Loving our mother, earth.

EDIT: reading The Upcycle completely re-opened my eyes, and reminded me that....we don't need to live under the fear of "not enough" or, we have to "minimize our use", when we are working within systems that are interconnected, and regenerating - think: Permaculture. If the water in the shower is heated by our Sun, and then used multiple times before re-entering the traditional water treatement system (i.e used again in the sink, or toilette, then pipped out into the yard where you have a natural grey water treatement area, and the water can then be filtered and soak into your food forest....well that is a completely different story than single use, and water heated by non-renewables...)...just sayin ;)

I recently had a conversation with someone about give and takes re: the environment, and they mentioned that they just loved to take long showers and they were not going to give that up,  it was what they did, they loved them, and it was one area they were not willing to "compromise" in..... but there were other areas they did better in, so, they figured, it all balanced out

I've heard this type of thing more than once, and in fact it tends to be a pretty common thing that comes up. In the moment I've always tended to express gratitude for what they did do, and sort of let the other piece go unsure how to truly handle the comment, feeling uneasy about it but not really sure why, or how to articulate it. 

Here are my thoughts......

It makes me think about how disconnected we are and how we still think of these types of things in terms of "compromise", or "giving something up", as seperate than ourselves. That if we want to be turly "enviro", we have to stop the things we enjoy and to stop all of that would be impossible so we must choose a few.

I am definitely pro taking baby steps, changing one thing at a time, then adjusting your lifestyle around that new change, integrating it, then taking the next thing. And, I recognize it can be very daunting to change everything at once....however, I guess I see that as a continual cycle of change - and maybe even something you changed in the beginning, you may get new information and it causes you to change further down the road....this process to me is not static. Yet in the aforementioned conversation ones mind already appears made up.

To me, what's truly going on here is that we are seeing the issue from an outdated paradigm/mindset. In fact, when you truly feel love for someone, it becomes natural to not want to hurt them. Thus, when we truly feel love for our earth, our mother, to hurt her would not feel right.

This is simply what happens when we love someone, and it's actually quite beautiful how it works.

Where you once maybe got enjoyment from an activity, you now don't because in the very depth of your being, you comprehend that it causes harm, and ultimately, that creates a sense of cognitive dissonance inside us - or....in layman's terms, a feeling that doesn't sit quite right. Usually ones behavior is adjusted accordingly, because we have a desire as humans to not feel this sort of uneasy feeling. We naturally want to feel good - makes sense.

And I think we incorrectly assume that we will feel bad, or limited if we cut certain things out because we think of it only from one direction, from one point of view - of what we are "losing", but we don't think about what we gain, and the feeling we feel when we do what's right for what we love. It might seem counter intuitive for now but actually, we feel good once we stop it, not sad that we don't have whatever it is anymore.

When we love someone, we don't make these sorts of calculated responses.

"Suppose she goes into anaphalcctic shock, well there is a hospital she can go to right, and what are the chances she would die? I can probably keep peanuts around?"

"Well, my mom can't breath properly when I spray this hair spray in the air and it makes her wheeze for days, but I really love this hairspray, nothing makes my hair look as good, and well, I make her breakfast on weekend so, it all balances out right?"

We likely wouldn't even think to this point, our emotions, our feelings, our bodies would speak, they would take over before we started to analyze it because the moment we saw we were hurting someone we loved, we would feel that pain inside, and want to change to remove that pain...and the joy derived from that item, or activity would cease to exist the moment we learned it hurt our loved ones.

When did we lose our deep love for our planet, our mother, our only home, and all our fellow inhabitants - that which gave us life? This very life we're living, The life that allows you to read these words on this page and comprehend.

It's not that I have to tell myself a stern"NO" every moment, that actually, I really want to be doing all these things but I "know" they are wrong and harmful to the environment so I stop myself. It's that I literally do not seek any enjoyment from these things anymore, and in many cases it hurts to do the wrong thing....and not from a place of guilt or shame, but from a place of love. 

