Four steps essential for long healthy life

I saw this list today:

1. no smoking
2. exercise 30 minutes a day
3. eat 5 servings of fruit or vegetables a day
4. drink moderate alcohol daily
   

If you follow these four simple steps everyday you will be on your way to a healthy lifestyle.

Imagine if you could make a living as a Poet!!!

That thought occurred to me today. Not many people are able to do it, but if you could, you'd spend your days exploring the deepest reaches of your mind and writing about it in poems. 

Very inspiring lecture by professor

I was really moved by this video sent by a friend. It's a great primer on life and what really counts.
Randy Pausch has terminal cancer and is given just a few months to live. He goes over his life and what he has learned. Something we can all learn from. His message: live life to the fullest, dream big, and don't give up.

"if you are not in awe you are not paying attention"

I saw this line on a bumper sticker the other day and it just made my day. It's so true. Miracles are happening all around us if we only look.

Best way to help the planet?

There is a very interesting discussion going on at the No Impact Blog about the best way to help the planet. On one side is Colin Beavan who has just completed a year long experiment on living with minimal impact. On the other side is Michael Shellenberger, co-author of Break Through: The Death of Environmentalism and the Politics of Possibility who argues that the best way to help the planet is by massive government spending to develop more energy efficient technologies.

Colin argues that you also need to convince people to use resources more wisely and to reduce consumption, which will lead to happier lives. He says his year long experiment has convinced him of that. Fascinating discussion in all.

The slow food movement is gaining ground

I've almost finished listening to Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal Vegetable, Miracle" audio book. I have greatly enjoyed this book. It's full of stories, anecdotes, facts about the food industry and lots of humor. Another book just out is Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto". Another book about the dismal state of food in the USA.

Both Kingsolver and Polland advocate getting back to traditional ways of growing and eating food. Lots of vegetables and fruits and cooking from scratch as much as possible. Cooking and eating together as a family is highly recommended. As the health of Americans continues to get worse this seems like a good idea. This may be the next big movement in this country. Just like the ban of smoking in public places, we could see big changes in the food industry.

The slow food movement is gaining ground

I've almost finished listening to Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal Vegetable, Miracle" audio book.