Posts from ‘The Planet’
This morning when I woke up, I thought today was just going to be another great day off work. It turned out to be so much more. Today, so many important and symbolic days collide:
- Good Friday - An important Christian day to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ; I’m not Christian but that’s okay because today I got to see my friends’ little ones go on an Easter Egg Hunt.
- Earth Day – A day for us to truly consider our footprint on our planet; even Google is celebrating it on their homepage today.
- Advance voting day – We’re in the process of making a huge decision about the future of our country and we only have until May 2 to do so.
- My best friend’s dad’s birthday – Happy birthday, Peter in Saudi Arabia!
For me, it has so far been a profound and important day. Here’s why.
While sitting on my sofa playing Words With Friends on my iPhone (my new addiction which I did not give up for Lent), there was a knock at the door. It was the JW making a Good Friday visit. When Jan and Maggie asked if I believe in God, I decided not to be evasive and try to get rid of them as fast as possible (which is what I usually do). I figured I should be open minded enough to consider being Christian — today of all days. So let me hear them out and engage with them in a meaningful conversation. You never know where this could go.
We covered the environment (which was fitting for Earth Day), love (always a hot topic), nature (one of my favourite subjects), prophecies (from the Bible) and spirituality in today’s society (a topic I can go on about forever). It was fascinating to see where our beliefs converged and where they diverged. We discussed the difference between following your heart and following your desires. We discussed the peril of our planet and how humans don’t seem to understand how grave the situation is. We agreed that animals and humans were created by the same God. We agreed that in love, one doesn’t count and hold onto past hurts. Where Jan felt we were blessed with a mind that we should use to inform ourselves about how to live, I shared my belief that the mind is a curse and cannot be trusted and that we must find a way to discover our inner truths and live by them. We both vehemently agreed that government sucks.
Jan promised that God was going to come down and become our ultimate ruler and remove all governments. I said I would very much like for this to happen but asked if this would not just become another government. She laughed, held my arm and then went on to the next topic.
Jan read a passage that said the planet was going to go into ruin (a prophecy which is clearly coming true and has in fact been true many times before) and that God was going to come down when that happens and ruin those who are ruining our planet. This confused me. So, I asked Jan a few questions. If God is truly in charge of everything and overseeing this whole place, how is it that the destruction of the planet is not also God’s work? How can God be everything, but not the ruin of the planet? And where is God if he’s not here watching the ruin of the planet? Literally. Where is this God? She said she needed to get back to me on that one and asked if next Sunday afternoon was a good time to visit again.
It was just so perfect that Jan and I were able to discuss God’s involvement in the future of our planet on Earth Day. I look forward to our next discussion but I am, in the meantime, taking very careful steps to ensure that I do my part to make the planet a better place. I do believe it’s in dire shape and that if things don’t radically change, we may not live to see the future for much longer. Here’s what I think: everyday should be Earth day. Everyday we should ask ourselves how we can make better decisions for our planet. Everyday we should care about the sustainability of our actions and our impact on our “home.” Earth is a beautiful and amazing living, breathing creation. It is here trying to help us live, so we owe it the same respect.
And this leads to my decision at the polls. Tonight, I will be going to the advance polls in Calgary to vote for the Green Party. I’ll be honest, I don’t align with them on everything, but their principles of sustainability are applicable to more than just the environment and their fierce focus on the economy, the environment and community are critical. I think Elizabeth May is an intelligent woman who should have a voice in Canada’s future (and should have had one at the national debate).
So, this Good Friday, this Earth Day, I’m going to use the mind that Jan told me God gave me and exercise my right to vote for a better planet.
It took me over six months to write a film review of Food Inc. for Versus Boredom (Tara Scott’s blog), so if you wouldn’t mind spending a few minutes indulging me, I’d really appreciate it. And if you are worried it will make you vegetarian, I can assure you I make no such suggestions.
While you’re there, you’ll find a few other great things:
- Other film and book reviews by Tara and Neil Scott. They are both sharp critics that you can trust.
- An inspiring and surprising blog post by Tara on an outrageous commitment she made after reading The Food Matters Cookbook.
Before you avoid this article because it has a scary title, just know that it has a happy ending.
Today a motion will be put forward at the City of Calgary Council Meeting to remove fluoride from our drinking water. While I’m pleased at the prospect of having fluoride out of our city water, my husband is ecstatic. Why? Because only a few months ago, Bruce stumbled upon a very disturbing video about the source of the type of fluoride that’s in our drinking water.
