Living Awareness Archives
October 2006: Personal Responsibility



LIVING AWARENESS Creative Tips, Conversations, and Connections to Inspire Vibrant Living with Clarity, Focus and Joy
OCTOBER 2006

Dear Melissa,

WHAT YOU NOTICE MATTERS! And what I've noticed is that nothing I do is unimportant. Each thought, word and act has an energetic or physical effect on other people, animal life, and the natural world. We are all linked. I believe in making sure I take responsibility for the effect I produce. I believe in acting for positive effect. Trying to stay mindful and aware helps me to do this.

As human being we have the great gift of being able to connect with others mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. There is great responsibility in this gift. And, there is wonderous power in all the good one person can do.

As all you pet lovers experience, we are linked to the animal world both as direct caretakers and as guardians of their habitats. So we have responsiblity there, too. And, as we already know (from oil spills to global warming), it's not in our best interest to get sloppy in our relationship with the natural world either. There are serious reprecussions.

So my wish during this month of transition, as we leave behind summer and embrace the beauty of fall, is this: quietly or loudly intend for your thoughts, words and actions to resonate with positive waves of effect. Be aware of how you feel as you act with intention for benefitial results. Be a loving and generous link in the chain of humanity so that your best self radiates out to the world.

I hope you enjoy the interview with vegan expert and speaker Sarah Taylor. Her dedication to conscious eating is equal parts motivation and inspiration. Since our interview, I'm rethinking the effect my diet has on myself, animals, and the natural world. It's a must read for anyone who has tinkered with the thought of a cleaner, more compassionate diet.

Also, I've added some new links to inspire daily living that is fully connected and aware.

Live aware, because what you SAY and DO matters!

I wish this to be a dialogue exchange, so I would love to hear your comments, ideas and questions. Please email me anytime. You can click here to go to my contact page.

AND PLEASE FORWARD THIS EZINE TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT ENJOY IT.

Thanks! Have a Fabulous Fall!

Melissa Wadsworth is an author specializing in creative awareness and personal growth topics. Through her public relations and public speaking buisness, she emphasizes the vital importance of curiosity, clear intentions and conscious communications to a satisfying and successful life path.

In This Issue:
  • Featured Book
  • Food Chain Awareness: Meet Vegan Expert Sarah Taylor
  • Five Elements of Personal Responsibility
  • Inspirational Quote
  • Living Awareness Exercise
  • Important: Reprint Permission Guidelines & Archived Issues

  • Food Chain Awareness: Meet Vegan Expert Sarah Taylor
    sarahtaylor

    At first glance, it’s tempting to credit Sarah Taylor ‘s tall, lean physique and clear-eyed, freckled, girl-next- door beauty entirely to favorable genes. Then she tells you about her highly conscious eating habits, the hours of tennis she plays and her choice to live surrounded by the small-town bucolic charm of Gig Harbor, Washington. And, you start to consider: “Maybe it’s not such an accident of birth after all.”

    Sarah is a vegan. She decided to stop eating animal and dairy products cold turkey at the age of 30. In 2002, after getting married, she did what many of us do: she put on ten to fifteen pounds. She was eating out more, eating more treats and just generally eating more than she ever did as a single gal.

    “At the time, my four main food groups were Swiss, Havarti, Cheddar and Chocolate,” she admits, with a laugh. “The way I reacted to the extra weight you would have made you think that I had gained fifty pounds. It was really bothering me mentally and emotionally.” And the dieting she tried wasn’t working.

    So Sarah decided to get informed. As a pharmaceutical representative and speaker it was something she did all the time to be successful. Yet, this time the results were unexpected.

    A Food Awareness Aha! Moment
    Sarah and her husband were on their way to Whistler, Canada for a vacation, and she wanted to buy a diet book she could read during the week. Usually she spent a lot of time browsing books and picking the perfect one. On this occasion, however, her husband was waiting in the car so she had to make it fast.

    She recalls, “I ran in and one of the first books I saw on the diet shelf was Diet for a New America. I found out that it had little to do with prescribing a weight- loss diet and everything to do with how food gets to our table. It was something I didn’t consciously want to learn -- all the cruelty that goes on in the factory farms. Yet, I found it so compelling that I couldn’t stop reading.”


    Five Elements of Personal Responsibility
    Mel

    Personal responsibility. We each know we have it in the various areas of our lives: work and career, family relationships, friends, future goals. But do we always do all we could with it?