For example, if I had to throw compost in the garbage (or anything in the garbage) I would feel tense inside. Why? because I know this isn't the place it belongs, and the only reason I'd be doing it is likely because I don't have time to sit down and seek out where it's proper place should be (i.e. search online what to do with random items I have no idea how to recycle,  or find an artist who may want this item to incorporate into art....as some examples).....and while time does feel very real and has very real implications in our current society, nature does not function on that same time scale...but I digress, because now this could lead into the philosophical realm and I'm trying to keep this grounded (for now). 

People often say "oh just throw it out, it won't hurt...." or "you do so much for this planet already, you can slack a little here" it's getting back to the justification type, wrong or right mentality....but it's not about that, it's not about weighing out the good and the bad - it's about listening to what feels right inside.

I have told people, when asked, that I don't think I would enjoy attending large music festivals anymore because I'd bare witness to all the carelessness, wastefullness, litter and general disregard, and this would quite literally, break my heart. And I should add that large music festivals are things that used to bring me a lot of joy (or so I thought). I went to Sasquatch music festival a few years in a row back when I was younger and loved it so much...but I've changed....the joy doesn't come anymore, because what is in the forefront is the pain I feel. And what's different is it's internal now, not just external. Whereas before I noticed the garbage and thought about it...I now feel it. To me this makes sense, we're all deeply interconnected, and when we hurt the one we love, we hurt too.  Now, some would look at that and say "wow, she is really missing out on life, because she's too intense, just relax, be casual about it"... but to me, I don't see it that way.

How do I see it? 

While it's true, I don't derive the same enjoyment out of activities and items that I once used to, this is only unfortunate if we stop right there. When you take it a step further you see that while  I may not have "fun" like the mainstream world has fun right now, I have ventured down a path that brings me many joyful moments, and honestly they feel more full of joy because I don't have to deny any part of myself while doing them (the part that would know deep down this is wasteful, or wrong, or harmful to mother nature)....it's pure bliss.

So what I wonder is..... where did the love go and how do we get it again? How does love form? 

A little soap for thought - i.e. toxins in our "beauty" products....it's time to just say no! (part 2)

So, as a continuation to my previous blog entry, re: one of the two soaps I found in the blue bin.... while rinsing it out, and combating the quick forming headache from inhaling the scent....I decided to peer at the ingredients just for fun! 

Let’s look at the ingredient list – for those who can’t see it well in the photo (i.e. probably everyone as it's incredibly hard to read and there is glare) I will list it out…prepare yourselves….

First, they let me know that I should not put it in my eyes, but they also try to minimize the effect that that statement has by prefacing it with “as with any soap”…However I gotta be real here for a second, if I put my limited ingredient, non-sketchy toxin bar soap in my eye…it doesn’t burn, I mean it feels a little funky but all in all it’s okay…and I've had Dr.Bronners in my eyes before too, accidentally of course, and it’s been fine..so I’m not sure it’s fair to tell the consumer “as with any soap”…that’s a touch misleading don’t you think? I know of many soaps that won't cause such shenanigans. 

I digress…they go on to share with me the chemical concoction they’ve mixed (i.e. ingrediants) to create this headach inducing liquid soap…the flavour? Vanilla and brown sugar….eliciting in my mind, of course, nice vanilla bean, and some traditional brown sugar…well, that was before I knew the truth...now products like this just make me shudder, both metaphorically, and literally...and extra literally because of the weird neuro-toxins in them.....

Aqua, sodium C14-15 olefin sulfonate, lauramide DEA, sodium chloride, cocamidopropyl betaine, parfum, DMDM hydantoin, citric acid, tetrasodium EDTA, polyquaternium-7, glycerin, PEG-7 glyceryl cocoate, benzophenone-4, hydrolyzed silk, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, yellow-5, red 33.

The bolded ones are some of the sketchier ones that are on lists of ingredients to absolutely avoid. Among the bolded ones above, are formeldyhyde releasing preservatives (DMDM hydantoin - which got a rating of 7 on EWG and noted as a *high hazard*, and petroleum based compounds which can cause a number of issues – skin sensitivity, and also the petroleum ones (PEGs) lead to promotion of greater absorption of the product which …which it’s super sketch when we're talking about other toxic ingredients. I don't know about you but I'd rather not have those get into my body/blood stream. 