The very disturbing video
If you have a few minutes to spare, I urge you to watch the video Bruce found.
My dear friend Sona has been an instrumental player in my business. She helped me create my brand, she was a sounding board as I developed my 7 Steps to Sound Nutrition™ program. She designed my website, my templates and my book, Journey to Optimum Wellness through Sound Nutrition. She wrote the back cover of the book and the beautiful passage about the Tree of Life.
Four months ago, Sona asked me if I would write an e-nutrition tip on natural sweeteners. The title, “How sweet it is,” came to me instantly but the rest took months to find its way. I normally don’t take requests as I like to write in moments of inspiration as opposed to feeling pressured to write on a specific topic. But, I figured it was the least I could do for all that Sona has done for me, personally and professionally. Every month I told Sona I was working on it but every month I was too blocked to complete it. I finally realized why. Like so many nutrition topics, the topic of natural sweeteners is controversial and is conflicting. It is hard to find a unified voice and straight-up facts. In fact, I have taken a hiatus from reading nutrition information lately because what I have come to realize and trust over the past eight years of practicing as a nutritionist, is that whatever you choose to eat, it ultimately comes down to what feels best for your body and to practice the age-old wisdom of “everything in moderation.”
One day a long time ago, my best friend Sarah, asked me to go to a “cleaning party.” We’re in our thirties, so this kind of an outing is considered a girl’s night out. And much to my satisfaction, it proved to be eye-opening, educational and entertaining.The only thing I wasn’t expecting was dropping over $300 in cleaning supplies. But what’s a night out without a little surprise at the end?
Norwex: The clean way to clean
We were introduced to Brandy Corcoran, the Norwex lady. She started her presentation by introducing us to a line of non-chemical cleaning products that keep your home healthy and clean while saving you time and money. They carry everything from laundry detergent, cleaning cloths, bath and face towels, window cloths, athletic products, toilet cleaners, toothbrushes, mops, dusters, mattress cleaners, scrubbers, you name it. Many of the products are guaranteed to work for up to two years, and if anything isn’t quite as you expect, it’s super simple to get it replaced or get refunded.
Ahhhh, the first snow of the season. Winter is coming, it’s beautifully white everywhere, but the roads and traffic are a mess.
Breaking up with my all-seasons
After a lifelong commitment to all-season tires, a few years ago my husband convinced me to try a set of winter tires on my Mazda Protege5. So I did. And they completely changed my winter driving life. I couldn’t believe how much safer, steadier and calmer I felt on the road. Just the reduction in stress was worth the cost and hassle of changing my tires twice a year.
The introduction
Last Winter I bought a new VW. I couldn’t get the all-seasons off fast enough, so I started shopping around for new winter tires. Three of my co-workers (two of them women) suggested I try the Nokian “All-Weather” tire. They said I wouldn’t need to change them and that I could get them down the street from our office. So, I did. That’s the beginning of this love story.
Anyone who knows me, knows I’ve always had a funny thing about kids. I love ‘em, but I don’t want ‘em. If I’m totally honest, freaked is the most accurate way of describing my personal feeling about having a baby.
But somehow when a few pregnant friends recently suggested we watch a documentary called Babies that had no dialogue, I was intrigued. “I’m in,” I said, which is the most affirmative statement I’ve made about children in my life thus far. My husband looked at me with a scowly face. He did not want to watch the babies, but the tape was already rolling.
80 minutes of Babies
An 80-minute documentary about four infants raised in four different parts of the world, Babies by French director Thomas Balmès, is a pure joy to watch (especially with pregnant women). You will laugh, you will be horrified, you will be surprised, you will be confused, you will coo, you will say “ew.”
A few weekends ago, my husband asked me on a date. After months of renovating, I was keen to spend some quality time together. But since there was still much to do on the house, he decided it would be fun if I helped him do a dump run. Okay, that’s kind of bizarrely romantic.
I broke our SLR camera during our trip to Nelson, so I’m constantly asking my husband if I can borrow his iPhone to capture stuff I see around me.
Here’s a shot taken at Stanley Park earlier today. We were throwing the ball for our dog and I looked up in the sky and caught site of this:
Courtesy of Bruce’s iPhone.
Welcome
Hello! My name is Sona Khosla and I hope this blog brings you new perspectives, insights and ideas for your life—whether they are written by me or someone from my community.