    For instance, I know that I have a responsibility to give back to others. Each time I hear of someone volunteering with real heart and purpose, I am reminded that I need to do more. In the meantime I try to be friendly and helpful to people I come in contact with. I’m not always as successful as I’d like to be (Oops! I was in my head again and missed an opportunity to return the smile of a nice stranger).

    I know that I have a responsibility to interact with others fairly and with kindness. We all get our fear buttons pushed. Such moments are prime opportunities to push back. We can push back fear and act with generosity and optimism. We can imagine our connection to others and act more inclusively.

    There’s enough success to go around for everyone. There’s enough business. We can remind ourselves that our agenda shares a stage with many other people and their own goals and plans. How we execute our daily tasks and goals is just as important as when we complete them. If at the end of the day we can say we acted with grace and honor to fulfill our goals, then it’s a very good day indeed.

    Of course, the most important responsibility we have is to ourselves. Since we are the first link in our chain of influence and connection, we need to come from a hopeful, grounded and honest place.


    Inspirational Quote
    bluebird

    "And is a big thing for me. It's a connector word -- not either/or. Way bigger than "the." Truth is in the and. And people are often ostrasized. We try to box things and there's a danger in that. And lets you go with the flow, to take energy in and redirect it positively."


    Sara C. Roller
    President, Buchanan Chocolates, Inc.
    www.buchananchocolate.com


    Living Awareness Exercise

    Pick a Day. Then note your connections to other people, animals, and the natural world.

    To get you started here are a few suggestions:

    - Note the people you smile at or say hello to. Take notice of other people's reactions to your words and actions. Consider whether you had the desired effect you wanted.

    - Notice your daily responsibilities. E.g. Your plants rely on you to water them. Make a note of how you feel about these responsibilities. Do you feel good about them or resentful? What could you do or how could you change your perspective to feel good about your responsibilities?

    - Notice how often you are called upon to assist someone (a child with homework, a co-worker with a project, a spouse with a household task). How does helping others usually make you feel? Sometimes we can get into the habit of feeling put upon rather than grateful for these opportunities to help others. For each occurance of helping others try to rate it: gift or sacrifice?


    Important: Reprint Permission Guidelines & Archived Issues

    If you wish to use any of the articles from Living Awareness in your own electronic newsletter or ezine please include the following paragraph:

    Reprinted from Living Awareness, a free ezine featuring interviews, articles and exercises to inspire more life clarity, focus and joy. To sign up go to:
    www.melissawadsworth.com and receive a free copy of Seven Steps to Self Empowerment.

    Click the links below to view past issues:

    August 2006: The Law of Attraction

    September 2006: Successful Self-Awareness


    Featured Book
    small talk

    Awareness and observation are natural small talk tools. Read more about conscious communications in my book Small Talk Savvy. It's full of tips and strategies for effective personal and business interactions. Get connected now! It's available nationwide, exclusively at Borders bookstores. Look for it in the self-help books section, shelved under "O" for operator's manual.

    Read an excerpt by clicking here.

    Other Recommended Reads:

    BLINK by Malcom Gladwell

    Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

    Sacred Waters: Stories of Healing, Cleansing and Renewal by Maril Crabtree


    Principles of Success by Jack Canfield

    Blog Comments To Check Out

    Knock "em Dead, The Ultimate Blog for Job Search and Career Management (awareness stream)

    Successfactors.com's "Is Self- Awareness a Competncy?" article


    EzineArticles.com Basic 
Author
    Click the star to read other self-development articles by Melissa Wadsworth

    See why Marcia Wieder is one of the most inspiring speakers, authors and syndicated columnists on achieving dreams. Click Here!

    Recommended Movies:

    What the Bleep Do We Know

    The Secret

    Little Miss Sunshine

    Kinky Boots



    Recommended Web Sites:

    Your Personal DNA report. A free and fun personality test.


    SPEAKING Alert!

    Melissa Wadsworth is a creative self-help author and communications expert. She is available to speak on the following topics:

    Small Talk Savvy (Business or Personal Focus)

    Public Relations Savvy: Take Back-to- the-Office Basics for Entrepreneurs

    What You Notice Matters!: The Stuff of a Successful and Satisfying Daily Existence

    I Get It! Recognizing Your Personal Truth In Life Lessons

    Click here to contact me at wadscomm@msn. com

    Recommended Connections

    JT Chandler

    Soulful Living ezine

    Signs of Spirit e-newsletter

    Speaking Circles

    Caterina Rando Success Coach

    www.TheVeganNextDoor



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