& Feel Healthier and Happier as a Result!

ENVIRONMENT

Blame Game

t seems everywhere we look, everywhere we hear, and everywhere we otherwise interact seems to bring with it feelings of doom and gloom – not to mention restraint……. But haven’t you read these words before? Why, only my last post in fact! ‘So what’s new?’ You might ask. Indeed, what is?

We’re all seemingly with our heads down, feeling sorry for ourselves – or at least some of us seem to be, and it’s perhaps unsurprising in view of the constant unremitting messages from the media. It erodes confidence, focuses on the negatives, playing on ‘fear’, and generally serving no useful purpose but to keep us in check and looking for help and guidance from our leaders. A certain dependency, or at least tendency in that direction is fostered, and rather than feel cheated by the system, we look inwards.

We end up moaning and groaning to friends, family, colleagues and others we meet, convincing ourselves that as so many people are being affected, that we are justified in feeling that we too, as an individual are a part of it. We effectively surrender our destiny to someone else; someone who actually has no ‘power’, nor ‘control’ over us, but we have chosen to believe do. This is a mind game; and I don’t mean that flippantly.

hether we succeed or fail in life is actually very little to do with whether or not the economy and other people do well, but more a case of our own mindset. It’s been said that for every 1 positive thought, there are 3 negative ones, which therefore largely explains why so many people don’t succeed to a higher level, and one they are in fact perfectly capable of.

Simply put, it’s one’s attitude more than anything else that determines one’s success in life – in whatever form ‘success’ means for you (spiritual, monetary, happiness and contentment etc.). In other words, the difference between he whom succeeds and he whom fails, is attitude: what they focus on; how they spend their time; and what actions they take.

We all have 24hrs a day; and we all have access to a wealth of material to help us, such as the internet, libraries, personal and community support organisations (in the case of developed countries), as well as friends, family and colleagues etc.. Whether you see your glass as half empty or half full is, again, dependent on your mindset. It’s simply a matter of choice. This is where it’s down to you; each of us as individuals, to take responsibility for yourselves, and not pass this onto anyone else, or our community at large.

Those who justify their position in life, with excuses, any excuses, does nothing to put the situation right. Laying the blame at your family, upbringing, ex-partner, where you live, your physical condition or your formal education is not being fair to yourself. The only thing stopping you succeed is YOU! ………….Many successful people came from poor backgrounds; many successful people had poor education; and many successful people have been through bad relationships. However, that didn’t stop them! They didn’t let these experiences prevent them from succeeding.

To justify failure, is failure! One hasn’t therefore moved on. Let the expression ‘fail to succeed’ mean something different to what it perhaps does to most people. ‘What does he mean?’ I hear you say. Well, when I say ‘fail to succeed’ someone might read ‘failure’ in that. Well the word failure is in there; but - and this is important – if you stop and think for a moment, and dwell on each individual word making up this thought, you’ll see another interpretation: ‘Fail to succeed’ can mean ‘failure comes before success’! You have to fail in order to succeed! Now you are perhaps getting to where I am in thought on this, and that success in life is merely what you make it to be. So now when you read the words ‘fail to succeed’ you’re thinking something different. It’s a matter of choice; choice as to how you react and/or interpret things.

mpowerment starts here! Resentment, jealousy, envy, blame, and abdication of responsibility have no place in the head of someone successful, with a conscience, and who also plans on being at peace with oneself and feeling happiness and contentment in life. Of course pure economic wealth can be anyone’s with a bit of work and ingenuity; but happiness, true happiness will remain elusive unless one is also with high moral standards, is ethical, principled and doesn’t let greed become a part of their thinking. This of course includes not only a caring for others, but for mother nature and the planet as a whole. We are all interdependent and closely linked; not as separate as we’d sometimes like to think.

The building blocks, or foundations you might say, would advisedly be diet and exercise as a part of this ‘whole’ – as mentioned in an earlier posting, no need to repeat myself here. An imbalance, or lack of any of these elements would adversely affect another. For example, it’s of little value to focus entirely on your business goals, as the family will undoubtedly be missing your presence and attention.

lternatively, if you’re so focussed on enjoyment in life (equating self-centred or even selfish, depending on the degree) that your work and/or family suffer as a result (either your business providing you an income that then starts to fail; or starvation of your time where the family is concerned) then this imbalance will result in a heavier price being paid elsewhere, as the domino effect kicks in and the whole structure begins to weaken, or crack and crumble if left.

One might over eat (psychological imbalance) to ‘feed’ a comfort habit, but then put on unnecessary weight; or reduce exercise in favour of working longer hours, for whatever reason, will impact on your health (less fit and maybe stress levels increased); or smoking or drinking to excess may feed a habit, but the price is a less healthy body, and so on and so forth. No amount of money or freedom is worth much without good health and other people to share it with!

