Today, whenever you remember, take a moment to look for the beauty. There is always something beautiful to see, touch, taste, smell, right at this moment, wherever you are.  One thing is for certain.  Whatever you focus on is what you will see.  This is not new age philosophy. It is a statement that can be proven if you try it.  Just experiment with the concept. Seek out the most beautiful experience that you can find at this moment – it can be the architecture of a building, an inspirational email, nature, a child’s smile or a nostalgic memory. You will see that as you focus on that experience, more and more beautiful moments will start to appear.  Soon, within a matter of minutes actually, your thought patterns will begin to shift. You will begin to think about how wonderful and amazing the world is. You will begin to ponder ways that you can contribute to make the world even more beautiful. You will begin to notice inspirational qualities in the people that surround you.

This is what saving the earth is all about – making contact with it. Feeling it. Connecting with it. Today, you are taking an active part in making the world an even more beautiful place. You don’t have to go to the forest or the countryside to find beauty. The earth exists all around us. We walk on it everyday. There is always a space – either outside or inside your home – where a flower or tree can be planted.  You know the feeling that you get when you are surrounded by nature. This is the feeling that everyone gets when they are surrounded by nature. This is the feeling of peace. Today, you are going to create peace – one seed at a time!

Breathe in for a count of five, breath out for a count of five. Do this for one minute and observe how you feel afterwards. We can go months without food, days without water, but only minutes without air.  Air is the primary nutrient needed by our blood, cells and organs. Without it, our internal environment cannot thrive.  Unfortunately, many people do not breathe properly, hence affecting their health and vitality. Some people do not take in enough air, some people do not let out all of the air, some people breathe too fast, some people barely breathe at all! When you take deep full breaths, you are revitalizing and detoxifying your whole system, including your brain!  Today, breathe for your health!

You've heard this one before, but maybe you still don't do it.  Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth. You'll conserve up to five gallons per day if you stop.

Write to your local congressman about an issue that is important to you. It can be as compassionate as saving the whales or as personal as instituting three hour lunch breaks. No matter how big or small the issue, there might just be a million people reading this that feel the same way that you do!  Visualizing is good. Dreaming is good. But the bottom line is this. All of the positive things that you are experiencing in your life right now are the direct result of action. At some point, you have to do something, even if it is just getting dressed and leaving your house or turning on your computer. Today is about action. Taking a stand.  Our government officials are our representatives – the spokesmen for the entire country. Are there any areas where you think you are being misrepresented as a citizen? If so, there are millions of other people out there who probably feel the same way that you do.  No matter what your personal opinion is about the government, the fact is this: If millions of people are writing letters about the changes they want to see, eventually a change is going to come. Even if it doesn’t, at least you can honestly say in your heart that you stand for something, and that your courage and initiative has the potential to change the world!

To find out the names and addresses of your local congressmen, go to:

http://www.house.gov/representatives/

There is a beginning and an ending to all  things. The sunrise reminds you of this.  The sunrise marks the beginning of a new day – new opportunities, new approaches to old problems, new challenges and new solutions. When you wake up and see the golden sun giving light to the dark sky, hopefully you will realize that yesterday is gone and that today is all that there is. Make the most of it.  

P.S. If you miss it, catch the sunset. It is just as spectacular! And it can also teach you a valuable lesson – all beginnings have an ending, so at the end of the day. let go of today. It is over.

This is a great way to save energy without making any personal sacrifices. Ten plugged items (even if they are not in use or turned off) consume 450,000 watts of electricity a year. Electricity is not a free resource. Today, most electricity is produced using fossil fuels. As we all know, we are fast running out of fossil fuels. Even though electricity can be produced using other methods, the rate that we use electricity is greater than the amount of electricity we could get from alternate sources. Not only is unplugging unused appliances good for the environment, it is good for your wallet.   The act of unplugging can save you up to $20 on your monthly electric bill. This adds up to $240 a year saved just from pulling a cord out of a socket!

Invite some of your friends to do the same. Unfortunately, you may have to wake up an hour earlier and get home an hour late, but your sacrifice will pay off big time! Driving a private car is the typical citizen's most air polluting activity.   Auto emissions are not only bad for the environment, but they are bad for your health.  Blood travels to all of the body's organs and can carry toxic substances as well as beneficial substances, such as oxygen, to them. Air pollution is the source of many toxic materials that may enter the human bloodstream through the nose, mouth, skin, and the digestive tract. There are many hazardous chemicals found in car emission that have been shown to produce harmful effects on the blood, bone marrow, spleen, and lymph nodes. Blood cells are constantly undergoing turnover, with new blood cells entering the circulation as mature cells are lost, making the blood system especially vulnerable to environmental poisoning. For example, lead interferes with normal red blood cell formation by inhibiting important enzymes. In addition, lead damages red blood cell membranes and interferes with cell metabolism in a way that shortens the survival of each individual cell.  Each of these harmful effects can result in anemia, cardiovascular disease and tissue damage.  Today, you are not only saving one life.  You are saving many. Your fellow citizens thank you!

If every household in the United States replaced one regular light bulb with one of the new compact fluorescent bulbs, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road. Not only that, each fluorescent light bulb saves over $220.00 in energy cost over the life of the bulb. These bulbs create accurate color renditions that simulate natural sunlight and they have a 10,000 hour life (compared with a 2000 hour life for a standard 65 watt bulb).  Today, all you have to do is replace one light bulb. If you like the difference, maybe you will be tempted to replace more later! 

The earth is often referred to as our mother.  As a mother, the earth takes great pleasure in providing our needs. However, we can show our appreciation by not taking too much and reusing when necessary. Go to http://www.recyclingcenters.org/ to find out all of the items that are recyclable. You may be surprised at how many items you can dispose of in an eco-friendly way!