I met a bunch of my girl friends for salsa dancing. It was such a blast! Although my favorite music to dance to is probably hip-hop, it is so much fun to be twirled around and dipped all over the dance floor. I got spun around like crazy and was laughing the whole time.

Saturday, I went running and lifted weights, did some shopping, and then met a different group of friends at Employees Only, where I had a delicious peach Bellini. Yum. Sunday was probably the best day. I did pilates, went to church, met some new people, practiced my Swedish, did some more shopping, and then did restorative yoga in the evening. Maybe that’s why the weekend was so great, because it started and ended with yoga? I was thinking while I was luxuriating in one of the restorative poses – drifting in and out of awareness – that when I do yoga, it makes me feel like I’m on vacation. It’s funny, the more I do it, the more I love it. It’s kind of like a drug (if drugs were healthy); you end up feeling so blissed out a the end of each session, that your body and mind start to crave it.

Speaking of mind-body awareness and health, I’ve been having a bit of an awakening around the whole issue of toxic chemicals, and their prevalence in our environment. I’ve been aware of the toxicity of household cleaners, but I had not thought about the potential toxicity of chemicals in things like cosmetics, shampoos, and other beauty products. If you’re curious about what toxins you dabbed around your eyes today or slathered all over your shower-dampened skin, check out this web site: Skin Deep. Just type in one of your beauty products and then check out the detailed rating and the write-up. I was shocked because several of my products from Origins were ranked 7 (out of 10, with 0 being the lowest and least harmful level of chemicals). Personally, I’m trashing all of my normal shampoos and conditioners and going natural; from here on out, I’m only using products with a 0-1 ranking, like California Baby (good for babies and adults). Another of my favorites for natural, organic beauty products is Lush (they also have awesome bath bombs like Sex Bomb and Youki Hi, filled with all natural, organic aphrodisiacs, but that’s a different story).

I think I’m also going to trash all of my moisturizers and make-up that doesn’t pass the toxicity test, but I think I’m going to have to phase them out gradually. It has not escaped my attention that a lot of my cosmetics have parabens in them, which can mess with your hormones, and my hormones appear to be short-circuiting. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I think it’s worth it to explore the topic further and eliminate even potential risks.

One Grind At A Time

As many of you know, I’ve been trying to create the type of life that I want to have, one in which I feel in tune with myself and my ideals, where I nourish my soul and feed my passions, where I’m at peace in the present, balanced, and completely happy with me. It’s harder than one would think. I date the beginning of this effort to around the time I eliminated two major causes of toxicity – a job and a boy – from my life. With those two negative elements pruned away, I was free to focus on making positive changes for me (many of which were kind of about rediscovering me), and that’s what I started to do.

I found a new job that I really enjoy, built new friendships, and took a trip that I had been wanting to take for years. I tried a diet, started going to the gym more frequently, and opened myself up to new social experiences, dating, and enjoying this amazing city and all that it has to offer in the way of restaurants, clubs, museums, outdoor space, and, of course, shopping. Kidding (kind of). I assumed a new motto, which though not neatly encapsulated in any little phrase, is about living life in the present, trying to focus on being happy now, and making each moment the best that it can be. It’s about making the changes that I want to make now, at once, and not waiting any longer to be who and what I want to be. A worthy goal.

Though I have accomplished a lot, there’s still a lot I need to do. I’m still far away from where I want to be, and I don’t know why. Attaining balance, for example, has proved elusive. I understand that many people, including yogis, struggle for years and entire lifetimes to attain a state of balance, and I recognize that I’m in good company in my current state of failure (or current state of partial success). However, I want it now, and it frustrates me that I haven’t done a better job of reaching that point.

Part of it is the city. There’s so much going on here all the time – much of it fantastic, pleasurable, and stimulating -it’s hard not to feel stretched thin on a regular basis. Part of it is my job. I’m a lawyer for a large corporate law firm in New York. Even under the best of circumstances, working with the best people, it’s stressful, and it’s a challenge to make good choices to deal with that stress (such as yoga instead of happy hour). Part of it is being single. I’m on my own – along with my friends and family – in this journey at the moment; I don’t have that sense of stability, security, or added strength that comes from being involved with a loving partner. I’m also dating, which with its ups and downs, uncertainties, doubts, and unknown future poses its own challenges, many of which, on occasion, pluck away at my best efforts to be wholly happy in the now.