IN CONCLUSION
Taking responsibility, by putting others as equally important as your good self, and with due consideration and deference to mother nature, on whose planet we live and share with each other, is ultimately what matters in life. Accepting also plays a significant part; although it doesn’t necessarily mean total acceptance. However, the more you do accept the easier and faster the path to wealth and happiness. Being accepting of your circumstances is one massive step forwards, as is accepting ‘responsibility’ itself – in not only the fact that you are responsible for your current situation, but that you duly consider both other people and the environment (your environment after all, as it belongs to us each and every one of us; all living things as well as the physical world !). As has been said already, we all need other people to co-operate with socially and economically, and we all need nature to provide sustenance, in both nutrition and for a healthy physical as well as visual environment.

Aspirations and goals provide targets and direction in life, as opposed to a rudderless drifting with no sense of purpose and little sense of worth. Our aims and ideals necessarily must change as we travel our respective paths, and discover new things along the way that may change our perception and values; but to start with the end in mind, without fear of ‘failure’, as failure only comes into being when ones gives up trying; whereas a truly successful person has no fear of failure, as each fall is not a failure but a lesson on the road to your chosen destination. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, springs to mind; and to deny oneself a goal for fear of failure, when failure is only a stage on the road to your goal, is to admit defeat, admit worthlessness, and deprive oneself of esteem. Happiness will consequently forever be an illusion. Denial is resistance; resistance is fear; and fear will not allow happiness to prevail.

It’s important to also recognise that the route you take to your destination will almost certainly change as you travel; but that matters not, for there are different roads leading to the same place. Remember to enjoy the journey, as it’s as important, if not more so, than the destination. Rarely are things as you’d imagined; and it would be a pity to spend/waste your valuable time and life focussing only on the destination, when the journey had many beautiful and wondrous moments to saviour and enjoy. So we need to enjoy this aspect as well as the company we keep on this journey. It’s a one way train, arguably, so make the best of it J

So take control of yourself, and you’ll take control of your life. Forces beyond your control will of course occasionally intrude, but let them not stop you in your endeavour. Feelings of self worth, achievement, gratitude, abundance and general wellbeing will then result, and with balance in all the areas mentioned, will present an opportunity for happiness, as it’ll be well within your grasp. For if one who cannot accept ‘goals’ in principle, is also not accepting ‘happiness’, for that is a goal being strived for too! Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Don’t let inaction and procrastination turn into excuses, or vice versa, for not trying in the first place, in the mistaken belief that things will somehow ‘work themselves out’. This is a poor excuse to justify and support an unwillingness to take responsibility, which can then translate into positive action. To not do this is a recipe for mediocrity; or worse, a powerless, drifting journey through life with little real joy, excitement nor true happiness. Contentment possibly, but this should not be confused with happiness. Life is surely worth more than that? Aren’t you worth more than that? This is to surrender and let one’s spirit die. In no uncertain terms it’s a poor excuse for laziness, and represents true failure. The only person really being cheated is you, if one doesn’t take stock of the situation nor takes proactive steps to matters. This is living a reactive life as opposed to a proactive one. Life is to be lived not to exist or endure. Loss of faith in anything, is actually loss of faith in oneself - if it’s resulted in the general malaise and/or loss of direction in life for that person. As one famous figure succinctly states: ‘How you do anything, is how you do everything!’

Turn and face the beast; not turn your back and pretend it isn’t there. We are all more than this, but not all become what they are capable of achieving. The gift of life is a gift indeed! We should celebrate this, not dwell on what isn’t right with us or our surroundings. Indeed have goals and aim higher, but meanwhile enjoy the journey and count your blessings daily.

CONCLUSION EXERCISES

efore going to sleep at night, reflect on that past day, and mentally acknowledge – out loud with your partner if you have one – at least 3 positive things from it. It can be anything, from the smallest thing to the largest, most important. It doesn’t matter what, nor the ‘size’, but just the fact that you have acknowledged those small positives. To ‘celebrate’ these moments is more positive and empowering than may be given credit for; as quite apart from the mind throwing up more negatives than we care to notice, and playing havoc on our subconscious as a result, as a species we do tend to focus on what we haven’t managed to do, rather than what we have. Why do we beat ourselves up about not having done something, when we could pat ourselves on the back for what we have done?

Effectively we have almost to ‘re-program’ our minds. Condition them into a new mindset that helps rather than hinders us. We have so much negativity around us, in the news and media, and hear it so often, that in time we of course begin to think within the framework we’ve created – or at least the framework that we’ve allowed to be created in our minds.

