Thanksgiving (AFTER) & Advent

It has been a wonderful Thanksgiving. I felt glad that I was able to contribute a variety of dishes for this afternoon's meal, as I truly think it's the first time I've actually prepared something for the day. All of the food was delicious but the time together is always the most rewarding thing about the day. The thing I love the most about Thanksgiving is that for once Americans take time off in order to enjoy the basic things that surround us. We attempt to cook from scratch, we say grace over our meal, and we laugh and love and share moments with those that mean the most to us. We don't work, we relax, and we provide for each other. And for once we are content and feel gratitude for the blessings that we have---instead of "needing" more than what we have.

How ironic then that the day AFTER Thanksgiving is the largest shopping day of the year. I will be avoiding the stores this year; something that is not very difficult for me to do. The consumption that occurs on this one day is astounding, especially since most of the items purchased are far from necessary, far from encouraging health in any form, and generally will be cast aside in just another year's time. Just another notch on the belt of America's gluttened desire for more, although most are never going to gain fulfillment from what these items will bring. The saddest reality for me, is imagining what good COULD come if instead this money that is spent on items was invested in human kind and in doing good for others and the planet. While the global economy will benefit tomorrow, will the current economic model ever really benefit humanity in the long term? I think not.

It's too bad Christmas couldn't just be a repetition of Thanksgiving Day (and not the day after)....just extended into a longer season. Although in reality it is....

Today at our Thanksgiving celebration, I did receive two gifts...one was the plastic tote bag constructed via my sister as this was the first time we'd seen each other since it had been finished. The second was one that has become a tradition between my mother and I, and arrived in the form of my annual chocolate advent calendar. To me, Thanksgiving and the advent season go hand in hand in terms of favorite holidays. The advent season has special meaning as it is based in preparation and remembrance of the coming of Christ. Instead of the "normal" holiday season which is based in mindless consumption, advent is about being mindful of the historical reason we even celebrate this "season." To me, advent truly is the extension of Thanksgiving Day as we focus on the great gift given to all of us that reside on this planet. This year, the first Sunday in advent is this Sunday....and that's something else to be be grateful for...

Regardless of your religious or spiritual connotation, I hope you enter into this holiday season with a gracious heart, a peaceful mind, and a joyous soul! The best to you and yours....

Some thankful thoughts...

Thanksgiving has always been, at least in theory, my favorite holiday....

This week I am thankful for:
-moments with my house mate and having her teach me how to make leek and potato soup from scratch
-time tomorrow with family
-maturing to the point of actually contributing something nourishing to thanksgiving dinner
-the fact that even though i got a nasty computer virus, there's hope that either a) my brother can work his magic and get it off or b) that reformatting will do the trick
-the knowledge that really one little computer virus is no big deal in light of the problems of the world
-the fact that through my two class presentations i feel that my group members and myself enlightened many new people to the lack of chemical regulation and the harmful health and environmental effects of these products
-finishing scarves, a good book, and the approaching winter vacation
-hours of laughs and conversations with my friends/colleagues
-flannel sheets still carrying the smell of line drying from months ago

This month I am thankful for:
-my organic food box delivery
-stacks of good books waiting
-pretty decent weather for fall and warm coats, scarves, etc for walking
-the groups I have worked with for class projects
-my GRA position and the financial burden it has lifted
-the close relationships I have with many of my family
-EmergencE packets that deter colds
-peppermint soy lattes
-a new outlook for our nation
-new friendships and time with old friends
-the formation of study groups for comp exams and the opportunity for my internship for spring
-Dad's 5 year cancer free mark

This year I am thankful for:
-numerous answered prayers
-successful grad program changes and learning more about myself in the process
-my brother's new marriage and traveling to see them
-the new living/house mate situation
-numerous moments with my parents, siblings, nephews, cousins, granny and extended family that make me glad that I've stayed in Oregon
-the growth in my relationship with my aunt and uncle
-continual growth and learning
-being back in Portland and the opportunities it has granted me
-the bloggy community
-continued health and happiness mentally, physically, and spiritually

I will spend tomorrow with members of both my immediate and extended family surrounded by good food and drink. And the one thing that I continue to think is....I have much to be thankful for. May each of you have a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving remembering the blessings that are present in your lives.

And as always....if you can....a) give what you can to others and b) avoid the stores the day after Thanksgiving....

