The Three Super Labels: Natural, Organic and Ethical

Oh, if only…

If only Natural, Organic and Ethical came hand in hand. Life would be easier, shopping would become a little simpler, and everyone involved in the entire process of what we are purchasing—from food to foundation— would be treated in a way we could all smile about.

Unknowingly doing so, I tend to associate each label with one particular genre of item. When it comes to produce at the grocery store I look for Organic, with lotions and potions* (*read- makeup) anything Natural is ideal, and Ethical is how I source my clothing keeping in mind the A-F grading system of Free2Work.

Why do I have these dividers in my mind? I don’t really have a specific answer. After contemplating the possible responses all I find as a reasonable answer is this is how we have been fed information—through streams of now trendy descriptors on the items we view as necessities for our lives which we easily spend cash on. When I think of the information I am given via my twitter feed, conversations I have, and places I shop and visit, it is clear which buzzwords are making their way around how we categorize our standards for what we purchase. If you want to eat healthy, buy organic. If you want your skin to look 10 years younger and for your makeup to look flawless, go for something natural. If you want to ensure children in factories with poor working conditions aren’t making the clothes you wear, shop at places that sell ethical clothing.

While there are definitely terms that combine a few of these items from separate food, clothing, beauty product categories into a mashed category of items we believe and want to trust—think Fair Trade—it becomes clear that the division of these categories comes from basic knowledge at face value, rather than in-depth research and education out of genuine interest of learning more.

Image courtesy of Google Search.

I had never given much thought to the possibility of the three being combined into one super label. It’s the idea of a superhero that has a triad of epic powers— like as if Thor, Captain America and Iron Man from The Avengers were one awesome individual. Or the classic Batman and Superman in one…with the addition of some other superhero with an awesome power (Hero’s are not something I would say I am particularly knowledgeable in).

Could you imagine?

I would love walk into a store like H&M and know that their “conscious collection” line of clothing is actually tri-label conscious—not just organic cotton but organic cotton treated naturally with ethical standards for those who created the item—from those picking the cotton to those sewing the final tags on. H&M does have a B+ rating on Free2Work, and their website does talk about how they would like their business operations to be run in a way that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. For those reasons, I believe they are taking a step in the right direction

Companies like Alba Botanica first off, has lovely hair conditioner, but also strives to provide products that contain natural, organic and cruelty-free ingredient alternatives which are 100% vegetarian. What if they also ensured the individuals harvesting their plant based alternatives were receiving fair wages and other basics of ethical treatment? They make no mention of this on their website, so perhaps they do, but a point like that is something a company should be all over displaying on their website in our current culture which is just starting to be aware of these practices as a rule to business growth and development.

Lush's We Believe Statement
taken from their website.

One company I am currently crushing on is Lush for their attention to all three categories—Natural, Organic and Ethical. In their lovely “We Believe” statement they clearly state what they stand for as a company. You can also look more in-depth into their claims of using Fresh, Natural, Organic and Ethically Sourced ingredients on their website. One of my favourite parts of Lush is their Ethical Buying Team which travel to where their ingredients are sourced to ensure their ethical standards are met and kept. How wonderful!

I find myself whisked away in a dream where all companies adapt the Lush mentality and all consumers make thoughtful and educated decision on the items they use their buying power to purchase. This isn’t a dream world with lollipop trees, cotton candy clouds, and talking animals handing you the latest cruelty free makeup. This world doesn’t have a happy hobbit farmer giving you smiling organic veggies freshly picked from his garden and a cotton field with a connecting sewing machine that magically, and with no harmful emissions, pumps out an ethically made sweater that fits you just perfectly—convenient since it’s fall.

The world I picture looks the same as our own but with all businesses operating under the premise of these three labels—natural, organic and ethical. It’s a world where the lack of an individual’s knowledge or education about the aforementioned standards would be irrelevant to the impact of the purchase. A purchase would be a purchase made for good. Always. Any and all impact would consistently be positive—whether you would know it or not. It’s impossible to read that last line and not have a sly smile slide onto your face. It’s inspiring, whimsical and motivating. Let us encourage business owners we know personally (and those we don’t) to step up and embrace the three standards in question openly, being innovators and trendsetters in their field. Let us encourage those we know well (and those we don’t) to do their research and support companies that are already pioneering what it means to have ethical standards in their companies.

Really, it’s all up to us. What we choose to support now sets the trends and standards for the future. Let’s be the superheroes embracing the triad of super powers and use them to positively impact the world!

The Angry Humanitarian

Oh the Angry Humanitarian.