Being aware of what’s happening allows us to take steps to change things – if we choose to! We mustn’t let those doom and gloom stories dictate how we feel or run our lives. To do so is to surrender to external mental conditioning. If that’s the case then why do we simply lay down and let it happen? Surely we don’t truly want to give control over to others? That is what we’d effectively be doing; but are people even aware that this is happening? And of those that are, do they want or believe that they can do something about it? Sadly the answer in both cases is no, for we are so, so deeply conditioned as it’s been happening for most of our lives, that we are therefore limited in thinking and beliefs as a result. However, evidence shows that this need not be the case. We might believe in free choice, but we don’t truly live it. Belief constraints or monetary constraints, either way we feel ‘limited’ in reality.

o, if you wish to change your life, first change your mindset. It’s simply a matter of deciding to, in the first stage; then taking action in the second: Daily/nightly go through the simple exercise of ‘3 positive things’ (some say ‘5 positive things’ – it really doesn’t matter too much about the numbers, but more the habit of doing it!).

Perhaps you might want to experiment, by also adding to this and not listening to the news for a day, or even a week, to see what difference it makes to your life. After all, does simply knowing about what bad news surrounds you change anything for the better within you? It might if you were to do something about what you hear; but most of us don’t. However, once you become positive and stronger over time, then you may feel you want to help others, as you help yourself along in life. It’s your choice – and a choice it is!

Also reading about positive things and self-improvement material, daily, helps enormously on the road to changing your life into what you feel happier with and feel more fulfilment for. Maybe one might want to make this a habit too! Remember, invest in yourself! J

…….

& How a Healthier, Happier Life Can Result!

ENVIRONMENT

Economy

T seems everywhere we look, everywhere we hear, and everywhere we otherwise interact seems to bring with it feelings of doom and gloom – not to mention restraint. Why, when only a few months back virtually the whole planet seemed optimistic as far as ‘economic growth’ was concerned, did it so dramatically change, when in fact there is as much by way of currency in the world as there was then?

The only real change is our ‘perception’, in as much as we feel less wealthy, because we are conditioned by the media to believe this. Okay, so the economic growth we had is no longer as it was, and in fact many businesses are indeed now struggling as a result, as are the unfortunate employees laid off too. However, there is still as much money as there ever was. It hasn’t ‘disappeared’ into thin air. In fact the US and UK are printing yet more money, calling it ‘quantitative easing’; so in fact we have actually increased the amount of money in ownership, not decreased it.

Where the problem starts, is in accessing this money, be it to earn it or borrow it. As so much has been lent - often irresponsibly it transpires – without the same levels of economic ‘growth’ to sustain it, it then becomes unsupportable in terms of repayment, for much of this debt was serviced by the boom in property values. This may be have been directly and indirectly so; and at the point that both property became expensive in terms of affordability, coupled to the fact that forever increasing amounts had been loaned, meant that the economy was too reliant on this to sustain the financial infrastructure. This two-fold effect is perhaps the lethal combination that saw the downfall of the world economy.

No one can know the entire, intricate detail of the reasons for this global monetary breakdown, except that an imbalance was forever growing and at some point had to collapse. This was marked and initiated by one of the major, and formerly respected US economic powerhouses, the Lehman Brothers. This was perhaps the straw that broke the camel’s back in the first instance, followed by almost disbelief and puzzlement within the finance sector.

We then experienced extreme ‘caution’ and increased financial scrutiny, when then unveiled the less than desirable practices of other giant global players, as they too fell by the wayside. The subsequent fallout and loss of confidence had a domino effect, and now much of the western capitalist ‘engine’ is now lying low, mortally wounded one might reasonably assume. We have now experienced the two extremes, both unhelpful in the long term: Irresponsible, unsustainable lending, followed by overly cautious timidity and zeal for unnecessarily onerous demands on would-be borrowers. Such slack to tight extremes are hardly a healthy nor prudent way forward, and only serve to fuel both greed and then stifling economic environments.

ll this, coupled to 2 other significant contributory factors, are what’s made this economic downturn such a different beast to anything the industrialised countries of the world have seen before in history, and why I personally believe things will not improve as soon as the analysts are predicting. Global warming and ‘peak oil’ are the reasons behind this, in my view:

Global warming is now almost universally acknowledged as a problem we must deal with, or face untold environmental damage over the coming years.

‘Peak oil’, while well known among specialists and experts in the industry, isn’t so widely known among the public at large – at least the combination of. It is, however, going to cause as much upheaval and widespread change to our lifestyles, as climate change will as a result of global warming. Estimates range between 1 year to 20 or so years ago, as far as the ‘peak oil’ is concerned (the point at which demand exceeds supply) as being the time at which this ‘point’ was reached.

We can argue over the dates, exact period, amounts of oil, or even whether it is as environmentally harmful as stated; but the fact remains that we are in an era of terminal decline! It will eventually be depleted as it’s a finite supply of energy.

ow that we face this triple challenge (weak global economy, global warming and peak oil), we really must take the bull by the horns and look at all aspects of how we live, in order to change and modify our lifestyles to suit what we are faced with environmentally. No longer can denial, delay or inaction be options afforded us.

