Hopescrolling Over Doomscrolling

I've been pretty agitated about my social media algorithms lately. Particularly my Facebook account, which has been my preferred go-to social media platform. My FB thread seems to have every third post some advertisement that I'm completely not interested in. It seems like serious changes have happened, and my unscientific survey of my friends reveals they think the same. 

Add in the heaviness of the world these days, via politics, economics, nightly news, and medical updates from friends and family, social media isn't bringing me the same curated joy that it once was. My Facebook brain breaks have definitely become an exercise in doomscrolling these days. I'm not a fan--like  I said, the world is heavy enough. I don't need more doom and gloom.

It was in a recent doomscrolling moment that I ran across this post at 1 Million Women on Facebook. The caption really spoke to me. "Hopescroll." Yes! We need more hopescrolling. 

What I didn't realize is that hopescrolling, just like doomscrolling, is indeed a verb, at least in this smart phone, hand-help-computer era. Apparently it's been around for a couple of years. From UrbanDictionary.com, it is the distinct opposite of it's negative scrolling counterpart:

So where, oh where, can we find more of this? 

• Look up what you can find under the following hashtags: #Hopescrolling or #GoodNews

• This Healthline article has a few great ideas including how to best curate your social media feed with positive or inspirational accounts based on your interests, whether they are foodie-centric, carry travel vibes, or flower-filled gardens.

• Make more mindful choices--unsubscribing accounts that don't fill you up, set time limits, etc. 

• I have started a gratitude journal using the Orca Journaling app. Maybe that's where my #hopescrolling is best to start!

• Concepts like Nat Geo's 33 Changemakers and Jane Goodall Day also apply in the #hopescrolling department!

• Some Facebook pages that might serve as hopescrolling for you include:
• The Hope Scrolling private group
• The Nature Conservancy FB page
• Power of Positivity FB Page
• EarthDay.org's FB Page
• Any of the 10 listed in this Becoming Minimalist article: "10 Facebook Pages to Encourage Simplicity in Life"

We definitely need more messages of hope, good news, and inspiration in the world. Anyone have some great ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Images from https://www.facebook.com/20531316728/posts/10154009990506729/ and http://hopescrolling.urbanup.com/17895640

Story of Stuff & Their Endless Pursuit on Sustainability

I've been a long time fan of The Story of Stuff Project and their many documentaries. Their very first one came out in 2007, and I've been writing about them for awhile.

They have a few new features out in their Movies page of their website. "Reuse Revolution" is fairly new, and their first movie details Okapi Coffee and it's circular economy solution to keep waste out of landfills by encouraging patrons to use reusable cups:

Go to Okapi's website to learn more about where to find participating cafes that are in their network.

I'm eager to see what else Story of Stuff comes up with for their Reuse Revolution series!

In the mean time, here are more of their educational movies you can check out.

• Their 13 video set of their "Story of ..." Movies.
• Their 6 video collection of their plastic pollution documentaries.
• Their 3 video series "Exposed" about Coca-Cola Company's attempts & advertising campaigns, all of which essentially shut down recycling their glass bottles. 
• "Burning Injustice" about incinerators in California and the toxic air pollution they create.
• Their 10 video set on plastic solutions in "Solving Plastics."
• Their set of 5 videos entitled "The World We Need" showcasing activists standing up to make a difference.
• Their 15 video collection "The Good Stuff" where they look at some pollution problems and some potential sustainable solutions that would benefit us all.
• Their 3 video set of "Water Documentaries" about clean water and bottle water sources.
• Their 11 episode series "The Shift" on the coronavirus epidemic of 2020.

With 67 video shorts (as of this writing) over the last 19 years, this is a powerhouse collection of environmental and sustability resources... all just a click away! What a bounty!

Video from https://www.storyofstuff.org/movies/reuse-revolution-coffee-without-the-waste/, image from https://www.storyofstuff.org/movies/the-reuse-revolution/

Redefining Holiday Gifting: Making It Merry & Light

This is a piggyback post to my last one. While thinking about ways to be more smart and sustainable in our shopping approach, maybe it's time to consider what it is we are shopping for. 

I believe it's an important distinction to realize we are shopping for our loved ones, not "shopping for Christmas," "shopping to get done with shopping," "shopping to get the best gifts ever," or "shopping to keep up with Aunt Sue or Uncle Joe." 