Survey Results and Answers

With the closure of my survey as of last evening, I have retrieved the data and am posting it here. The results are fairly interesting. 75 people attempted the survey with only 71 completing it. Not all respondents answered every question and for some questions more than one answer was available for selection. Of the respondents, 8 were males and 59 females, with some not reporting sex classification. 15 respondents were under 25 years old, 46 were 26-50 years old, and 8 were 51-75 years old.

1) Have you ever considered how the ingredients in consumer products impact human health?71 responded yes
4 responded no

2) Have you ever researched the ingredients in any of the products you have purchased?
36 yes
39 no

3) If yes, where did you get your information from?
Most common answer: google/internet
Other answers included: books/magazines/journals, product labels, school, Safe Cosmetics Database, friends, alternative medicine practitioners

4) How many chemicals are currently known to exist within the United States?
12 answered correctly (50,000 to 100,000)
53 answered: over 100,000
(Leading me to believe that respondents recognize that there are many chemicals that surround us).

5) In your opinion, who should be regulating chemicals in consumer products?
35 for watch dog groups
36 for consumers
50 for industry
63 for government


6) When research is done on how chemicals impact human health, should safe exposure levels be based on: (could select more than one)33 for adult male
34 for adult female
32 for teen male
32 for teen female
41 for a child
46 for an infant
16 for lab animals

I forgot to include the fetus as an option, as the fetus is the most susceptible. Currently, any testing that is actually being done is based on a white adult male.

7) What percentage of chemicals used today were allowed to be continued for use without screening when the Toxics Act was implemented in 1976?23 answered 55% (largest response group, although almost all responses fell between 33% and 77%)
6 answered correctly with 99% (this is the correct answer based on actual volume of chemicals produced)

8) Of all the chemicals on the market throughout our industrial history, how many chemicals have actually been banned by the EPA in the United States?
22 answered correctly with less than 20
29 answered with 21-100

9) The European Union has recently implemented the "Precautionary Principle," which is based on the idea that chemicals in consumer products should be proven safe before being used in those products. In your opinion, do you believe the United States should operate under this principle also?68 yes
2 no

Since I used Survey Monkey I was only able to ask 10 questions using the basic free option, although I had several other questions in mind. Technically I only had to ask 10 people for my assignment, but I am generally interested in responses to these questions.

Thank you to those of you who took the survey/quiz, I definitely appreciate it!

Life, The City, Commerce

Last night I watched a mainstream moving that set my mind in motion, and it dawned on me how many movies exist on the theme of finding ones self or seeking satisfaction beyond just financial achievement. While I tend to think of Hollywood as materialistic and very money orientated, it seems that there really are quite a few movies out there that encourage people to think about what actually matters in life and to head for a life that is fulfilling in ways other than success as society tends to see it.

So all of this swarmed through my head today as I trekked down to campus for a group meeting this morning. I had forgotten how dead downtown is even late on Sunday mornings. There are the occasional people out for breakfast, the photographers trying to get pictures of the city without many people, those headed to Saturday Market, and those that are headed for the churches that are located downtown. But in comparison to a weekday morning, downtown is pretty empty. And it made me think about how ironic that people come into the city to do their work or other business, but on days when they aren't required to do so--it seems that most people avoid the location of that part of their life.

Originally cities were created as a means of commerce, and it seems that continues to be the primary function of it today. Yet....what would things look like if commerce changed? What if society actually enabled people to not have to care about money....or allowed people not to have to work a job that they didn't enjoy? What if we could all find positions that actually benefited others as much as ourselves and brought fulfillment on more than one level? What if markets took into account externalities?

So I'm left with this thought....I wonder if everyone on this planet was asked what they'd truly like to do with their life.....what would their responses be?

Survey Help?

Hello all!

I am taking a course this term that requires us to informally survey individuals on any topic of our choosing. I'm sure it's not too big of a surprise to most that I am selecting to survey individuals in the United States on their consumer product and health knowledge/opinions. To make it easy, I created a survey online via Survey Monkey. Since it's free I could only create 10 questions, so the survey should be quick and painless....relatively easy to complete. AND the responses are voluntary and anonymous with no real risks involved (except maybe increased education?!).

The survey will be open until 8pm on this Sunday, November 23rd. PLEASE feel free to pass the link on to other individuals who you think would take the time to help me out,(especially since many of you close friends and family already will skew the data based on the things I've blogged and talked with you about during the last couple of years AND it would be nice to have a wide cross representation). However if you are also willing to help me out by taking it yourself, I'd greatly appreciate it! Just answer truthfully and to the best of your ability. It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong, as the point of the gathered data is to design a (fake) media campaign to educate the public on the topic anyway.