My own feelings on this subject are one of a holistic approach which necessarily incorporates a willingness to acknowledge that human activity is contributing to, and therefore magnifying and compounding the effect of global warming, as well as a willingness to act to help in whatever way I can to mitigate this; and that changes in lifestyle are therefore inescapable if one is to achieve this. We already know that we are harming the environment to an unnecessary degree, and already have the knowledge and know-how to significantly reduce our impact, and yet both our ruling governments, businesses and individuals still seem oblivious to the scale of damage and how we can avoid it!

Do we not owe it to our descendants, in light of what now seems irrefutable, a legacy which is far richer and less damaged and polluted than we otherwise seem destined to leave them? What will our children, grand children and great grand children think, when they hear of how we knew and were aware of what we were doing to the planet, but just couldn’t be bothered to do anything about? How irresponsible and selfish can we be?

How far down the road to doom, do we have to travel in order to actually do something far more positive and contributory than merely fitting low energy light bulbs in our homes, and to separate our refuse and household rubbish etc.? And a cynic might say that we only do these things because it’s lighter on our pocket, and what we are told to do! Very little seems to come from a sense of ‘responsibility’. ‘Caring and empathy’ largely don’t seem to feature in our thinking. Or am I misguided? What am I and the powers that be missing? Is this because the message isn’t clear enough, or that we humans simply don’t care? Are we that ‘deaf’; and can humanity have sunk that low?

BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE

ere I hope to do my little bit, and raise the profile of this cause; the most fundamental and important a cause that this planet has faced – and I make no apologies for ‘dramatising’ things; not enough has obviously been made of it, so allow me to ‘shout louder’.

Having read and digested much material on the subjects of major global importance, in both the business and economic worlds as well as environmental and ‘real’ world (what physical conditions we live under as well as the animal and plant world incorporated into, within and a part of ours), it strikes me that there are great opportunities surrounding us. I don’t see scarcity but abundance. All forms of abundance; but we perhaps can’t ‘see’ it for we’re viewing the world through how we currently work and live, trying to see what we can do within this.

My own thinking would take a different stance and start point to this: I feel we need to shift our thinking to outside of where we currently do - both in ‘work life’ thinking and ‘lifestyle’ thinking. Why is the resistance to change, the result of perceived pain in making these changes? Is it always painful when change occurs? Well, sometimes it maybe is, but always? Of course not! However, we fear it might be, as the ‘unknown’ is often the source of this ‘fear’, is it not? In reality, this thinking, or rather ‘fear’ of change couldn’t be further from the truth in outcome. Living in a different way, is only that, and nothing more. Nothing more to fear that is, for it is so much more in other ways:

How ‘fulfilled’ would we feel, when we not only have a cleaner environment, but a healthier more visually pleasing and safer one too? A less energy and time consuming lifestyle. That translates to more quality time with the family and/or loved ones; fewer bouts of ill health; and more left in your pocket to boot! Less pressure and more time to devote to living!

There is increasing evidence of how wasteful we have been of resources, in a consumerist, throwaway society. And the adverse effects on our health and general wellbeing as a result. If we’d just STOP and think for a moment………….

We have to ask ourselves:

AND APOLOGIES FOR REPEATING CERTAIN PARTS FROM A PREVIOUS POST

hat do all these chemicals we breath in as babies, when our parents – acting, they feel in the best interests of the child – actually do to babies little bodies, when we decorate the room for them with all our good intentions and well-meaning thoughts?

Until only recently we’d use newly-bought paints, wallpapers, laminates, PVCu windows, plastic toys, furnishings and bedding that contain a frightening level of manmade chemicals that give off harmful vapour! VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are widely used in the manufacture of these items. One known, and now confirmed harmful gas, is formaldehyde, which is extensively used in both laminate and PVC products, not to mention carpets! However, its effect was and has never been tested on humans, and we’ve been using them for many years now, before at last the adverse effects have been documented and supported by medical practitioners. One might wonder then why government has allowed this to happen? It might seem to be more to do with the fact that it just wasn’t known about, as it never was tested on humans, let alone animals. Nevertheless one government that has acted in response, is the United States: Laminate is now banned in America. It’s not in the UK! Worryingly formaldehyde is contained in manmade carpets at quite a high level too, which is at its most potent when new and just after unwitting parents have redecorated and furnished the nursery for the new baby! How potentially harmful this air contamination is.

This ‘toxic soup’ that’s been created for when the new baby arrives, is then also more efficiently ‘trapped’, now that our homes are virtually hermetically sealed, with the advent of double glazing. The new arrival is then subjected to inhaling this chemical-laden air; and being so young, especially fragile and susceptible to this chemical onslaught, it’s little wonder that we have so many children suffering from more ailments than ever. One wonders why the UK now has the highest incidents of asthma, worldwide!

It’s also worth noting that radon, the deadly gas that emanates from the ground, permeates both brand new and old buildings alike, forms part of each property purchase acquisition. With homes now being so well sealed against the elements, this increasingly-airtight homes situation is only serving to add to the problem. One might be shocked to learn that there are around 20,000 deaths annually that are attributed to radon gas poisoning in the States.

t will come as no further surprise when in future there will be countless further findings to link other manmade chemicals to toxic vapours and various adverse human conditions that result, which will only then be outlawed or the manufacturers asked to substantially alter the products to reduce the toxicity levels.

