Guest post by Kelly N.
The Scream by Edvard Munch
It’s the most heartbreaking thing when you realize that you have no one…. zilch zero that will help you! All you are is a stranger in a strange land with no one hearing your plea. All the faces look around and stare at you like you have no face, no meaning.
Posted in Disability, Environmental Health, Human Rights, Interconnectedness
Tagged doubts, EHS, fibromyalgia, intolerance, invisible disabilities, Lyme Disease, MCS, ME/CFS, Mold
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“The idea that we live in something called ‘the environment’ is utterly preposterous. . . . The world that environs us, that is around us, is also within us. We are made of it; we Continue reading
“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
~ Albert Einstein
Posted in Friendship, Inspiration, Interconnectedness
Tagged Albert Einstein, compassion, images
Over the years, when discussing life with MCS/ES, it is often mentioned that this is a life with a new normal. It’s a new normal that none of us asked for, and too often, it is not a very nice new normal at all.
Recently, I’ve been able to explore some of Charles Eisenstein’s work and ran across this quote:
I’m pretty sure he wasn’t thinking about MCS/ES when he said that, as we aren’t the only ones on this planet who are experiencing radical changes, but those of us with MCS/ES have been learning important lessons that we can share as a part of this new way of being that is slowly emerging.
When we develop MCS/ES, everything (or almost everything) changes.
Posted in Environmental Health, Imagination, Interconnectedness
Tagged change, Charles Eisenstein, fossil fuels, MCS, MCS/ES, new, normal, petro-chemicals, possibilities, wireless, world
Fracking… It’s not all it’s cracked up to be… It’s a lot more!
I recently discovered that the Ontario government is exploring opportunities to frack us here too. Russell Ontario sits on black shale, twenty minutes from Ottawa! I’ve seen it mentioned that this is happening in other Ontario communities, as well as elsewhere across Canada.
The CBC article is short and says little, so please watch the video there if you are interested … (it won’t embed and the link to just that also doesn’t work) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2013/05/29/ottawa-russell-shale-gas-exploration.html
Why is the government, which is supposed to be looking after the best interests of people, exploring and allowing a technology that will destroy us all if it isn’t stopped?
To understand what some of the problems with fracking are, watch (or listen) to Sandra Steingraber, scientist, mother, writer, poet, cancer survivor, wisdom woman in this 5 part video series.
Posted in Environmental Health, Interconnectedness, Products, Public Health, Toxic Trespass
Tagged Chemicals, ecocide, environment, fracking, gas, hazardous air pollutants, Ontario, Sandra Steingraber, shale, video, Water
Can you grow it or make it yourself?
If not, then consider the following:
1. Do I really need this? Is there anything I can use instead?
Here’s where the joys of ingenuity come in. It’s fun to find substitutes. For instance, do you really need a nightgown or pajamas when a big shirt will do as well?
2. How will this item affect the quality of my life?
Will it help me engage in life more fully, like sheet music or gardening supplies or a swim suit? Or will it just make me more passive – like an extra TV?
3. Is the cost of the item worth the amount of time it takes to earn the money to buy it?
This is the question suggested by Dominguez and Robin in Your Money or Your Life. For instance,
How many hours do you have to work to buy your daily espressos?
Is it worth it?
You may say yes, but at least you’ve thought about it.
Posted in Dharma, Environment, Interconnectedness, Products, Responsibility
Tagged caring consumer, environment, shopping
There are reasons people choose and enjoy isolation, but developing disabling adverse effects from the toxic chemicals in everyday products and materials is seldom one of them.
Do you know someone who says fragrances bother or disable them? Chances are pretty good that you do, now that 34.7% of the population experience adverse effects, ranging from mild to severe and disabling, from fragrance exposures.
When your friend, family member, or colleague informs you that something you use has an adverse effect on them, how would you respond?
Do you choose the friendship? Or the product?
Posted in Environmental Sensitivities, Fragrance, Friendship, Health, Interconnectedness, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
Tagged allergies, asthma, autism, chemical sensitivity, environmental sensitivities, fibromyalgia, fragrance chemicals, fragrance-free, friendship and fragrance, health, IAQ, invisible disabilities, laundry, MCAS, MCS, phthalates
“If we are interdependent with everything and everyone, even our smallest, least significant thought, word, and action have real consequences throughout the universe.
Throw a pebble into a pond. It sends a shiver across the surface of the water. Ripples merge into one another and create new ones. Everything is inextricably interrelated: We come to realize that we are responsible for everything we do, say, or think, responsible in fact for ourselves, everyone and everything else, and the entire universe.”
Seriously "Sensitive" to Pollution 