We are shopping for our loved ones: to bring them joy, to show we care, to make them smile with delight because we know them. We know what makes them tick and makes their heart sing.

Unless we are a bazillionaires, our wallets need some consideration. So do our homes. The sentiment should be the sweetness and love of the season, not just of buying the shiniest, fanciest, most expensive thing on the list. Money ≠ love. There's no point if a week after gift giving season, the gift lays there collecting dust, in our house over-stuffed with stuff, while our wallets-credit cards-banks are over-strapped without cash.

Maybe making it a season centered around meaning and connection is just what you need this year--a year for some that's been hard economically. Here are some "merry & light" gifts to consider:

• Focus on Experiences Over Stuff: Create gifts of adventure by gifting classes (local or online), museum memberships, nature hikes, streamed concerts, or shared outings that create memories rather than clutter. Get creative by crafting an at-home “movie marathon” day, a kitchen cooking crazy day or gourmet event, an at home craft day make-a-thon, self-created scavenger hunts, or and indoor camping adventure. Creative coupons, countdown calendars, and mystery envelopes to reveal these future extravaganzas can even inspire kids to grab the magic and excitement in the novelty and togetherness of a planned day ahead. Think of all the ways you can creatively spark excitement and spread the magic in these gifts. 

• DIY and Upcycled Gifts: Encourage handmade presents by way of baked goods, knitted scarves, crafted ornaments, or scrapbooks of memorable moments. This is a great way to get creative using reclaimed or natural materials.

• Zero-Waste Products: Use some of the links from the last post to search out beauty, wellness, or kitchen goods with packaging made from compostable or recycled items. A gift that can keep giving could come from an eco-conscious brands that offers refillable or package-free options.

• Digital Gifts: We live in a digital world. Opt for e-books, audio books, or digital subscriptions. These gifts require no shipping and work with what your loved ones already have.

• Swap or Secondhand Celebrations: Organize a “give what you have” exchanges or a regifting party. I'm sure you have some great barely-used items in your closet, drawers, or basements that someone else would love. Lighten your load and makes someone's day. You can also take advantage of online tools like Bunz, Freecycle, or Facebook "Buy Nothing" groups to share-forward your items in search of something else.

• Donation Gifts & Gifts That Give Back: Give a charitable donation in your recipient's name. Make it a gift that pays it forward. These companies include a small gift for the recipient that accompanies the larger gift of the donation.

💠 World Wildlife Fund​

💠 Women for Women International ​

💠 Best Friends Animal Society​

💠 Heifer International​

💠 World Vision 

💠 Because International (with the mission to alleviate poverty)

💠 St. Jude Gift Shop

The benefits of going "merry & light" are many:

💝 The environmental payoff is significant through less packaging, landfill waste, and shipping costs and emissions. You can support local artisans and green businesses.

💝 Emotionally, you can land on a deeper sense of gratitude and meaning in the season. Likewise, it can lead to less stress and stronger bonds--things that last longer than the momentary excitement of the latest, greatest, bright & shiny, pricy gizmo.​

💝 Perhaps it builds new traditions in your family, having you craft "Santa Workshop" weekends, candlelight storytime, treasure hunts, baking for neighbors and loved ones, making pinecone bird feeders for your backyard friends. Think of the memories made by these! Plus, think of the warmth that comes from giving sustainable gifts of stewardship and family togetherness...and the gift on no over-spending anxiety when it comes to January's bills!

💝 Showcase the magic in less by wrapped gifts with extra flair, written clues, or puns and poetry. Make the presentation part of the surprise to make your gift unforgettable.

Downsizing doesn't have to be a downer. Lightening the load might also lighten our spirits. The magic isn't lost, but it is what you make it. It's a shift in perspective and discovering your own ways to make the season shine. THAT is the true gift for your people.

Images created using canva.com
​

Pride Month: Out In the Wild

June. Pride Month. A time to honor our right to joy, resilience, and a reminder

that we all have the right to be free and to be our own personal selves. 

Nothing in nature asks for permission to grow--nor should we feel like

we have to ask for similar permission.

 

Pride month is a month of identity. It's biodiversity in human form. It's a good time to grapple with deeper questions like: Who gets to feel safe? Who gets to be seen? Who gets to belong? The answer is--we all deserve that right. 