We had lead in paints at one time, and asbestos used in all a manner of places too; only to then discover how harmful they could be, and still and are, in the case of asbestos still in use. But we can’t expect government to know, and monitor the production of every single chemical, for the practicalities and logistics of this would probably be unmanageable, extensive, and well beyond what is humanly possible to police effectively.

However, we can nevertheless do something about it as a consumer, and relatively simply. We choose and focus on natural materials as much as we can, including paints and other materials of course, as much as we practically can. That way we can much reduce, and possibly even eliminate future adverse effects on our health. Essentially the less human intervention (i.e. processing) that takes place from source to product, generally the better for all. This would minimise production costs and the associated carbon footprints too (energy for extraction, treating, reforming, packaging, distribution and then use/application), plus other undesirable side effects, such as consequential chemical contamination (the waste by-products for example). The simpler we keep things, where possible, the better for all of us and the planet.

As has been said already, a simple, but very effective way to improve the air in our homes, is simply to ventilate regularly. This can raise one’s spirits too, as it reinvigorates wellbeing, brings oxygen levels back up, reduces toxins and airborne germs, and of course rebalances moisture levels (ideally to between a 45-65% humidity level).

Further to the air contamination in homes and offices is ‘electrical smog’, which has also been shown to have negative effects on human health. Household wiring can be sheathed and shielded, at some cost, which does help, as do some other devices claimed to help alleviate symptoms associated with electrical fields around the spaces we inhabit; but ultimately it’s down to us to minimise the creation of this in the first place, by only purchasing items we really need. This has also fed into our consumerist mindset, as we are exposed to ever more creative, and frequently targeted ‘sales’ messages, through all the media we partake in nowadays. Our lifestyles have resulted in a barrage and onslaught of advertising in some form, which has also further saturated our already overloaded, often stressed minds. No wonder we are so much feeling like we need a break, at best, or a career change often, or sickness and breakdown at worst.

Remember that there are a handful of smaller, less economically strong countries that claim they don’t even have, let alone recognise conditions such as ‘depression’ or ‘obsessive eating’ disorders. These claims may or may not be true, but either way clearly there are far fewer society- and lifestyle-induced mental conditions when compared to the western capitalist nations. We may well be closely monitoring and diagnosing physical and mental health issues, but this very fact is surely a ‘symptom’ of modern day living in the west, and of our over-complicated lifestyles, which in itself could be a ‘disease’ of sorts.

We have names for everything and have made huge ‘advances’ in medicine, but are we any healthier as a result? It would seem not in some ways, and perhaps rather than forever treating the results, maybe we should concentrate our resources on understanding the cause and that prevention be order of the day.

So where does ‘Investing With a Conscience’ come in?

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Where I’m coming from is that ‘investing’ is a very broad term, which does not merely include investment in the commonly understood manner, such as property and/or stocks and shares etc., as that would be what I’d term direct investment. What I’m meaning is also indirect investment. This would include society and the planet too!

If we can think globally, but act locally, then this lays the foundations for change. We cannot rely on governments to look after us. First and foremost they look after themselves, doing what it takes to stay in power. This may sometimes be for the greater good and sometimes not; but what is almost universal is that when enough people from nations act individually, and demonstrate, by practicing what they preach as far as what affects us all in the environment is concerned, then governments will respond favourably. Indeed to make positive steps towards making a positive contribution to society and the environment, will invariably make our governors accountable as this is a vote winner which will allow them to stay in power.

While politics aren’t always foremost in people’s minds on the environmental agenda, they must surely rank a close second if positive change is to be had. Thus to adopt this tactic is effectively supporting the tail wagging the dog. To genuinely care, is not about just one’s immediate family, but one’s friends, neighbours, local networks, boroughs, counties, regions, nationally and internationally. We are all one and we all share the same living place: Planet Earth.

Investing with a conscience is thinking about the whole, acting morally and with care and consideration for all living things and thus the environment in which we all live. We only have one planet. Why not care for her?

OUTLINE

Overview

he goals and aims of this blog, one might be forgiven for thinking, I’m sure represent what many people would aspire to – but not perhaps commit to in writing, nor hopefully with the same twist that is being given to it here.

Okay, so we must all surely strive for good, or improved health – that goes without saying; and also greater happiness and likely contentment; but the ’twist’ is more in the ‘blend’ as it were, not so much each individual aspect:

The thinking here is that if one does one thing, it leads to another; so one being a result of the preceding action. Hardly revolutionary, but then the simplest, most powerful things usually aren’t. Remarkable results are often the consequence of unremarkable acts.