The only ingredient I feel fully comfortable with and even then I’m questioning its source, and quality (i.e. is it organic?) it is the aloe leaf juice.

First of all, I understand only one of the ingredients,  second of all, numbers in ingredients (e.g. yellow -5) always freaks me out, third I made soap before, and I have news for all…you do not need such ridiculously toxic ingredients to make your soap. Of course not all the ingredients in that soap are notoriously bad, but some are super sketch, and I think that even just one super sketch one is enough for me. Things also change drastically when we consider that we don't just use one product, once a day...we use a number of products, multiple times per day - that's a lot of exposure....and products don't necessarily get tested from an accumulation point of view. Go figure. 

Compare this to Dr. Bronners – my favourite liquid castile soap around, especially since I can re-fill it and not contribute to excessive plastic bottle waste in this world!

Aqua, cocos nucifera (coconut oil), potassium hydroxide (none actually remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerine but they are required to say it anyway), olea europaea (olive) oil, cannabis sativa (hemp seed) oil, simmondsia chinesis (jojoba) oil, menthe arvensis extract, menthe peperita (peppermint) oil, citric acid, tocopherol **all are certified fair trade, and certified organic except the last two ingrediants. 

Look at all those different oils – ever wonder why your hands are crazy dry? A lot of the toxins in the former soap (Soft soap), are ridiculously drying…hemp, jojoba, olive, coconut...all great oils for the body.

Long story short, read your ingredient list! If it sounds sketchy, it likely is. Here are some resources to use when unsure as I don't deny, it can be quite overwhelming...but definitely worth the research. 

1.  Environmental Work Group - they have a number of consumer guides on what to choose in certain categories – i.e. cleaning products, sunscreens, they even have a mobile app! There is one specifically on cosmetics (skin deep) and you can actually search based on chemical too so that is SUPER helpful!! – a great one to check out.
2. Goodguide  – not all products are up there, and not all information is available, but it can be helpful if the info is available. They rate products on health, environment, and society so that’s pretty cool. It takes a lot of the burden off the consumer as they’ve done a lot of testing already. For example, I looked this particular soap up, it's not the exact one as they don't have it, but in general similar soaps get a rating of  6.2 (note, too, that that would likely be lower if ingredients were included, under health it says “product has insufficient ingredient information”  - so maybe in this example this isn't the best for all products, but it’s generally a pretty good reference for most things, or high level information/comparatives.
3. I also kept in my wallet as I was learning all this new info, super helpful when going into a shop to acquire a new products as a replacement of an old sketchy one, a print-out of Gill Deacons handy wallet size of “best brands” and “toxins to avoid” found here , as well as a few more I wrote down based on other readings – David Suzuki’s Queen of Green came out with a publication as well, to let us know more about what these toxins truly are and their effects The Dirty Dozen,
4.  There is also the book – Slow Death by Rubber Duck which actually started this action in me the summer of 2010 after reading it. I headed straight to my bathroom and started looking at all my products and thought WOW….they ALL have sketchy stuff in them. I saw for a moment, surrounded by my million and one products catered to my perceived “specific” needs…curly, frizzy, de-frizz, gel, mouse, yadda yadda…I decided I’d cut all this out, but one at a time so it wasn’t as overwhelming (and as wasteful - though there are some products that are simply so sketch that I just recommend saying NO, immediately - e.g. air fresheners or all conventional cleaning products).  My transition ended up being a complete success and a really informative journey, making a drastic difference in my life – i.e. quality of my hair, skin, nails, is fair better…I mean it makes perfect sense too – how can we continually apply chemicals to our bodies and expect there to not be negative repercussions?

So, the next time you have a headache (as I still do now from washing out those plastic containers almost an hour later), while it may be dehydration, lack of coffee, or stress....it might just be because you're been around too many chemicals!

