Do you have enough

The secret of life:  Is to have a task. Something you devote your entire life to. Something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And most importantly, this thing, it must be something you can not possibly do.         -- Henry Moore

For me, I have chosen to save the world from itself. Impossible, I know. But that is the point. If I can live my life as an example for others, then maybe I can effect someone else to join the cause.

Often when someone decides to be more aware of the environment and use less etc., they choose to leave society and almost become the freaks that live out in the woods. This is not an example of something that the average person is going to follow.  We need to make changes in the way that we live, right where we live. Where everyone can see us. When they see how happy we are with our choices, then they will be effected.

I live in a suburban area that experienced a major expansion about 10 years ago. I find myself surrounded by people that drive to everything and live in huge houses with two story windows in their livingrooms. They complain all winter that the house is cold because their gas bill is too high. Every child has their own bedroom and each has a television in it. There are countless electronic gadgets in every room in the house that run 24/7. The road in front of the high school has a major traffic jam every week day because all the kids drive to school. The school buses are almost empty and the road is bumper to bumper with mini vans and sport-utilities from days gone by (the cars they have inherited from their parents).

I love technology. The internet has changed the world for the better, no doubt. New electronics take up less space and do more than we ever dreamed of back in the 80's. While the gas burns around me and the electric meters spin out of control, here at Chateau Stew, the electric bill is down 25% from two years ago. The gas bill is down 10%. I have chosen to supplement my electric consumption with 80% wind power offered by the local electric company. We actually have more lighting than we used to and I never shut off this computer. The lighting is all either CFL or LED. We can turn on 4 or 5 times more lights and still not use the amount of power that we used to. We have switched our lawn care to entirely electric as well with a rechargeable trimmer and mower. What little bit I do drive is in a small car that gets more than 30 MPG. And I plan to replace that car someday with one that does twice as good if not better. We make choices everyday as to how we will live. The choice is yours. You can choose to be part of the problem or part of the solution.

Finally this came as part of an email from a friend and I thought it worth sharing....

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how grey the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good- bye.

The past week brought three final good-byes for my family. So I've got some Hello's to catch up on.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.

All three of the people that were lost in my life did their best every day to bring happiness to those around them. I will continue their efforts and hopefully preserve this earth for the future generations. Teaching others along the way that we don't have to destroy the world to enjoy the world.     

One last quote...

What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know.

It's what we know for sure, that just ain't so.      ---Mark Twain

Maybe it's time to start looking for new ways to do things.