'Aspire not to have more, but to be more.'

"Aspire not to have more, but to be more."
- Archbishop Oscar Romero

Known as the "Bishop of the Poor" for his passionate defense of poor
farmers' rights in El Salvador and for his courageous opposition to the genocide,
Oscar Romero died for his beliefs at the hands of an unknown assassin in 1980.

Today (11/23/2007) is a day better known as Black Friday. You get up early to acquire more stuff for less money...or so the retailers would like you to believe. Judging by how crazy it is for people to shop at these ridiculous hours of the morning to buy things for others, you would think that people just don't have enough. Obviously, this is not the case, unless you live in a third world country. Everyone in the industrialized nations do not need to acquire any more possessions.

You may want to consider other choices for the holidays. Give of yourself.

Aspire defined: to long, aim, or seek ambitiously;
be eagerly desirous, esp. for something great or of high value.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=aspire

What does it take to aspire to be more?

1. Learn what it takes for you to be more.
2. Know what your carbon footprint shows about your consumption.
   http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp#
3. Look at your life as a giver.
4. Be empathetic.
5. Set goals and plan objectives to take action.
6. Stop shopping for everything (except necessities) for 90 days.
7. Share your life with someone instead of buying them something.
8. Teach what you are learning.
   
9. Seize the moment and share ideas about your aspirations.
   

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Nine Principles of Being Green

1. REDUCE: Keep current with ways to eliminate. Education is the key to providing insight into what you can do without.
2. REUSE: Become action oriented. Make a list of things in your home or business that you could do without. Then donate or give to someone that can use the items. Then look for ways to avoid purchasing these items unless absolutely necessary.
3. RECYCLE: This goes for everything you handle. Even if you are out, take the item to be recycled.
4. Spread the word...Make it a point to inform the stores where you shop to try and reduce packaging. Not an easy task, however it will keep the issue in your thoughts every time you reach for an item that has packaging, ask the store for bulk foods.
   Sustainable Table
   
5. STOP using plastic water bottles.
   
6. Be aware of "GREENWASHING". These types of messages mostly come from corporations that have very large media budgets to hop on the trends of when and where people pay attention. Most are not any more environmentally conscious then they were before "The Green Movement" grabbed the media's attention. Corporate Hall of Shame
   
7. Support local farmers. Look for locally produced items that have a real connection to the community.
   
8. Carbon Footprint alert: What is your consumption level?
   Carbon Footprint Calculator http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.html
   The CO2 calculator http://www.gdrc.org/uem/co2-cal/co2-calculator.html
   Online Conversion This converts most units of measure. http://www.onlineconversion.com/
   
9. Your Place, Your Responsibility: No one is going to do this for you. Being green takes a commitment from everyone, but it starts with each individual.
   Case in Point: Carbon offsets are a way for those that have more, but are not willing to sacrifice their lifestyle. Some would rather pay for credits toward being sustainable instead of taking steps to conserve. Consumerism by the rich with only a monetary sacrifice of carbon offsets is not a solution. This is the responsibility of all, especially for those in the "1st world" countries.
   Make this a day to find out exactly what you are consuming, and what your carbon foot reveals.
   
   

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Spend - Free Weekend

Try to create one weekend per month that does not include buying things. Quality time doesn’t have to revolve around consumerism when there are so many activities that you can do for free.
Read a good book, play games, walk in the park, or just play....it is never to late to start.


Save money and explore ways to communicate with family and friends. Make your best memories and the best times through activities other than shopping. You will have more money to save and less things to manage by not bringing items into your home on the spend-free weekend you choose.

Use this time to explore how many ways you spend money. Some activities take little or no money, so start evaluating. Look at how much gas it takes to get to the "free" activity outside of the home. Could you ride a bike, walk, or get there some other way than car or mass transit? You may be spending money in ways that you did not expect, such as renting video via cable. Try to make this a truly spend-free weekend. It may be hard at first, but with a little practice you will be astonished at the sheer resourcefulness of your endeavors.

So take that spend-free weekend and get to know your family and friends.

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Fear of Poverty

The western world contends with the ever present thoughts of poverty. Ask anyone and most will tell you they could be doing better.

"The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. Consequently, the modern poor are not pitied...but written off as trash. The twentieth-century consumer economy has produced the first culture for which a beggar is a reminder of nothing. " ~John Berger

What is the logic of accumulation? Our earth can barely stand another shipment of cheaply made disposable goods made from a far away land. The simplicity of one may be the poverty of another. Definitions of poverty vary from culture to culture, however the statistics of the current western society is not of living in poverty but of overconsumption. Most have far beyond the basic necessities.

"Aspirational consumption" as a coined western term comes from letting the culture of the rich define your needs. The media marketing machine drives a message that is difficult to ignore. They would want you to consume more if you are emotionally running on empty, because it will make you feel better. Debt and possessing too many things go together in a fear of poverty mindset. Bigger houses and cars, and mammoth appetites for what you can not afford contribute to your over-spent wallet.

Outside of Affluence
Most of the World - Real Fear of Poverty

Despite some important progress, about 30% of young children in low and middle-income countries are underweight. The largest problems are in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. There are states in India, for example, in which almost half of all young children are underweight.

Nearly 50% of all young children in the developing world do not receive enough iron in their diets, endangering their mental and physical development.

At the same time, obesity is an intensifying problem in the United States and other industrialized nations—37% of U.S. men and 42% of U.S. women are obese. But levels are also rising in some developing nations: 21% of women are obese in Morocco, as are 34% of women in Mexico. ~Population Reference Bureau's 2007 World Population Data Sheet

With so much of the affluence coming at the expense of exploiting those who are truly living in poverty, isn't it about time to take a deeper look? The fear of poverty can be erased by focusing on sharing a little of what you have. This can truly make the world a much better place.

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