I certainly notice a lot more now that I've cut it out - I liken it to people who smoke, and stop and then try again - their lungs are so much more sensitive, they have lost their resistance - we've all built up a pretty big resistance to chemicals, and until you cut them out and give your body a chance to breath ....you might not notice how much harm you're doing your body.

I’d be happy to talk about this with anyone so just ask, and share too what you have transitioned in your life that you find works great! Having a support network to share in tips and tricks is super helpful when undergoing a purge.

Waste diversion...aka I can't help but look in the bin! (part 1)

Coming home from Groundswell, I came in through the alley as I needed access to our compost since I had brought home our collective food scraps for the week on my bike. If you know me, you know that I can’t be by recycle/garbage receptacles without taking a gander inside…I just can’t.

I found….some binders, a fan that is in incredible condition,  some cords (internet, electrical etc), and a hanger…this was in the garbage. Fun to find, but ultimately sad…sad that people throw this away, especially when it’s in perfect working condition. Anyone need any binders/cables? I think I already found a home for the fan ;). 

In the recycling blue bin I rescued two bottles which had maybe a quarter of their product still inside – i.e. soap. One was a pump bottle for liquid soap which I  was excited about and took since I wanted a bottle to add the bulk liquid soap I got refilled at the Soap Dispensary – I was pretty excited to find this as I really didn't want to buy a soap I didn't really want, and accumulate more plastic, just to get the bottle! So…that’s good. 

The other one I just rinsed out a bit and then put it back, since I figured the city would deem it as “contaminated” and into the garbage it would go.

On that note, I wonder how much we all know about what goes into recycling and what ends up actually being recycled. While we feel good about putting x,y,z in our blue boxes – if it’s not actually an item the city accepts, it will ultimately end up in the landfill. 

So – a recap of what the city of Vancouver accepts (I specify Vancouver since this is where I am and it differs quite drastically depending on which area you’re located in!) Also, this should be noted too that this is only if you get City pick-up if it’s a private recycler (i.e. you're in a business, or condo complex, apartment etc) then what is accepted can be slightly different too. I was going to do my own bulleted list but then this is forever changing, as facilities become better able to accept more items (yay!) so…a link shall suffice

What goes in recycling bins! (see the link!)

What goes in the GREEN bin  (see the link!) --> basically, anything that was living, grew from soil, or would decompose if left sort of unattended, outside of the fridge, outside. I like to project into the future and imagine, if it got wet – would it ultimately mold and decay? Like…a t-shirt - the answer is yes, because it’s cotton (cotton being a plant), and I can visualize a sort of moldy t-shirt. But would plastic? Nope..the water would bead on it but it wouldn’t penetrate. So yes… I like that sort of visual for helping me navigate the potentially muddy waters…or composted soil?

In terms of what is or is not excepted, just want to draw attention to the image of soil/rocks. At first glance I was thinking to my self - "WHAT…that is clearly organic matter"…and then I realized – OH…it’s because you can dump that outside on the grass/soil/plant bed…etc..and if you live in a condo – well actually, if you live in a condo you probably are not having city pick-up it’s likely a private recycler so you’d want to check with them assuming it's of a similar vein, I’d  just sneak it in there anyway…OR …bring it down and add it to your landscaped areas around your building, or share it with a friend ;) there are always ways….always. :) And, it's fun to exercise our creativity and find them!

I digress, my actual point of wanting to write was to note the horrific chemicals in our traditional soaps and body products and I will use this one soap  I found as an example. However since this is already incredibly long....let's take it to a ...second blog post!

Zero Waste in Arusha ...continued.

It's funny how the universe works....and by funny I mean epically appropriate. Just as I was starting to want to do Zero Waste here, I met a guy whose trying to do just that in Tanzania. Check them out Active Green Society.