The waving rainbow flags are pretty and the parades and events can be entertaining. But more importantly, they are empowering. Just as the planet needs biodiversity to thrive, so do we as humans. There's no thriving in nature on sameness. We need the richness of diversity to keep our food webs and habitats healthy; in doing so, we keep our plants and animal species from becoming endangered or extinct. Our wild variety is what maintains our environmental resilience. Our communities and cultures, like our ecosystems, are the healthiest and most vibrant when varied and diverse. Skin colors, sexual/gender orientations, religious beliefs, and all the differences in between. 

Nature seemingly is neutral--and yet, that isn't always the reality. Politics have creeped into environmental issues in more ways than one--and with the onset of social media, there's certainly way too much politics.

Additionally, the outdoor world isn't as gender-non-specific as you'd imagine. A lot of the outdoor industry is geared to straight, white males. That can make it hard for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) folks to feel comfortable out in nature. Instead, they can feel more "outsiders" than "out in nature-ers." Outdoor spaces may not always feel safe--both physically and as a place to feel emotionally safe to be out and openly queer. Hate crimes are real, and sadly, LGBTQ+ people are at a higher risk of being victims of these.  People not only deserve safe places, but they want and need to feel included, represented, and like they are a part of a community of like-minded individuals...where they are surrounded by connection versus limitations, segregation, or exclusion.

Along those lines, representation and seeing yourself in certain circumstances matter. People matter. Everyone's uniqueness matters. The right to feel comfortable in spaces where you want to be...they matter. Everyone is entitled to the right to be comfortable in their own skin, living a life that works for them, being treated with kindness and respected for who they are. Outdoors or environmental education affinity groups can help to build a more inclusive outdoors, as can the knowledge, the acceptance, and the intersection of LGBTQ+ pride along with racial or environmental justice and outdoor recreation too.

There’s a growing field of study known as Queer Ecology.  Queer Ecology counters the assumption that nature is rigid or binary. There's a lot of fluidity out there in nature: species that change sex (clownfish and slipper limpets) and same-sex partner paired animals (penguins, bonobos monkeys), and male-birthing seahorses. Imagine if we had that level of openness in our human species and greater communities.

So maybe for the remainder of this Pride Month, now that schools are out and kids, teens, and grown-ups alike are all out and about, playing outside more than before, we can celebrate not only the healthiness of nature's biodiveristy but that of our human kind too. Inviting anyone to climb trees, hike trails, and find their space and place in nature, in a safe way, in a welcoming way, in an everyday way!

For more resources that embrace the intersection of pride, planet, environmental & social justice, check out the following:

• National Forest Foundations' article: These LGBTQIA+ Leaders are Creating Space for Pride Outdoors

• Sierra Club's article:  Out, Proud, & Outdoors: 5 Organizations that Help Members of the Queer Community Experience the Outdoors 

• Pride Outside's resource page: Organizations and Initiatives Connecting the LGBTQ Community and the Outdoors

• National Park Foundation's article: Finding Pride Outside: The LGBTQ Community is Overcoming Barriers, Finding Joy, Sharing History, and Creating Space Outdoors

• Children & Nature's Celebrating Pride Month (which includes links to many resources, organizations, and inspirational stories)

• Muddy Paddle Club's post: Why We Need Pride in Outdoor Learning

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Postscript:

This Pride Month post was already in the works when this past Wednesday's decision came out that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is closing the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program, effective July 17, 2025 (30 days after the announcement).

Timing, as they say, is always everything.

Given this, please take note if you or a loved one need these of a crisis lifeline service, the Trevor Project is here for you. The Trevor Project provides advocacy, affirmation, eduation, and crisis support 24/7 for LGBTQ+ youth. Crisis services include:  

• Lifeline—The only national 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention lifeline for LGBTQ+ young people under age 25, available at 1-866-488-7386.

• Chat—A 24/7 free instant messaging service for LGBTQ+ youth that provides live help from trained counselors, open daily.

• Text—A 24/7 free service through which LGBTQ+ young people can text a trained counselor of The Trevor Project for support and crisis intervention, available daily by texting START to 678678.

• To learn more, go to the Trevor Project's website.