THE RECIPE BASICS

The ingredients

or life success, however one determines or measure success, is certainly a product of the mind (whether a wilfully created belief, or by default: a product or result). Without getting too technical or delving into psychology (something I’m not ‘professionally qualified’ to do anyhow) basic common sense dictates that without a healthy mind, a healthy body – and spirit too, one might argue – cannot exist; and I’m not only talking pure physical health here, but both physical and mental. Having an engine without the car body is about as useless as the body without an engine. They need each other!

First and foremost good diet and appropriate exercise; the mind conditioning follows, and not only benefits from this nourishment, but mixing and socialising with positive people helps enormously. Never underestimate this vital ingredient.

The mix

part from the required mindset, which is the foundation upon which all else is built, one must be in a healthy environment. This amounts not only to one’s physical surroundings, but diet too, as briefly mentioned above.

The bad news

ust to put things into perspective, although it’s not something I wish to dwell on or scaremonger, I do feel that in order to illustrate the significance of what is being conveyed, that the negative side must be fully brought into perspective here, before then going on to the more positive aspects:

Many of us well know all too well what’s been said so far, but dare I say perhaps less by way of air quality. ……………‘Air quality! But of course I know how harmful this can be too. What’s new?’ I hear you say. Well yes, when talking about external air quality this of course would be true, but it’s not as widely known that internal air quality is not only often worse than one might believe it to be, but also more harmful by and large too.

Surprisingly, indoor air can be as much as 10 times more polluted than that outside! Apart from ‘stale’ air and the air we humans exhale, far more harmful toxins pervade the air inside our homes: Radon gas is part of house surveys, here in England, as it’s recognised as a serious pollutant. Indeed, 20,000 deaths annually in the US are as a result of this deadly gas that enters our homes continually, from the ground and affects all buildings, irrespective of age.

Laminate flooring and PVCu materials also emit formaldehyde, which like many other household substances and chemicals haven’t been tested on humans – but laminate has been banned in the US because of the formaldehyde contained in it…………. But as shocking as the toxicity of these two gases is, we’re still only now slowly waking up to the scale of the problem and the detrimental effects of vapours from ‘common’ household goods – especially when new! - and this being magnified by our desire to virtually hermetically seal our homes as much as possible from the effects of the ‘cold’. Ironically our homes are now managing to trap toxic gases and vapour even more because of it.

We also cough and sneeze all sorts of germs into the air, as well as other unmentionable human by-products, such as methane gas (a 5 times more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 by the way – and cattle I believe responsible for 20% of all greenhouse gases emitted globally) so it doesn’t take much imagination to appreciate the severity and scale of airborne toxins, in an apparently innocuously warm and cosy home - not that cow farts are a common household problem of course

We really need to keep manmade chemicals to an absolute minimum, or better still ruled out completely. A bit extreme? Hardly. It’s quite possible to virtually eliminate all these household cleaners, by using just 3 relatively common, and very traditional products: Borax, vinegar and soda (washing soda, baking soda & bicarbonate of soda). That’s it. The other big pluses are that they can not only clean all a manner of household items, but de-scale and are anti-bacterial too! What each is used for, the amounts and where, isn’t the aim of this article, as there are several other sources that deal with this in depth, and would distract from the overall picture I’m trying to convey here. This is, after all an overview.

Now the good news with regard to indoor air!

owever, the solution is easily dealt with, and actually doesn’t ‘cost’ as much in heat loss as one might imagine: Every day, or other day, it’s advisable to simply open all the windows to ventilate the house. Just 10-15 minutes is all that’s required to significantly reduce the ‘toxic soup’ within the home. Even in cold weather the cooling isn’t as much as one might imagine it to be, for a fair bit of latent (stored) heat is held in some quantity in fabric of the building, fixtures and fittings, so warms again in no time.

But a window or door left ajar for an extended period, to achieve the same thing, will almost certainly lose much more heat and waste more energy in the process, than a whole-house, short time period. mass-ventilate approach will.

THE RECIPE…. MOVING ON…….

rom the human body itself, together with diet, exercise and a healthy mind, to external factors such as air quality, both outside of the home as well as inside, we need to factor in and move these facets up a level:

While diet itself is of course fundamental to good health, so then is the quality of the food we eat, not just the type of food. When we are preached to about eating vegetables such as carrots for example, again carrots aren’t necessarily giving us all goodness either. Sure, carrots are good for us, in terms of what they provide in nutrients, but what isn’t as widely known is the fact that carrots contain a fair amount of toxins too! ‘Here we go again!’ you may say, but I can’t not mention what isn’t often said, when in fact the truth of the matter is that the ‘goodness’ is indeed present in carrots, but the toxins aren’t mentioned either!

Farmers often use carrots to clean the soil in crop rotation, as they absorb so much of what’s around them – which includes chemicals from the soil of course; what else would a farmer want to ‘clean’ his soil of, if not toxins and chemicals? A simple test of how well carrots absorb, is to notice how when boiling with other vegetables that any salt that’s added is most noticeable in the carrots when cooked! The same if carrots are stored and begin to go a bit limp: Just soak them in water over night and they are hard again! Not all vegetables behave in this way of course…… and peeling them to prevent toxins getting into your body isn’t going to help much, as apart from carrots not having much of a ‘skin’ anyway, what they absorb penetrate well into the carrot, not just the surface!