At work, as part of my quest for zero waste I encountered some alternatives which not only saved the environment, but our pocket book too. As  mentioned in my last post, I found a toner cartridge in the garbage...yikes! So I took it out and made a plan to deal with is responsibly....I ended up finding a place called Galaxy Computers here in Arusha that does re-fills - it took an email and a couple phone calls and I had my answer....all in all it wasn't that big of a deal to spend the extra time...but it seems many of us are too busy to take that time. It's that mindshift again that needs to occur . . .it's interesting where our priorities lie.....and it's also important to recognize how easy we get ourselves into these routines that don't get broken until we pause for a moment - i.e. our process had always been - buy new ink/toner....never refill, it wasn't even on the mind. Anyway suffice it to say, I was pretty stoked that we could refill our ink, and such a price difference too! To refill the blank ink cartridge was 5,000tsh, versus a new one...28,000...boom!

It's fun to find alternatives and feels so good to treat our mother with love and respect. Not to mention, during ones quest for alternatives, you end up meeting some great people that you may otherwise not meet. Start small and you eventually source all your different areas to recycle or upcycle this, re-make or re-work that! :)

On another note, banana leaves are RAD and multi-functional, and I love not having a drawer bursting with twist ties. . . . those pesky twist ties, impossible to recycle because they are both a debatable/indeterminable type of metal, coated in a paper that is debatably coated with plastic residue........and elastics...because all my produce comes bunched with ties and elastic.. . because of course one method isn't enough! I require no such drawer here because of .......banana leafs and creative minds!

I wonder how I can bring this back to Canada.... or what sort of alternative would grow there that would double as a tie to bunch delicious organic produce. . . oh the possibilities! The thought of a grocer without twist ties and elastics....makes my heart happy.

Thoughts?

Zero-Waste - It's time Tanzania, it's time.

EDIT: A quick search online found me this blog post about a company called, TENA, that is now collecting plastic bottles from people in Arusha. So I have emailed them to inquire further. I think for now they are just collecting, not recycling but hey, that's a great start. I think for now I will keep the bottles so that we can fill them with other plastics and make bricks and build a bench, but it's great to know about this so I can share this information to those who are wanting to do something about their bottle situation. 

It's been a while! I've been posting to my Africa blog mostly, so check it out if you're curious, though it's less about waste specifically and more about my own thoughts and other such things...check it out here! but I think it's due time for a post on this one!

So, I just got back to Sinoni (Near Arusha, Tz)  from Kinesi (a small village near Musoma on Lake Victoria - beautiful, peaceful place, though very hot and I'd argue it's due to lack of trees - many have been cut down for cooking, and not done so in a sustainable way, though things are starting to change)...and I seem to feel very inspired to rock some zero waste action at home here. 

I’m not even sure why or what happened...I think just because so much got thrown out while I was away and I happened to be near the garbage and caught first a glimpse of a bunch of paper in there…. And then as I dug further, I found some jars, three to be exact, one glass one even! And then I found some compost, a sack for sunglasses, a paper clip (okay that’s minor but still, why put it in the garbage it’s very useful and I don’t have many in the office!! And to toss something that’s perfectly usable, just seems like the garbage was closer than the office… why not put it in your pocket for when you're in the office or somewhere where it's usable! #mindshifting), I digress, I also found an essential oil burner…not sure at all why that got put in the garbage…and so it was settled…I’d start organizing this waste…

The paper went into the compost toilette – which is a great carbon addition! The box that was holding the paper went back in the office, with a sign on it now informing people that it isn’t for the garbage, it’s a place to put paper to recycle! (as shown in the below photo)

The jars were cleaned and now they will be put in the cupboard to hold dried goods – way better than bags of stuff – so the rats can’t eat into them!! 

The essential oil burner will stay in the kitchen or it may make its way to my room wherein I have some lavender essential oil that would go great with such a thing, to allow for some peaceful moments. 

The glasses case will be used to protect sun glasses, the paperclip will be used in the office, and the plastics that I can’t recycle here (yet!)….will make (slash, have already made) their way into the below bottle brick…brick #1 of je ne sais quoi, such that we can build an earth bench or some other earthen shape and incorporate the bottles into it so that they stay in situ and do not pollute our one and only, beautiful home.

Search "Earth Bench with Bottle Bricks" and such epic inspirational photos show up!Photo Cred: © Brennan Bird, www.earthbench.org

Here is some of what I pulled out of the garbage bin, minus the square plastic container, which had compost to bring to the compost pile, which is I suppose what started my garbage journey as it is what led me to peak into the garbage....