"Biodiversity" image from https://www.muddypuddleclub.co.uk/post/why-we-need-pride-in-outdoor-learning; "Our Minds Matter" from https://ourmindsmatter.org/2022/05/31/lgbtq-minds-matter/, "It's Pride Month" image from https://www.nathab.com/blog/wild-about-pride-the-nature-of-belonging; Trevor Project logo from https://www.thetrevorproject.org/; Pride Month quote picture created at www.canva.com using their Magic Media tools

Online Advent Calendars For This Season

Advent calendars are fun way to celebrate the season during the month of December. Here are two wonderful ones I ran across for 2024, both accessible by way of the wonderful world of Facebook.

#OneGreenThing Advent Game

Author Heather White (who has written Eco-Anxiety and One Green Thing) has created a digital daily advent calendar where she is posting new small, bite-sized eco-actions you can do every day. Posting daily to her Heather White, Author Facebook Page, you can find her daily inspirations. Given she's a week in already, some ideas include: using little libraries for your next read, going outside for a winter walk and connecting with nature, reducing your plastic footprint and more. Great daily doses of little things to make your day and help the planet!

The 25 Days of CANVAmas for Teachers

Created by Canva Education Creator LaNedra Johnson, this private Facebook group is an amazing collection of Canva creations. LaNedra Johnson has a public FB page, then she created the CANVAmas group for special for this advent season. Some special treats she has in there for teachers are a teacher planner page for 2025, lesson plan template, substitute teacher guid template, and more. Additionally she has another private group entitled "Canva Creators for Teachers" (with 40,000+ members). She's a great resource for teachers on how to maximize Canva creations for your classroom!

Title header created at Canva.com; Screenshot from https://www.facebook.com/heatherwhiteofficial and https://www.facebook.com/groups/1219727522639849

Long Live Les Éco-Olympiades

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are a week away, beginning on July 26 and running until August 11th. Excitement is building across many sectors for this global, quadrennial event of celebrated humanity and athleticism.

As with events like this, each successive one wants to be bigger and better in as many ways as possible. Paris' Olympics this year is no different:

As mentioned in the video above, one of the ways Paris' Olympics plan to lead are through its green initiatives.  Interesting Engineering's Sujita Sinha's 7-15-2024 post and Forbes' Claire Poole's 7-19-2024 article detail some pretty cool eco-initiatives in place here for this summer's olympics:

• When planning the events, emphasis was put on minimal new construction while also improving existing ones to house the events. Examples include adding a retractable roof to the Georges Vallerey pool and restoration of the Grand Palais.

• When new buildings were built (such as the new aquatics center), sustainable elements were put into place including specialty roof design and solar energy farms. Likewise, seats constructed of recycled plastic were installed where needed. (11,000 to be exact!)  Additionally, these structures were purposely built for reuse.

• The Olympic Village incorporated seashell pavements and air purifiers near the roads.Additionally, the Village is outfitted with furniture specifically created from reused or recycled materials such as badminton shuttlecock-created tables and bottle cap-created chairs, parachute fiber covered bean bags, and couches constructed from metal sidewalk barriers at their base.

• 
  After the games, furnishings in the Olympic Village are planned to reused, donated, or repurposed, giving thousands of items second life rather than have them be a part of the throw-away mentality.
• Using famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Seine River, and the Palace of Versailles as backdrop settings for a number of sporting events.

• The opening ceremony will be help in the streets of Paris as well as on a Seine River in a flotilla-stryle boat parade. 

• Environmental strides to improve the urban infrastructure include "250 miles of new bike lanes, an extended Métro network, a cleaner Seine, and 300,000 new trees planted."

• Food options for the athletes have emphasis on plant-based menu items as well as being locally sourced.

• The event-winning medals have an emphasis on reuse with each of them containing "18 grams of original iron from the Eiffel Tower inserted, placed at the heart of the medals, to highlight circular economy messaging. The metal was removed and preserved during previous renovation campaigns."

• In an effort to protect seagrasses near Calanques National Park in Marseille where some of the sailing competitions are planned to occur, organizers are preparing to use drone-like buoys. In doing so, this is more protective to the carbon-soaking grasses because there will be less disruption to them due to not being dredged by anchors.

