Feel Good Guru

With more trees than people and about 8,000 hectares of parks, ravines, valley lands, woodlots and waterfront natural areas, it’s no wonder Toronto residents have long been passionate environmentalists.

Mayor David Miller, who has been first to implement many radical green policies, credits the citizens for this success. “Torontonians get it,” he says. “Our green bins program (for composting) has had 90% participation from the beginning. If you make things effective, practical, simple and realistic, people want to participate.”

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I came across this video on Seth Godin’s site and wondered whether I’m Guy #1, 2, 3 or 49. I hate to think I’d be guy #49, or even worse, guy #300, because as Seth says, “Guy #49 is irrelevant…no bravery.”

But I know I’ve been guy #49. We all have. It’s Guy #3 the world needs more of. He’s the guy forming a movement, lending credibility to Guy #1 and Guy #2. Guy #2 is cool too. He’s happy and he knows it and he knows his tribe.

Much as I love Guy #3 and his guts, I love Guy #1 and his guts better. I prefer to think of myself as Guy #1 - out there making an effin fool of myself, utterly oblivious to any judgment that might be tossed my way…having the time of my life, enough moxie to stick it out past the uncomfortable phase (everyone else’s), and into that magical moment when gravity and magnetism and stardust intersect in a contagious infectious outburst. And sweeping change happens in an instant…

Who are you? Guy (or Girl) #1, 2, 3 or 49? Or are you sitting on the grass too cool for school, still waiting to be counted? (more…)

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Feel Good Book Review by Lara Kleinschroth

So, whose life is what they ordered!? For any of you out there, following the exact path you laid out for yourselves as kids or teens or young adults, well–kudos! For the rest of us–and may I go out on a limb and suggest that would be the majority of us–life continually throws us curve balls, fast balls, knuckle balls. And how often do we take those pitches and hit home runs, how often do we strike out?

Change of course is what makes life fun, interesting, challenging. All the ups and downs, trials and tribulations, highs and lows. How well we navigate these changes and transitions helps determine the quality of our lives. And having some great friends with you along the way just makes it all the sweeter. (more…)

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…Maybe you’re afraid of success… I can’t count the number of times I’ve had dreams where I was unable to accomplish something I’d set out to do, or unable to get somewhere on time, or unable, due to too many obstacles, to be with someone I loved. It can feel like a night of banging my head against a metaphoric brick wall, and I often wake up exhausted and frustrated, wondering what point or purpose all that head-banging had served.

Dream Guru Kelly Sullivan Walden helps shed some light on dreams of frustration with her interpretation below, suggesting that Christi’s frustrating dream of not being able to make her speaking engagement is a venting dream - venting fear of success… (more…)

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The first time I heard Captain Paul Watson speak, I was moved to tears. He told the same story you’ll hear in the video below, about being in a dinghy between a huge whaling vessel and a pod of fleeing whales and not being able to stop the harpoon that sailed past and into the back of a spectacular sperm whale.

He caught the eye of the dying whale before he went under in a sea of blood, and in it, he saw understanding - and pity.

That moment changed Paul Watson’s life forever… (more…)

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Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is ambitious, powerful, competitive, and, lucky for Chicagoans, green. He wants Chicago to be known as the greenest city in America, and seems unstoppable when it comes to planting trees (half a million since 1989) to beautify the city and provide much needed oxygen and shade; and he’s on a roll with greening city rooftops (two and a half million square feet) to conserve energy, filter rainwater and bring summertime temps down.

Peter Nicholson, Executive Director of Foresight Design Initiative in Chicago says the mayor is the city’s biggest cheerleader for all things green. “He leads by example,” Peter says, “and he’s able to motivate and inspire people to evolve better by taking intentional action - and he rides a bike.” (more…)

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