Worm compost, with newly added cardboard as mulch/carbon filter

I even found some coriander and fennel on top of the worm bin, on some previously laid cardboard that was clearly untouched and had just been put there...confirmation from our Farm Manager, that it was put there under the assumption no-one would eat it! I've now let him know that for sure I will always take these items if there's extra!

While I was away in Kinesi, there were two pits, one was for compost, though that didn’t seem to actually compost as it mostly got burned despite previous attempts to stop burning things, and the other one was for plastics, that got burned… that really freaks me out, burning plastics is possibly the WORST thing one can do, I think it’s worse than just leaving the plastic as is…. But maybe I’m wrong. I have vivid memories as a child, going for hikes in Elbow Falls, and then having fire-cooked meal in the forest before heading home, I remember us always being very careful not to put plastic in the fire...I remember always being the one patrolling the fire to ensure no plastic got in. Now that I think of it, there was even a plastic-in-the-fire-pit debacle during my first summer at MPAcc, in Saskatoon.... someone keps trying to toss a bottle in after I kept pulling it out of the fire, just to spite me (hmm, yes a bit ridiculous, I know!).... I eventually got it out.  A quick search found me this.  Either way it stinks and is a sketchy toxin, so perhaps seeing the ashes of previous plastics, and new plastics piled on top to be burned in due time propelled me to act after arriving back home to Arusha…either way, I can’t believe I went so long without starting a recycling program.

All in all, I think what prevented me was the thoughts that – they don’t recycle here, that’s just the way it is, there is no-where to take anything even if I start to separate it…. 

What silly things to think! But we're all prey to this sort of thought pattern - wherein we just "accept what is"...glad I have come out of that initial trance. 

I refuse to accept that any longer. I think some people may laugh at all of my efforts and think "that will just end the moment she leaves" or ... "it's useless because people don't recycle there"...but to me, for one, it feels right inside to do this, so I do it... but also, if anything, even if I try, and fail, it still opens a conversation,and brings about a new thought into people's consciousness..... and that is better than nothing! Raising awareness even if it ends up all going back to the garbage, to me is a step in the right direction.

Items reserved for bottle brickin'

Perfect bottle drying rack pre-plastic fill! Boom. Note I found all of thee in the garbage...ooo my!

One brick down...many to come!

I’m pretty excited…I actually forgot how excited diverting waste from the landfill makes me feel....I think this may be my calling…. Now I can’t actually sort people’s garbage because that isn’t sustainable, (much like the teaching someone to fish versus giving them fish...) but there’s gotta be something there, because honestly it makes me come alive….I’m so incredibly stoked now that I put some plastic in a bottle and have a brick….and I can’t wait for more to fill....and then to step in some clay, sand, and straw to make some earthen structure!

My current dilemma is - do I start from now on, or attack the current garbage situation? The garbage here is full BUT it’s dirty..it’s been sitting for a while so who knows what’s inside…rats? On the plus side, at least most wet material is out, as the compost is separate (besides the odd person throwing out compost not knowing we have a bin for that)…. But it also has no lid, so when it rains it goes inside so..I’m a bit apprehensive to go through the bin and put everything into bottles …. I may do a bit on the top, let it dry out from sun, then do a bit more off the top and stop when it gets too real… but can it ever get too real? We shall see....

As you can see the big blue bin is the current waste bin, filled mostly with plastics - so definitely I think about 99.99% of all its contents could be bricked. 

With metal I plan to ask someone who is near by where I always see a bunch of scrap metal…maybe they’d take 

it or maybe I could do a mid day dump and it would casually blend in with the other metals….or at least have the conversation.

The water bottles, well, they will be used for stuffing other garbage into but if we have too many I hear that there is some bottle recycling a couple places in the city..maybe…but I think by recycling the mean…they put it in a bag and save it for some other purpose yet to be known. So maybe bottle bricks are the best option.

I think that covers all the waste we have…

Some bottles set aside...for what, I'm not sure.