To do a deep dive on the 2024 Paris Olympic's commitment to sustainability and see their nods to the 2015 Paris Agreement (with goal date of 2030),  check out their website and their multitude of reference points, remarks, and reports. Then also watch this video from Interesting Engineering to see how their plan for fewer building projects for these games is both a sustainable AND money-saving move.

 

Videos from https://youtu.be/IMLMJVX4NsU?si=9Mxpz3x42iSjeMJJ and https://youtu.be/WBiPdEcyAlM?si=Voaq7QhXzKhys-Dk, Logo from https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2019-10-24/paris-olympics-2024-logo and https://olympics.com/ioc/sustainability

Greenhushing, Greenlighting, and More Eco-Vocab

I ran across a new-to-me term the other day, scrolling through some of my newsfeeds: greenhushing.

I know what "greenwashing" is. It's when companies tell us their products (or their company itself) is more environmentally friendly than they actually are. It's a misleading marketing ploy, leading us as consumers to feel proud we are shopping greener or doing a great job of "recycling."  Additionally, it can lull us to think we are doing the right thing for the environment, when really, we continue to be part of the problem.

But what is greenhushing? Upon looking, it led me down the rabbit hole of wondering about more new terms. What about greenshifting, greendcrowding, greenlighting, greenlabeling, and greenrinsing?

As you can imagine, they all fall under the larger propaganda umbrella of greenwashing.

According to Euronews' August 14, 2023 article "What is Greenhushing? How to Spot the Sophisticated Greenwashing Tactics Being Used in 2023," by Angela Symons, the non-profit financial think tank Planet Tracker has broken greenwashing into 6 different types, all leading to my new vocabulary. The Euronews article has a lot of details and specific examples worth reading. Here is a quick highlight of the 6 types of greenwashing. Think of it as the hierarchy of "environmental fake news" and all different types of misrepresentation & misinformation about a company's "green-ness" and sustainability practices.

• Greencrowding--This is overcrowding the industry and hoping that your sustainability practices will be lost in the sea of numbers, preferably at a nice and slow pace.

• Greenlighting--Much like gaslighting, the product or company highlights one green feature (which may be small) and drawing attention away from their more non-sustainable, anti-eco practices.

• Greenshifting--This is when companies shift the blame from themselves and pushing it onto the fault of the consumer. Like the consumer should be recycling more, versus the company should be having a turn-in or buy-back center to make it easier for the consumer to do just that.

• Greenlabeling--This practice is when marketers mislead consumers with labels (either via text, imagery or both), indicating that something is green, sustainable, or organic, when maybe this isn't fully accurate.

• Greenrinsing--When companies reduce, delay, or change their environmental standards or targets, making it look like their overall recycling or sustainability initiatives are closer than they really are. Bringing the finish line closer does not mean you have achieved full environmental wins. 

• Greenhushing--This is when companies under-report their sustainability information to avoid investor/public scrutiny.

In the category of "the more you know, the more you know," let's all go forward being critical consumers, keeping our eyes open to being more eco-informed about the products we buy, so that our green consumerism can help shape a greener economy--for both our pockets and our planet!

Image created on Canva.com

World Blue Mind Day: July 23rd

I love days that are dedicated to the environment. I sporadically write about them (you can click my "environmental days" GTG tag). There's even a whole online digital calendar of days dedicated to it at TerGo's Eco Calendar.

One day that didn't make the TerGo eco-calendar is tomorrow/July 23rd (annually)'s World Blue Mind Day. 

World Blue Mind Day....not to be confused with World Water Day--Annually March 22nd--the United Nations observance created in 1993 that raises awareness about the global water and sanitation crisis.

Likewise, not to be confused by World Ocean Day--Annually June 8th--another United Nations designated day (since 2008) which works to enlighten and engage the public and policymakers about the importance of tending our global oceans for a healthier climate.

Obviously, both of these days are important on their own eco-standing!

World Blue Mind Day was created in 2014 by Wallace J. Nichols with the publication of his book "Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do." It is one of my top 10 favorite books of all time, and I am certainly a fan of the philosophy and science and wellbeing behind the book. Likewise, I gravitate toward water and have written about #BlueMind many times.

The point and purpose of World Blue Mind Day annually is to "soak" up the physical, mental, and spirtual benefits of being in and around water. Wallace J. Nichols says it best here in this short video: 

You can find World Blue Mind Day & Wallace J. Nichol's discussion board event here on Facebook.

