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Where Every Issue is a Green Issue| Providing Wisdom in Building a Sustainable Future | ||||||||||||||||||||
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A Message on Thanks and Giving by Elaine Ireland Its the season we in America consciously make a point to express thankfulness of all that we receive and all the nourishment the earth provides. Its the time when we most generously act upon our intentions to graciously give, sharing the experience of abundance. We at GreenSage thank you, our readers, our customers and each of you making changes toward a greener world. Thank you. In our country, we've been taught that Thanksgiving is a holiday generated from an event that took place almost 400 years ago. In 1621, 56 of the 102 Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower the previous year had survived that first year, finding peace and friendship with the Native Americans who guided them in surviving the conditions of their new home. The Native Americans taught them how to sow and reap corn and other crops.The Pilgrims were advised about medicinal plants and poisonous ones.They were generously given instructions on how to dig and cook clams and get sap from the maple trees. The Native Americans brought them meat and animal skins, showed them how to build houses and provided them many skills needed for survival in their new world. W ithout this generous gift, its likely none would have survived. But with help, they thrived! The harvest that year was plentiful. To show appreciation, they made plans to have a feast to celebrate and give thanks for such good fortune — the feast and gratitude that became the model for our current Thanksgiving Day holiday. It was many years before this festival was repeated, taking many twists, turns and changes in timing. It was a magazine editor, Sarah Josepha Hale, who, after 40 years of editorials and letters written to campaign for it, finally succeeded in getting it nationalized. In 1863 President Lincoln, always wanting to unite the nation, proclaimed the last Thursday in November a national day of Thanksgiving. Like the early days of pioneering, it is a well-served effort to consciously give thanks and to recognize that when we cooperate together, we can thrive. This is the potential I see for the Green movement. 20 years ago when I started advising a greener lifestyle, many people responded with bewilderment as to why. They couldn't quite get their heads around the concept. They didn't realize that I was but a pioneer of our time on a journey of my own intended to create some shifts. My first step on that journey so long ago involved re-creating my entire blueprint for living, drawn from digging deep, researching and looking carefully at what was healthy and sustainable inside and out for myself as well as the planet. It required a lot of questions about health and sustainability in general, and asking myself if my daily actions were in alignment with where I was on this journey and where I wanted to go. Then came the obvious question, can I make the changes in my own life? Some were easy. Some were challenging. I paid very careful attention on a daily basis and noticed that when I was in alignment and 'in the zone,' I felt more alive, more in harmony with the world around me, whether that meant my home environment, my community, my eating habits or things I purchased. Habits aren't always easy to change, but recognizing this aliveness made it easy to change them. I anticipated that there would be millions of people with a similar desire for aliveness and harmony. I planned my dream and created GreenSage as a guide, an encouragement and to make it easier for them — for you. I still believe that together, collectively, if we all do our part, we can make the required shifts so that we all may thrive. From that long journey's perspective, I am grateful for the growth in environmental awareness and all those making changes to greener habits. The numbers of us on similar journeys have been very successful in collectivey creating huge shifts in a relatively short period of time. Farmers who provide a plethora of organic food, hundreds of manufacturers producing sustainable products, dozens of builders creating thousands of certified green buildings, and the handful of renewable energy options for our vehicles and buildings. We have a deep appreciation for you, for our customers and readers for supporting these efforts and products. Thank you all for participating in this pioneering journey — and in particular, thank you for supporting GreenSage all these years. All of us collectively, together, we are the ones to make the changes required — and we are making a difference. Good job! Let's continue. . . |
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