As you can see the bags open over time, and not sure this is a very effective method but I'd love to chat with whomever is responsible for this so I can learn more.

What looks like birds in the sky, is actually black plastic bags.... mbaya sana. 

Working to get rid of this ;) - the Landfill near-ish to wear I'm living.

I set out three bins a couple weeks ago and by day 2 they were all gone, the contents all into the garbage, and the plastic bins back by the showers…. Even though I had mentioned that this is for recycling… But now a sweet sign has been made (compliments of Lynn! Quite the artist!) so if I reinstate the buckets, perhaps that will help …but maybe we need to add the Swahili words below.

The bottle bricks make me happy too because it’s a great project for kids to work on… collect garbage, and find bottles – which are otherwise littered into ecosystems, fill them up, and bring them to one location – could even incentivise this, perhaps 50 shillings per bottle filled up…. Or something to that effect. . . and any and all earthen structures are rad, and one that directly reduces plastic pollution in our environment…bonus! J

My heart is happy.

Consumers have the last say. Get-a-communicatin'!

Consumers have the POWER! - just as an FYI...not to be the bearer of bad-GMO news BUT... as we all likely suspected, theatre popcorn (at least at the hollywood-type theatres or however one calls them - I guess ALL Cineplex's), is GMO... SO let's all email them and let them know we'd like it to not be GMO..and then eventually we can buy their popcorn again and eat it knowing we're not confusing our body, and participating in an unknown science experiment! Below is the email I received back from them. And, here is her email Kelly.Armstrong@cineplex.com, so you can tell them too! :) Woot! Consumers have the POWER!

//Dear Jocelynn,

Thank you for contacting Cineplex Entertainment. We apologise for the delay in response as we have been experiencing a higher than average volume of contacts.

Unfortunately, our popcorn is not GMO free. The popping oil used contains canola oil which is extracted from genetically modified hybrids of rapeseed.

We apologise for any inconvenience. Your feedback regarding GMO free popcorn is greatly appreciated. We will be sharing your comments with the appropriate department for their review and consideration.

Thank you for taking the time to write to us.//

Funnels and spices - thought provoking grocery store tales

Wanted to share a quick experience. I think it's important to share what we do so as to normalize it. In addition, having had this experience, I can now provide you with the best method of attack for re-filling your spices direct-to-spice holder.

Of course one can bring a re-usable cloth bag, or re-use a plastic bag that they acquired some other way (in an ideal world such plastic bags would cease to be acquired but alas they still find their way into our homes for now...) and I did that up until today when I decided it was time to funnel it up a notch. And funnel it up I did.

The thing for me was - not only was it ridiculously messy to transfer spice from a cloth bag to a container, I also felt I was wasting precious spices when I would re-fill a cloth bag.  If you've ever done this (and I hope you have :), then you know. Invariably the spices stick to the bag, then one has to either rinse or wash, and when we're talking hydrophobic powders, this can be tricky mess, resulting in water, energy waste and spice waste. Not to mention you paid for that, so why you be wastin' brah?

Solution?!

1. Bring you spice container(s), and funnel to the store
2. Get the cashier to weigh the empty container and write down that amount *Disclaimer*: you will get some funny looks by standing in line with seemingly nothing in hand, and then placing an empty container on the belt, but what is life if not for funny looks and shifting people's paradigms
3. Once you have the empty weight, select your spice, grab your funnel, and work it in the bulk isle
4. When done, proceed to check-out, explain the situation*, and chat it out -every opportunity, and interaction, can be one of shared connection, and shared experience

*Now, in Calgary, at Community Natural Foods (one of my favourite stores in Calgary), they are quite familiar with this task because they have a soaps and shampoos re-fill station, so they are used to pre-weighing the empty container, writing that weight on it, then they will deduct that weight once at the till with your full container. It's pretty standard. At Save-On (where I was today), they were a bit in the dark about this concept, and claimed their tills couldn't do this. I imagine they can, as I imagine there are not too many systems that grocery stores use? I could be wrong. Either way, the cashier took a calculator and manually did it for me which I commend...plus, who doesn't like an excuse to use a calculator ;) In time, this will be the norm, for now, we're re-setting that norm.