For a list of "100 Ways to Practice Blue Mind for Life, Wherever You Are," check out this open post on Wallace J. Nichols' Patreon page. Then, indulge in 1 or 99 of them (or somewhere in between). 

What are you going to do this World Blue Mind Day?

Image from https://www.facebook.com/events/467866881827270/?active_tab=discussion; Video from Blue Mind on the Slow Coast from Dr. Wallace J. Nichols on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/234709602

Dial Down Your Eco-Anxiety

Climate change concern, especially in the era of crazy, polarized politics, can lead to eco-anxiety. What exactly is that? Eco-Anxiety is the nerve-racking mix of worriness, nervousness, uncertainty, and other levels of distress that come about due to being aware of our planetary environmental issues. Sometimes it falls in the category of hyper-focus or overthinking... and sometimes it comes from having an overly sensitive and caring heart. But, it's hard to leave your empathy behind when you care about the planet and feel helpless or hopeless about what to do with the growing environmental concerns.

 

I ran across this Intersectional Environmentalist post, which inspired me to create this visual below on Canva.com. May it serve you well if you are inspired to take to journal writing, which is always a good way to deal with emotions. 

Eco Anxiety by Vicki Dabrowka

For more reading on the subject of eco-anxiety and what you can do to help yourself out, check out these articles:

• Good Housekeeping's Feb 2022 article: "Is the Fear of Climate Change Keeping You Up at Night? How to Cope With Eco-Anxiety" by Meryl Davids Landau
• Thred's July 2021 article: "If You’re Worried About Climate Change You May Have Eco-Anxiety"
• American Psychological Association's post on "Climate Change's Toll On Mental Health"

Additionally, here are some times when I've alluded to eco-anxiety in the past here on GTG:

• Eco-Mindfulness 
• How To Not Be (Completely) Depressed About Climate Change by Sarah Lazarovic
• A Trio of Messengers of Hope
• Climate Rage is Sexy

If you are finding yourself completely overwhelmed or distraught with climate/environmental anxiety, please seek help through loved ones or trained mental health professionals. 

Dictionary definition image from https://thred.com/change/if-youre-worried-about-climate-change-you-may-have-eco-anxiety/
Presentation created by me on canva.com, and compiled with images from 
https://www.facebook.com/intersectionalenvironmentalist/posts/pfbid02dShWkGcnbTK18EG3w2uQNmw74NebQ3kzSbAD4ukDFjZLvSaZSGT9b4n4tyvAy7bAl [Text by @kiana.kaz ; images by @burcukoleli]

TED's "Playbook for Protecting the Planet

A good curated list of gems is a beautiful find. It's a definite gravitational pull for me, as evidence from my recent eco and edtech podcast posts.

I happened on another that TED has put together in partnership with General Motors. They call it "A Playbook for Protecting the Planet." That certainly is a playbook we all need! 

As of this writing, there are 6 TED talks in this collection that are tied to nature, biodiversity, building environmental stewardship and fostering climate activism. They're are here, a mere click away!

Image from https://www.ted.com/playlists/815/a_playbook_for_protecting_the_planet

The Tree-mendous Benefits to Trees

One of the things I personally like about Facebook is that I follow a number of environmental and edtech sites. Given that, I am exposed to a lot of ideas from a lot of sources. Footpath Foundation shared this infographic created by Greenpeace. Definitely makes you understand why we have treehuggers out there--trees give us a wealth of benefits. 

Image from https://www.facebook.com/FootpathFoundation/posts/5082349455157205 created by Greenpeace.

The Power of Music & Nature

This is one of the many beautiful stories that came out of the pandemic. I didn't hear about it at the time, but read about it in Jane Goodall's latest book written with Douglas Abrams: The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times (part of the Global Icons Series). [More on that book in a future post.] It showcases the power of music and nature.