No one really intends to become one. You try to stay friendly, educational, and open but eventually get to the point where you get angry at the decisions and ignorance of the people around you.  Why can’t they understand? Why don’t they change the way they act? Why don’t they care about the rest of the world?

The Building Dreams group on the last day of their trip!

While spending time with youth empowerment humanitarian organization Live Different in the Dominican Republic we warn volunteers about becoming the Angry Humanitarian. It’s possibly the most common reaction to your surroundings when you head home after a completely life changing experience. Our volunteers just spent 10 days in an impoverished different country, not only building a house for a deserving family, but also really gaining perspective on how a majority of the world lives. They put stories to statistics and faces to nameless individuals whose lives are exposed in articles on living conditions and struggles existing thousands of miles across the globe.

How can your life not be changed after this kind of experience?

On the last day of their trip our volunteers take part in one final debriefing session. We have volunteers who have been on trips before mention feelings they experienced when arriving home—most being anger, guilt and frustration. This summer, our final debrief leader was a fun kiwi named Kent and he always gave such a great description of the Angry Humanitarian to the volunteers. Loosely quoted, it went something like this;

“The Angry Humanitarian is someone who is having dinner with their family and gets mad because people are throwing out leftover food into the garbage and are saying ‘that food could feed 10 starving children in Africa’, but really, it couldn’t because that food is on your table in Canada and not in Africa.”

We warn our volunteers that while this reaction is easy to have, it’s not the most productive way to encourage your friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances to live a life where focusing on positively impacting those around you is a priority. As individuals who now have the mantra “Life is about people, not stuff”, they need to take time to respond instead of react to the circumstances around them.

I encourage everyone who has had a life changing experience to evaluate how they react or respond to those around them. Are you keeping a lighthearted tone and creating an educational conversation where you are inspiring those around you to join you in a new lifestyle of positive change? Or on the contrary, are you abruptly spitting out comments to make those you are talking to feel bad about their lives? They don’t know what you know; they don’t have the same experience ingrained in their hearts that completely changed their lives. You cannot get mad at someone who doesn’t know—but you can take every opportunity to educate.

Be the individual who educates well, shares passionately, and lives inspirationally. Let your actions show you want to see poverty, slavery, gendercide, denied education and other forms of injustice end. Be a great model so when people hear about your experience and reasons why your life is changed, they don’t want ignore the reality of how the world is functioning, but want to join you in your new adventure.

Image from Pinterest.

Security

Security.

As per usual, the above word can draw many pictures in the minds of those it is spoken to. We think of everything from the security guard we see every day in the mall we frequent, to our friends and family who spend their lives working towards the pot of gold they call security for their loved ones because of the all too common belief, no matter what might happen, the money stored up can provide the sense of safety they need.

Considering I am currently in a place where no malls exist, and my unemployment leads me to have no incoming pennies to store into my ‘pot of gold’ for the unexpected, we can agree that my idea of security is coming from another image.

Opening the door to his new home with many happy volunteers
and excited members of the community watching this amazing
moment! Check out Live Different on Facebook for more
pictures from their Hero Holidays.

While in the Dominican Republic we; being my wonderful husband, a handful of amazing world changers and myself, are leading teams of youth to grow their perspective of the world and participate in a life changing ten days where they get to contribute to building a home for a deserving family. The entire experience leads up the always-emotional moment of handing over the keys of the home to the family. All the sweat, tears, awkward moments since you don’t speak the same language, relationship-building, and heart changing moments find their climax when the family stands in front of their home on dedication day and, with the keys passed on from a Live Different volunteer to the family, they unlock the door of their new home for the very first time. Thinking about this moment gives me shivers and makes me smile so big due to the sheer amount of 'epic' involved in this exact moment. For most of these families this door is the first door they have ever had that can be locked.

Can you imagine never having a door that can lock on your home? Picture living in a less than ideal neighbourhood; the power goes out at night, you live in a home with a door that shuts but does not lock. There is no lock on the door, the windows—anything can happen. Praying for protection is your security.

Our second house build site this summer for my husband and I gave this security to a man who works as a security guard at the most high end resort in the Dominican Republic. How perplexing to think of a security guard who raised four sons on his own and didn’t have this one basic means of security for his family-- until this exact moment.

To get to our third build site we would walk past the home of the security guard and the three sons that currently live with him. I have two favourite scenes to lay eyes on as I pass by: While they are home the door is left open (as is common in Neuvo Renacer) and I often see the father in the kitchen, cooking away. He looks so pleased—happiness bursting inside but escaping to the outside world in the form of a content gentlemen working away. The next scene is that of the door closed and locked. No one is home, it’s quiet inside, and standing guard is a white door—locked and providing the security we often take for granted.