Wherever possible, when reducing chemical ingestion, we should try to purchase organic, but especially carrots. In fact the price disparity between ordinary carrots and organic isn’t that great anyway; and certainly less than the difference between non-organic and organic food generally. We always purchase organic carrots, for the reasons stated, irrespective of whether buying anything else in organic form. It’s that important to us, knowing what we now know about this not so well-known fact.

ause for thought: …..Where is this guy leading me? You may be asking. What’ve airborne gases and carrots to do with the bigger picture? Well, I know these things might seem small, but they are actually significant in terms of getting into the right mindset and moreover the cumulative effect. Remember, the greatest journey starts with the first step!

If we’d just stop and think a little about the fundamentals of life, we’d surely arrive at the conclusion that we certainly do need to concentrate on laying sound foundations, for both our health as well as our environment. Get this right, and provided one has the right attitude, with an open and willing mind, we can of course not only have a long life, but a healthful and happy one!

Our modern, science- and technology-based society and economy, while bringing us undoubted benefits in some areas, does rather blind and desensitise us towards our spiritual side. Capitalist economies have expanded and become the ‘ideal’ for many peoples and countries (and I’m neither supporting or critical of capitalism and communism – I’m not passing judgement on the subject) but while we have had benefits, we’ve also lost touch with who we are and where we are going. Now that we have the credit crunch, we are rather taking a step back and re-evaluating where we are, who we are, and where we are aiming to go in life, all the more.

Because it’s so clearly visible around us, and our capitalist economy depends on it, many of us tend to focus on and aim for material possessions. We need to feel we are ‘progressing’ by rewarding ourselves from our work with something ‘bought’ from the proceeds: A holiday, new car or even new home is a tangible qualification and acknowledgement of this; but actually what we are looking for without often realising it, is pleasure, in as much as the article will bring pleasure to us. This is our driving force and what we feel we have earned and deserve in exchange for our work.

Also, because physical things are ‘visible’ it panders to our ego, for it’s a display to others of our achievements. We could therefore be showing off, massaging that ego, in a sort of ‘wouldn’t you like one of these too?’ style of thinking. We like to be envied; to be looked up to, or to get attention and feel ‘significant’ in some way. But is this really the answer? Is the fact that we may want to buy status symbols going to make us happy? Or is it a ‘need’; a ‘fix’; a need to ‘prove’ oneself, to the owner him or herself and those around too? Maybe we’ve been wanting it/them ourselves for so long – and looked up in envy at others who had them – that now we have the means (the money) it’s almost like saying: ‘Hey world, I’ve made it!’ Well, that maybe the case, but is one any happier because of it? Excitement and thrills maybe, but that’s not to be confused with happiness.

I fear that many people live life without ever finding that true happiness, as they’ve not known what it ever was, for they’ve never experienced it – and I don’t mean that in a condescending way. This isn’t about personal blame, so much as the result of a slightly out of kilter society.

From what I’ve learned from a combination of reading books, listening to audio and networking with people over the years, is that actually we have become rather detached and distant, even within ourselves, as well as society generally. A small minority of us do still have that connection; some of whom inadvertently stumble on what it is that they need and thrive off; but for the most part many of us are caught up, have blinkered vision and can only see and be concerned about what’s directly in front of them – forever after that elusive carrot!

It’s plainly visible the fact that many people in developed economies are unhappy, grumpy and complaining, even when they receive financial help and assistance or even accommodation. However, contrast this to those in so-called 3^rd world economies, where people have no financial help or assistance, let alone a place to stay! No, they don’t expect it, whereas we in the developed world often do.

Why then on the one hand do we have complaining folk in our developed world, despite being helped; but, smiling, happy faced folk in 3^rd world economy where they receive nothing, or at best very little. We have to question why and how they smile and get on with life, while those who are ‘helped’ complain! THIS is where the crux of the matter is!

THE REVELATION ……. THE ‘DESSERT’

Without wanting to over-simplify things, I would just like to say that expectation and acceptance play crucial, absolutely crucial roles in our state of mind and attitude – and thus holding the key to ‘unlock’ true happiness!

But first
If we can learn to be self-reliant and take responsibility for how things are in our own lives, and not expecting state bailouts, or that others be in some way responsible for how our lives have turned out, then we are at least half way to remedial action. Sadly our culture actually weakens us, by allowing us to feel that if we somehow fall through the net, that the state will ‘rescue’ us. So no matter whether or not one works towards achieving anything, they are always of the mind that if things don’t work out, and they can’t get their lives together – and because a dependency culture actually breeds weakness, ironically – that the fallout be the state then intervening to ‘help’, when in fact in the long term it mostly isn’t. What used to drive people to ‘survive’ has just been altogether removed.