In June of 2020, at Barcelona's El Liceu Opera House, the string quartet live-streamed a concert. Performing Puccini's Crisantemi (Italian for "chrysanthemums"), the quartet In the thick of the pandemic, no people were allowed in, however there was only standing room available as every seat was filled with plants donated from a local nursery. 2,292 to be exact. The video is beautiful, hearing the music wrap around its colorful, cholorphyl-filled audience. Then what a gift for these musically infused plants to be given to Spanish healthcare workers who were enmeshed with patients struck with Covid-19.  Visionary Artistic visionary Eugenio Ampudia created this idea to bring music to the online world of folks in lockdown while also gearing at the importance of both music to support plant growth and how both nature and music can positively influence our mental health.

Bravo and standing ovations to all.

Video from https://youtu.be/HWMn0680cbo; image created at Canva.com 

Green & Blue: What the Doctor Ordered

On our road trip heading to our vacation destination, I was listening to a multitude of podcasts, and 2 of them talked about our brain's capacity to take in new information. Surprisingly, we can only learn 3-4 hours of new content a day. That goes for teachers and students alike. It really spoke about the exhaustion factor that comes with that--especially in remote (and hybrid) learning. When I think of the intensity of the learning curve for everyone on this planet the last 16 months, it shows me how "wired and tired"and over "tech-ified and fried" we all have been, and how much recovery time we all need. All of which brings me back to Florence Williams' Nature Fix & Wallace J. Nichols Blue Mind and of course the concept of "nature deficit disorder" coined by Richard Louv. We all need prescriptions to get outside, to then nearest waterway or green space. We need moments of eco-mindfulness to re-center, restore, and recover. Aaron Reuben reiterates the same thing in his May 2019 article for Outside Magazine "Science's Newest Miracle Drug is Free." 

If you need help finding someplace, ParkRX America's website is where you need to go. You can type in your address and instantly find some good green and blue space nearby. Plus, in their Media section, you can find a slew of good books to read to reiterate the point (both of which I mentioned above are listed!). And here's a good video from ParkRX to get you in the mood to head outdoors too. Which I will definitely make sure is a large part of my vacation!!!

Video from https://youtu.be/EYVC362i2dk, and images from https://parkrxamerica.org/resources.php and prescription image from https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/Whats-Happening/Pages/parks-rx-day.aspx

Blue Mind Revisited

My first official day of summer was last week. No more school days. No more post-planning teacher meetings. Just full on summer after what might be the longest school year ever. 

Thinking back to the speeches our 5th graders wrote for their promotion as they ready themselves for their next step of middle school, I was hit by how much they had been through. 

How much we all had been through with our hybrid school every other day, several weeks in the middle needing to go full remote, then coming back fully on campus. 

Sitting at the cusp of summer right at the very beginning, seeing the hope and beauty of all the sunny days ahead--it's a beautiful sight. 

It also just so happened to be coincide with the first day our pool was open and ready for me for my maiden day of entry. That blue water was calling me, and boy oh boy did it feel restorative and like coming home. 

This year more than ever.

It also seemed like the perfect day to start rereading Wallace J. Nichol's book Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do.

After the school year I've had and after 15 months of a pandemic, rereading one of my favorite books about one of my favorite places seemed like what I needed to do. I am definitely in need of a little #BlueMind.

In thinking about that, I was inspired to take some of the quotes that Wallace J. Nichols includes in the book and bring them to life with some visuals.

To dive back into my previous comments about this amazing book and the power of water, check out my past posts:

• Blue Mind: The Book
  
• My Backyard BFF
• 1000 Hours Outside & #BlueMind, 2019 Edition
  
• Blue Mind Days & Hours Outside, Summer 2020

Images created at Canva.com

"Why We Swim" by Bonnie Tsui

Not terribly long ago, I had a couple long weekend stays visiting my daughter. There were certain parameters to the hotels I chose to stay in. Free wifi. ✅ Breakfast included. ✅ Good proximity. ✅ Indoor pool. ✅✅✅

The latter was truly the first and foremost of importance. Especially in the wintery and early spring months where the outdoor temps (of both air and water) were too chilly, and an indoor pool was paramount. 

Fitting too, some of my poolside reading was Bonnie Tsui's 2020 book Why We Swim. I've talked a lot in the past about #BlueMind and how my backyard pool is my home away from home (see here and here). Hydrotherapy is indeed one of my greatest escapes and mental equalizers. It's where I can move with ease (regardless of achy knees or hip acts up). It's where I fully unplug and have moving meditations, achieving total Zen moments. It's where I have no problem being "that crazy bouncing lady in the pool, even with a mask" if the pool starts getting crowded here in Covid America--I don't care. It is truly my happy place, and I will not be deterred from being there!