The happy family before opening the door to their new home!

Where You Least Expect It

When was the last time something was in the first place you looked? Often it's in the last place we expect... and it's probably time for a change.

My wonderful husband and I are spending two months in the Dominican Republic with the humanitarian and youth empowerment non-profit Live Different (www.LiveDifferent.com) as leaders on Hero Holiday trips. These trips are often the first time youth will engage with the global community-- realizing how fortunate they are, what conditions the majority of the world lives in, and takes them through an intense roller coaster of emotion, leaving them as individuals who head home to be beacon of change and passionate about sharing their experience with those around them.

While most individuals argue about whether sending only money is more beneficial to aiding a community across the globe, the youth taking part in these amazing trips will tell you nothing compares to being in the community, working along side people possibly more loving then even your best friends at home, and now having a face come to mind when someone speaks the word 'poverty'.

The community we work in is called Neuvo Renacer (meaning New Rebirth). The name of the community could not be more perfect. Originally named Agua Negras (Black Water) due to the garbage and pollution that runs through the streets, Neuvo Renacer is a new title granted to the deserving community after leaders there, seeing the change groups like Live Different are making, worked to have it changed.

When I think of the word 'community' in a more North American setting it reminds me of weekend bonfires, meals shared with a few close friends when the timing works for everyone in their regularly busy schedules, and gatherings-- especially for holidays or other events we deem 'special'.

While there is nothing technically wrong with that, I fear we have lost the beauty of what community really looks like.

An adorable and loving Haitian girl and I in Neuvo Renacer.

In Neuvo Renacer the word community takes on the most amazing form of life, love and inspiration. Do you know your neighbours? Do you know the people that live near you so well that you would let your children wander off at any point in the day because you know they will be looked after? Have you ever had to rely on those living in the houses beside you for food and water?  The answers to inquiries like these is generally a no from myself and would be a no from most people I know. Here in Neuvo Renacer this is a daily occurrence.

The people who have, by our standards, nothing are the individuals who so freely give everything they do have to help others. They have more faith then almost anyone else I know and give more love to all they encounter more than some individuals ever experience on even their best days. It's the place you would least expect to see unshakable faith, unwavering love, and unfailing hope that things can get better.

"Day In The Life" from the first Hero Holiday Public Trip.

Just today, while supervising and ensuring our volunteers were making the most of their "Day in the Life" experience, I was met again with amazing faith. The father of the family said to us, "It is an answered prayer to have you here." One of the volunteers responded with, "We are blessed to be here."





How often do we genuinely feel 'blessed to be here'? Here in this life, here in this moment? Not only should we be living our lives greatly inspired to be a positive force of change with abundant love to freely give, we should no longer allow ourselves to be surprised by how faith, hope and love are where we least expect-- but aspire to live a life where all we can do is show these actions to everyone we encounter as a reflection of how blessed we truly are.

To learn more about Live Different and Hero Holidays check out the Live Different website at www.LiveDifferent.com 

Also check out their Facebook to see more images of the work being done in the Dominican Republic! www.Facebook.com/pages/Live-Different/

Books About Love (Don't Worry, It's Not The Cheesy Kind You're Probably Already Thinking Of)

I love books about love.

I understand the above is a pretty random statement, but the truth and relevance behind it make it a statement worth exploring.

When I mention books about ‘love’ I am talking about the sweep you off your feet, make you do crazy things, live a life of whimsy and grandeur only the love affair with God can bring to you. It’s a love never fully described by any human being (the span of the Earth’s most talented writers could write for their entire existences combined and never fully grasp and be able to form into sentences the epic nature of this love).

That’s probably why I love reading about it.

I love reading about something I can never fully understand. I like how it’s not in the ‘I’m not a science person so I don’t get it’ way, or the ‘I’ve never been good at math’ kind of way—but the ‘This is so huge’ way which leaves us constantly yearning for more… more knowledge, but more so, more experiences. Experiencing this kind of love makes you want to learn more. Learning more makes you want to experience more. It’s possibly one of the best cycles to be on.

The books topping my list of ‘love’ books are Crazy Love byFrancis Chan, The Love Revolution by Joyce Meyer, and the most current addition to the list, Love Does by Bob Goff.