While the spirit and intentions of the state are to be applauded, sadly the result is a lower drive and determination to succeed; and subsequently lower self esteem of the people as a result. This softens people and fosters dependency, while at the same time reduces a sense of self-worth…………….

o, where does this leave us and the path to true happiness? Well, it’s worth bearing in mind that it’s something we can all achieve and for FREE. Yes truly. When I tell you that you already have the tools and ability, you might be a little perplexed, as you might think I’m exaggerating; or even that it sounds too much like ‘work’, which is why it’s ‘free’ etc. Well none of this is really true, and again it’s all a part of the mindset which initially comes from belief.

The ‘revelation’ refers to the above sub-title, in as much as the only two requisite qualities we need are not to assume nor expect help in life, but see it as a bonus not a right - assuming it’s even offered.

The other quality is also acceptance. Acceptance of your circumstances, by which I mean if they aren’t what you would ideally choose if you were able to choose freely and without any financial or other restrictions. This is perhaps the most challenging part, or a great many other people would also have the ingredients for a happier more fulfilling life, and I wouldn’t be here writing about it.

I suppose I’m trying to condense what is a huge subject, or rather subjects, into a document of only a few pages of A4; so forgive me if this is a little overwhelming at the moment. Hopefully it’ll become clearer as times passes and more material added. Nevertheless I hope that this has in some way been helpful and given ‘food’ for thought – ‘recipes’ and ‘desserts’ notwithstanding.

WHAT IS FUELLING THIS?
My core drivers and beliefs with regard to this blog, have for a long period been growing inside me to the point now that I feel ready to formulate these thoughts into action; and in this Internet era we have the means and a powerful tool to put this into effect in blog form.

What is driving this is the realisation that to not act would be to deny both myself, others and of course ultimately the planet a chance to add impetus for a sea change in many westerner’s lifestyles for the benefit of all.

This is not purely about alarmist stories of what will happen if we don’t change (in a scaremongering fashion) but what benefits can be ours as we do change. We need to zero in on what makes us want to make changes that will benefit us all and the environment we live in; not to focus minds on what we don’t want to happen if we don’t act. Apart from this being a tactic already used by many, what I feel would be more beneficial and effective is if we focus our minds on ‘positives’, where the answers and solutions will become evident based on the thoughts and questions facing us. It’s no secret that what we most think about is more often than not what we get more of - so let this be our starting point!

A QUESTION THAT MAY NEED ANSWERING FIRST:
Q - Where does the RealEstateSolutionsUK name come into the equation?

A – Having more than a passing interest in property investment, and mixing in large networking circles over the years, one soon comes to the conclusion that life for property investors can vary from extremely wealthy to very poor, or even bankrupt landlords in many cases.

One comes across all a manner of different folk, who although have an interest in a common theme, also represent a wide diversity of characters, aims, goals, experience, and above all drivers - not to mention ever important ethics! The credit crunch, so called, is also a leveller and ‘revealer’ in as much as true colours are evident when the pressure’s on. Those that still remain kind and generous despite financial woes are all the easier to find as a consequence; and through these times one makes some cherished, valued friendships. These people are what take us through whatever life throws at us, and share both the bad and good times. They are not there to take advantage of you - except your friendship of course!

Apart from friendships on a personal level, and the experiences one has at property networking meets, what one also comes to realise is how powerful groups and teamwork can be. As this also translates and straddles western values and materialism (and neither supporting or decrying it – this isn’t the issue here) with the green’s agenda and leaning towards the ‘less means more’ stance, it also provides a conduit through which learning comes and actions can follow in return, to push forward greater ideals that help lessen the impact we make on the planet as a consequence.

Co-operatives and syndicates become a real possibility and within the reach of a great many more people, where not just the required finance becomes available, but the knowledge, enthusiasm and necessary impetus too, to carry forward larger projects. This is what has given rise to an appreciation of what can be done, and what opportunities surround us, if we’ve eyes to see them.

So the net result of this is a combining of both property interest and sustainable living, which in fact mesh well together as they compliment one another rather well – or can at least if one chooses them to. The emphasis here is on ‘solutions’ as opposed to mere ‘real estate’, as I hope is now a little clearer.

NEXT WEEK’S INSTALLMENT:
THE GOALS AND AIMS OF THIS BLOG & HOW A HEALTHIER, HAPPIER LIFE CAN RESULT

Having just spent a fair bit of time with my neighbour and good friend Richard, who’s helped me no end with my computer issues, I’m now able with his valued help to at last compose and post up my first journal entry onto the web. A big thank you to him, and hello everyone reading this.

I hope this will be the first of many regular entries, on my now chosen path in life, which will include blogging.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for things environmental and real estate investing.

It’s fast approaching midnight, here in the UK, and after a long day, followed by a long evening setting this site up, I feel I’ve earned my rest tonight. So forgive me for such a brief first post.