You can always comment with feedback or if you want to know the answers to some of the questions. After Sunday, I'll post the results of the quiz and the answers to the questions. Thanks in advance to those of you who are willing and/or able to help me!

The link is: Chemical Exposures
Simply Authentic

Feeling It...Called

Here is my LENGTH caution :-)


So on Sunday, sitting in my lovely church service, I was impressed by the guest preacher, although he did make me wiggle in my seat. It was one of those sermons....the ones where they tell you all about the reluctant prophets....and then they remind you...that we are all reluctant prophets. That there is something each one of us, regardless of your religious/spiritual/philosophical persuasion, can do here on this planet in order to benefit this planet, these people, and to ease the existence that we all have here together. You could call it a "calling," a "purpose," a reason for existence. And then the wiggling increased, when this guest preacher asked us to actually go out and DO something about our faith...to actually demonstrate God's love and the love that we are to feel toward each other. (Picture here: actual sign ups in the front of the church for the missions that the church is involved in, an offering basket, and a miscellaneous sign up for new project ideas...and all of this in a Presbyterian church which is not known for it's...um....evanglicalness).

So needless to say, I've been thinking....about what I'm actually passionate about, where I feel I can make a larger difference, ways I could get involved to actually "minister" via my actions to others. I'm not one to completely talk about my faith and religious beliefs, but I do feel convicted that I am to live a life that openly gives to others and of myself as a demonstration of those beliefs. And so here I was sitting in the pew, and realizing that really I could and should do more. (Technically during the service, I was compelled to go volunteer in India, but how that will play out and when I'm not sure).

Anyway...insert tangent here...that eventually will get back to the point, I promise. So over the last few months I've also been thinking about how inept I am at spouting off great stats from the top of my head about important studies and links related to what I study. How am I supposed to educate people on the facts of environmental issues and health concerns if I can't remember the minute details to back up my claims? (We are in the midst of evidence based everything after all!) So cut to Sunday afternoon, when two dudes tried to pick me up outside a coffee shop and instead were debated with about gentrification in Portland and the still existent racial/SES/ethnic barriers that exist in the city. In the midst of my educating these individuals I was able to pull all sorts of dates out of my head to back up my claims (and no, I'm not calling them). How interesting that in one subject matter I can readily provide what I need and in another I struggle...

Zoom back to the present. So this morning I check my one list serv and there is an announcement of a film showing and discussion going on this evening on the topic of immigrant day laborers. Now one of my original excitements about moving back to Portland, was that I envisioned myself being more involved in the city and going to more forums, events, etc. Until this evening that vision had not been realized. So I go...and I'm blown away and connected and involved in this incredible discussion with other like minded individuals. I see, via the film, the discrimination placed upon Latino day laborers. I hear the story of a Jamaican individual in the crowd talking about getting spit on this week by a woman in his taxi and told to "return to his own country." I am surrounded by people who get that "we're all human" and that we happen to live in this nation only by luck of being born here. I meet individuals who work with immigrants and refugees...and truly just like a flower something starts to blossom inside of me again.

So I've come home...and now I'm processing via this posting. I'm not sure yet what direction I'll go in with this, but it's something. I feel that file re-opening and the cause striking a chord within me...the same cause that I studied and surrounded myself with as an undergraduate. The same cause that originally led me on this path of simplicity. The same cause that I wish more individuals would feel and understand. Some call it human connection, some call it brotherly love, some call it social justice. My job is to spread it...in whatever manner I can.

...and for better or worse, I've decided to start with my siblings' children. :-) This year instead of giving presents, I've just emailed out a challenge....for each individual or family subgroup to instead discover an individual/organization/cause that they want me to give to in their name. While the kids range in age from 8 to 15, I feel that they can do this and that they can truly give of themselves this way in order to improve the world in which we all live. Whether they want me to buy food or sleeping bags to hand out personally to the homeless, sponsor a child their age from a giving tree, or donate money to an organization...the choice is theirs and I hope will reflect their interests. Maybe this is me inflicting my own philosophy onto them...but to me...this is the real meaning of the season anyway. For the meaning of Christmas comes from the birth of Christ and His message to the world was to love God and to love our fellow brothers and sisters.

And with that I've come full circle. Thanks for joining me on this rambling of callings, religious insight, social justice causes, and maybe a little humor. Hope you all are having very blessed evenings!