I met Bob Goff once. He gave me a hug upon our first meeting and was one of the most difficult individuals of the day to keep tabs on. The words “Anyone have eyes on Bob?” were so common in one short time frame. It was Not For Sale’s 2012 Global Forum and I was assisting back stage—keeping tabs on all the speakers, making sure they were in the green room prior to their main stage appearance, ensuring they were getting mic’d up at the required time, and then, my favourite part, handing over their ‘Thank You’ gift upon their exit from the stage. While most folks were easy to get back stage-- and have them stay there, Bob liked to listen to the other speakers. Listening to the other speakers in itself is wonderful, however, he enjoyed listening not from the designated place to watch for speakers, but from the back of the room. Really, the back of the room is the best place to take everything in—you get the full experience, but when your job is to get people where they need to be, the back of the room is the hardest place to spot someone and casually get them to the backstage area.

The way individuals flocked to Bob was nothing short of amazing. His “intimate break out session” designed to host 25 individuals literally took over the space. The crowd gathered turned out to be closer to, oh, almost everyone in attendance. If someone can draw that huge of a crowd, hugs everyone he meets, and can actually engage an entire audience, I want to read their book.

I finally got my hands on a copy of Love Does and it has quickly become one of my favourite books to read. The chapter length makes it ideal to bust out while waiting for food, a friend, or between jobs. It has also proven to be a wonderful conversation starter. The stories told, always ending with how wonderful Jesus is and how God moves in our lives, creates a perfect inspirational backdrop to how your days can continue to move forward in pursuit of Love. Love waiting for you, calling your name, reaching for your hand, enticing you to come along for the adventure it knows you are created for.

While I could easily recount numerous concepts, sentiments and one-liners that I’ve wanted to post endlessly on social media, my choice of topic is Whimsy.

I have never been more enthralled with a word than I am of the word Whimsy. In the book Bob says;

“What whimsy means to me is a combination of the “do” part of faith along with doing something worth doing. It’s whimsy that spreads hope like grass seed in the wind. Whimsy reminds me of the Bible, too, when it talks about stuff being like an aroma. It is not an overpowering one, just something that has the scent of God’s love, an unmistakable scent that lingers.”

This description of whimsy is delightful, don’t you think?

Contemplating Bob Goff’s definition combined with the general whimsical sentiment leaves me excited.

Lately I have felt the unmistakable sense of whimsy while riding my bike and looking at the trees. I am consistently in awe of Gods awesomeness when looking at the trees—their sheer size and ability to grow so large is incredible. How each one can be adorned with thousands upon thousands of intricate leaves, and how the roots go so deep down it’s almost unimaginable. Talk about a work of art. Combine those awe-creating factors with all the life giving properties of trees and can someone not be carried away by a whimsy only accented by the warm summer breeze gently swaying them in song and dance? Taking in this awe-creating surrounding allows me to arrive at my destination ready to put faith to action—an action worth doing and allowing Bob Goff’s definition to set in.

When you send love and whimsy flying towards each other from opposite directions, the fragments from the crash are their own brand of ‘doing’ that are unstoppable. It’s up to us to allow the fragments to get lodged in our heart to guide us where God wants us to go—spreading more love and whimsy to all we encounter. Imagine everyone ‘doing’…. I can’t help but smile and feel the inspirational excitement of the justice, restoration, peace, and all other wonderful feats actively being pursued out of what Love can do!

Stop Participating In The Problem

My name is Aelea and I am an addict.

I am addicted to motivating, inspirational quotes cleverly placed on top of images of intriguing cityscapes, endless landscapes or any other generic beautiful thing that nature and creation has to offer.

I'm not sure when my addiction started but it has been fed by clever videos in church, Pinterest, Facebook, and artsy friends. This addiction has taken over my "likes" on Instagram and Pinterest, and makes the photo album on my iPhone full of images I scroll through when I feel a need to be pumped up or left in wonder of the world around us. One main contributor to this addiction is a certain Facebook page called Pure Nourishment. It's literally a page where most of the posts are epic images with matching epic phrases to make you feel good, make you say "ha, so true" or images that you want to share with others.  The most recent images that I have "liked", saved as images in my phone, and read through many a time are the following;

A black and white image of a trendy lady roaming the streets outside of what are most likely equally trendy coffee shops and cafes with the saying, "When a woman says, 'I have nothing to wear!', what she really means is 'There's nothing here for who I'm supposed to be today.'" - Caitlin Moran

An image of a whimsical underwater scene bursting with lovely shades of teal, coral, peach and pink with the words "Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

A simple white background with black handwriting declaring "Sometimes the easiest way to solve a problem is to stop participating in the problem." 