I don’t like that dating does that to me. I don’t like that I’m the type of person who could have my center pricked and bruised and thrown off kilter by the unknowns of the dating world. As I think I’ve expressed before, I’d like to be impervious, invulnerable, and perfectly and absolutely one hundred percent happy in my singledom. I hate, loathe, and despise more than words could ever say that sometimes I feel like I’m missing something from the present by the mere fact that I’m not in a relationship. Ugh, did I just say that? I don’t want to be that woman – the type of woman that needs a man to be happy. I know that I’m not that woman. But yet, I also know that I’m not completely 100% happy in my singledom, and I must admit that I think it would make me happy to fall madly in love with someone terrific. Or to go on a date with someone terrific. Or someone remotely interesting, for that matter.

I don’t like nor want to get emotionally caught up in the dating thing. I realize that’s a funny thing to say for someone who also says that she wants to fall in love, which would presumably involve the embroiling of emotions. That raises the question of whether I truly want to fall in love right now. Good question. The truth is that I just don’t know.

No, that’s not right.

The truth is that a part of me does not want to fall in love right now. I haven’t yet attained in my singledom the life that I want for me. I want to fully maximize and appreciate this time when I’m on my own (and that’s why it irks me that sometimes the pitfalls of dating make me blue). I want to make more of the changes that I’ve been trying to make forever. I’m sure your familiar with the litany by now: yoga, going to the gym regularly, meditating, being healthy, etc. I want to prune away the rest of the negativity, get my shit in order, fill up on positive elements, and make my life how I want it to be, now. Before some boy waltzes in and mucks things up.

This weekend, I took some much-needed me time and turned something that could have been negative and discombobulating into a positive wake-up call. I spent Saturday cleaning my room, sorting though piles of paper and boxes that I hadn’t gone through since moving out of my Ex’s place, getting rid of old clothes, and reorganizing. The end result was a far less cluttered bedroom that is actually quite cute and inviting now that a portion of the junk has been cleared away. Internally, I feel less cluttered as well. On Saturday night, I went out but kept my alcohol intake to one drink and then called it an early night (1:00 am) so that I could wake up refreshed on Sunday morning for yoga and church.

That’s right. How much to I rock? I did yoga and went to church this morning, and I’m not even religious. I did yoga on my newly de-cluttered floor from a DVD that I had bought months ago but never opened. The DVD is called “Yoga For Happiness,” and the guy who leads it is not only hot, but also really funny. His name is Eoin, and I think I just might make him my new imaginary boyfriend. To give you a taste of his sense of humor, while I was leaning into pigeon pose, Eoin said, “Feel the honey in your hip.” Recall that pigeon is not the most comfortable pose to hold for more than a few seconds. He encouraged us to lean into it more, and while I summoning my energy and grimacing, he said, “it should feel good, like someone licking ice cream off of your body.” What?? Bent over my knee, I burst out laughing and then easily leaned in to the pose more.

This is what I need more of in my life. Eoin. OK, fine, not him. Someone like Eoin? No, focus. I need yoga and other activities that give me something positive in return when I put my energy into them; activities that make me feel happy, healthy, grounded, and balanced. Things that cultivate and nourish the happiness that I have within me, and build a sense of security, peace, and satisfied joy. Visions of hot men licking ice cream off of my yoga-fied body are also perfectly acceptable.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that this weekend, though it started off with a little emotional dip, I managed to turn it into something really great and productive that ultimately made me feel balanced and happy – exactly what I’ve been striving for! Granted, it’s how I feel now, and tomorrow may be a totally different story. But, for right now, I’m proud of me. Along with cleaning, yoga, and church I also bought a host of new kitchen appliances that I’ve been meaning to get for ages, including a super fancy blender and a programmable coffee-maker.

One of my dreams has been to become the type of person who has her life so together that she wakes up each morning to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, and then sets out to face the day with her non-Starbuck’s coffee-filled, eco-friendly, reusable mug in hand.

Sometimes it takes big changes to become the person you want to be. Other times it takes small ones. Tomorrow at 8:00 am, barring some technical malfunction, I will be just a tiny bit closer to becoming the me that I want to be. I can’t wait.