Here are some of the other great takeaways I got from Bonnie Tsui's book:

🏊🏻‍♀️We are "land creatures with an aquatic past." (page 5)

🏊🏻‍♀️With approximately 70% of the planet being water, it's not a surprise that 40% of the world's population lives less than 60 miles from a coast. 

🏊🏻‍♀️She referenced Charles Tomlinson's poem "Swimming Chenango Lake." I didn't know this poem and looked it up. They both reference swimming as "moving in the embrace of water, but mindfully" (Tsui, page 36), being free and in the flow. 

🏊🏻‍♀️On page 54, while visiting Iceland, she mentioned "swimming as liturgy." Later too (page 65) she quotes Kim Chambers: "The water has been my teacher. It is my sanctuary...you come to the water and feel cleansed." Swimming indeed strikes that chord for me--it becomes a place of worship and one of my closest moments to God, higher power, spirituality and self-awareness. It has me at "Buoyancy, floating, weightlessness. Freedom." (p. 74) Renewal comes in that water! As does escape.

🏊🏻‍♀️I'm a splasher who is constantly in movement, maybe more in a water aerobics kind of way. But even so, this strikes me: "For many swimmers, the act of swimming is a tonic, in that old-fashioned sense of the word: it is restorative, a stimulant, undertaken for a feeling of vigor and well-being." (page 62)

🏊🏻‍♀️Swimming is forgiving with an agelessness to it. Because of the water, you can do things there that you (well, maybe me) can't always do on land. The water resistance and weightlessness makes it possible to keep you moving, pain free, in a multitude of ways that other on-land exercise can't. Add in too, it reminds us how to play. (page 110)

🏊🏻‍♀️"After experiencing awe, we are more likely to help others and to be relaxed and satisfied with life." (page 102)

🏊🏻‍♀️"Swimming is the second most popular recreational activity in America, outranked only by walking." (page 109)

🏊🏻‍♀️She quoted Wallace J. Nichols (Blue Mind author) stating that "Being around water provides a sensory rich environment with enough 'soft fascination' to let our focused attention rest and the default-mode network kick in." (p. 221) It's like being mindful and mindless simultaneously. "wimming was an ideal time to ruminate, to noodle for noodling's sake, to compose in one's head." (p. 222) Yes! Yes! Yes! No doubt, being in and under the water, and how sounds shift in those moments (as does light on the water) can bring about a meditative state where you are one with your own space and place.

🏊🏻‍♀️"There is a seductiveness to water. From afar, it gleams and glistens, a shiny liquid jewel. It is inviting. It swirls, fans, and coalesces, embracing you. It holds you and yet cannot be held by you. When we immerse ourselves, something is awakened." (page 248) This feels like poetry in motion, and my pool experience every time. 

Maybe it's all of these reasons why I not only had hotel pool aqua bliss, but why the book also spoke to me. As I look back on my reflection here, it could perhaps been seen as a romantic love affair with water and ode to eau. It's interesting too how the pool became a true adult passion and later discovery. I think it just goes to show you that beauty and wonder are there, always to be discovered. May you discover yours, in whatever form it takes!

Pool Image from my camera. Book cover from https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Swim-Bonnie-Tsui-ebook/dp/B07WJ1NH6N/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=why+we+swim&qid=1616429337&s=books&sr=1-1

Eco-Friendly Valentine's Day Ideas

This Sunday is St. Valentine's Day....

are you ready?

Whether it's Date Night Valentine's Day, Galentine's Day, or even Palentine's Day you are celebrating, here are a baker's dozen eco-friendly ideas for ways to celebrate this weekend ahead, all inspired from the article "14 Eco-Friendly Ideas for A Sustainable Valentine’s Day" by Tassia Agatowski. 

Of course, given the pandemic, a couple of the ideas I tweaked. For instance, given we're on the 11 month "staycation," I didn't even go there. We've got that one handled!!

Cheers and have a glorious 'Tine's Day, whatever one you celebrate!!

Videos created at canva.com using information from https://medium.com/eco-living/14-eco-friendly-ideas-for-a-sustainable-valentines-day-1608def73a8d, image from https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2