You know, for now, this is a "weird" thing to do. Actually I don't think it's weird, but supposing it is. It's only as it is because we as a society have not yet taken and accepted this action into our daily discourse.  

I won't lie, at first I felt bad and also intimidated -  taking time to explain my issue, confusing the cashier, and people in front and behind me in line. But, sometimes you just have to do these things. How else do things change? And, why is it that I feel bad for trying to protect something that effects all of us - not just me. I suppose when these types of things are not at the forefront of our minds, or at the tips of our feelings, (i.e. - refusing plastic and why it makes sense, why we feel the urge to do so), I'm seen as merely some person who is causing ruckus, and taking up time. I'm the one thing standing in the way of the next person in line to get back to their day. Perhaps. But also perhaps not. And either way, I can't be worried about that because what's more important than time, is respecting mother nature. And anyway, it's all a mind-set, who knows how the other people actually felt. Maybe those behind me are those who have already realized that there is no such thing as "waiting", that every moment is a chance to reflect and be present in our life. Bottom line, we can't worry about these things, we must simply act in a way that feels right, for us.

It may seem like I took up more time than I would have had I bought a bag of cinnamon, I will agree that likely it is quicker to run in and buy a bag, but as I mentioned above - it's not about time, it's about doing what feels right, and to just buy a bag doesn't sit right inside my soul. 

Let's get real - it was also cheaper $1.10 total, and I now have zero waste from that transaction. But again, it's not about all the logical reasons why it makes more sense, it's literally about how I FEEL. 

Or, as the nice woman behind the customer service desk suggested before I told her that it was actually in an attempt to avoid plastic, I should just fill a plastic bag available in the bulk isle, then transfer it to my container once in the comfort of my home. This, arguably, would have taken more time, as I would have now had a task upon arriving home, whereas otherwise, I was free to go about my day. So, I explained my reasonings to the customer service woman, and while she was a bit confused at first, the message reached her because when I came back, she then explained to another cashier (who rang me in) what I was doing and why. So that's pretty cool. :)

The cashier who rang me through said she had never seen this before. To which I responded "Well, that's no good, because there is an awful lot of plastic in this universe already, and we don't need more!" So, maybe I was the first person she ever saw do this. Does that mean it didn't help because I'm only one person? 

No. Absolutely not. 

For one, every bag counts, every act counts. But for two, I interacted with three people at Save-On directly. I also indirectly interacted with all those who saw me funnel my cinnamon into my container in the bulk isle and thought "what the heck is she doing?" or maybe they thought "hey, what a great idea"... or maybe they didn't think, but they still witnessed it, and maybe when they see it again it will trigger a thought. Who knows how it may all unfold.  I also interacted with the people in line, who saw me with an empty container, and watched as I got it weighed. Who knows how many people saw this random act, and that is only one level of the impact. 

The point is, and what Charles Eisenstein has taught me is we can't possibly know the full effect of our actions. It's crazy to think we have no impact at all, that much is true. I think we all know we have some, but what we don't often realize is the ripple effects of our actions that go deeper, and speak louder than our current mind-set would have us believe. Trust in that even if it doesn't make rational sense to the thinking brain.  

At the end of the day though, I don't do it for the external impact, though it's nice to consider what that might be (and I think we have a tendency to consider such things).  I do it because it feels weird, and out of alignment with my core self, to do otherwise. To get a plastic bag when I know the repercussions of that bag, and how it will last in our universe forever? To get a plastic bag when I have viable options and alternatives? Not only does it not make logical sense, inside, it literally hurts inside to do otherwise. And I hope that isn't seen as a bad thing. To me, it's a beautiful compass that directs my actions. If it hurts, I don't do it, and if I listen, I can be in utter alignment, and true to myself. The trick is, to really listen, and really feel. 

I believe it isn't until it hurts that we can truly, and honestly, move beyond, and forward, into actions that speak from the heart. After all, as many have alluded to - we don't hurt what we love. And I love mother nature, the universe, and all the beings in it. 

That's my thought process - what's yours?