And a bold statement in white and red on a sky blue background boasting "Don't just talk about it, be about it."

The first two are fun but the last two are truly the most amazing and challenging. 

When I read the words "Sometimes the easiest way to solve a problem is to stop participating in the problem." I immediately thought of our daily choices and their contributions to slavery. Yes, our daily choices contributing to slavery-- the choices we don't realize, the choices we do realize but choose to ignore for our 'sweet fix' or 'It's just so cute I have to have it' mentality that leaves us thinking the more we have, the better off we will be. I will never tire of telling people about the issues of slavery, but there comes a point when I tire of telling the same people about the same issues just to see them continue on a path that completely ignores the very things they eagerly and passionately inquired to me about.

The famous William Wilberforce quote goes, 'You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.' To me, this quote needs an image behind it, cleverly designed in such a way that people 'like' it on all forms of social media, share it with their friends, save it to their phone photo albums, and allow it to penetrate their electronic life that is so heavily relied upon. Allowing themselves to be constantly faced with the fact they do know brings to light they can never again say they didn't-- that they can never again say they didn't have an option because the very fact they see the image every day reminds them they already have an inherent interest in how to be a change maker in the world. 

When it really comes down to it, we are all created with a level of compassion that seeks justice when someone is wronged. When something bad happens we all automatically want to do something to see the scales of the situation tilted in the opposite direction and have the wrong made right. The issue of modern day slavery is exactly the same and requires us to actively pursue the balance of seeking justice when we know injustice exists. The goal, however, is not to have balanced scales, but a scale where the justice is so evident-- so strong in comparison to injustice-- that injustice is no longer existent to even add a feather weight on the scale. 

As a goal we can all be active in pursuing, we can stop participating in the problem and be part of the solution. It's in our somewhat meaningless every day choices the most meaning can come from-- we can stop actively participating in the problem.

What is your most meaningless choice that you have come to realize contributes the most, to not only modern day slavery, but to injustice in any of it's many forms?

Are You Actually Dreaming Big?

Have you ever thought you were dreaming big only to find out you actually weren't?
It's shocking, it's exciting, and it kinda weirds you out a bit.
Welcome to my current state.

Recently I took the plunge and have been sharing my ideas, visions, and goals with individuals I find to be worthy of such personal and important information. These spectacular individuals are those in mentor-like positions in my life. The select comrades vary from one who has literally mentored or supervised me during times of immense professional and personal growth, to one who has my faith life as one of the main filters our conversation passes through. It's a small, well rounded crew of individuals who really do have my best interest in mind-- which is exactly the environment you want when you are getting all personal!

While sharing ideas and discussing what I see as the big, main, end vision, something strange happened. The feedback from the other end came out not as the expected reaction to what they heard (positive and/or negative feedback), but more so as a growth response-- here's what happens after the perceived end vision can be enjoyed in brick and mortar.

What?
Things come after this?
Where do these 'after' ideas come from?
How did you just think of all these epic things that I could be part of?

All of these questions raced through my mind as discussions swirled around the ideas of what 'Love Inspires Change' means, how it can relate to people, how it can be a movement, how people can be involved, how it could be a collective force of positive change like nothing I had ever thought or imagined it could be.

Suddenly my list of discussion points touching on URL, logo design and branding-- while still valid-- seemed a whole lot less important when faced with the grand scale ideas that were being being brought to life right in front of me.

I didn't ask the above questions out loud. I took in the moment. I soaked in the ideas, the possibilities, the fresh and exciting new adventures that I could also embark on and only spent alone time after conversations shocked at what was said, pondering the above questions and more...
Was I selling myself short?
Was I allowing one goal to be the end when the end isn't even something that should exist?
Am I not allowing God to be bigger than the original thought he shared with me months ago?
Was I too focused on the immediate next steps to not allow some fun in imagining all the great, amazing, possibilities that could really come?

Image from Facebook.
Artwork available at www.ohnorachio.com

I was inspired. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I was this inspired to really pursue the even bigger picture-- and not even really pursue, but to simply start to dream or pray about what things could really be on the grander scale.

I want to challenge you.
Next time you are thinking about the big picture, take a moment and allow yourself to entertain the even bigger picture. Think big. God didn't give you passions, strengths, gifts, and talents for no reason. He has the biggest picture in mind for your life. He wants you to be more than you thought possible. Allow yourself to be inspired.

It's through inspiration we can put to action what it takes to be a positive change in the world-- and it's love that will keep us moving forward.