Blog Archives

How to Change the World.

1/26/2013

(Me in a village in Vanuatu)

Who dosen't want to change the world? As the Beatles beautifully put it, "You say you want a revolution well, you know we all want to change the world...You say you got a real solution well, you know we'd all love to see the plan..."
It's not just enough to just WANT to change the world, you have to have a PLAN! Most people say that they want to change the world, and then they just sit there and don't do anything about it, because it is such a daunting task! So you HAVE to have a PLAN! Here is my plan, and I'm going to share it with all of you! I have here 12 very practical,(some)easy, holistic ways that YOU can make a difference in this world!

-Help change the life of a child in need.
Compassion International is an organization who's goal is to "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."
With Compassion, you get to sponsor a child. When you sponsor a child, you can exchange letters and photos. You can even choose to visit the child you sponsor. You can change a child's life from one of hardship and loneliness to one of hope and meaning.
When you sponsor a child, you can give a boy or girl in need:
*Educational Opportunities
*Improved Health Care
*Life-skills training
*Food and shelter
Sponsoring a child through Compassion allows you to witness a miracle firsthand, following your child's growth as as he or she is nurtured to health, and educated.
The cost to sponsor a child is just $38 per month!
How YOU can help:
Sponsor a child! It's only $38 a month; which is just over a dollar a day! Everybody can afford a dollar a day! I've been sponsoring my child for seven years now, and I have loved every minute of it! His name is Mathias and he's from Tanzania. I started sponsoring him when he was 11, and during that time we have written numerous letters to each other, I've received his report cards from school (that he was able to attend because of my sponsorship), and pictures of him! My $38 a month has sent him to school to get a good education, got him healthcare that he needs (he lives in an hiv positive area), bought him food, and bought him shoes and clothing! This is an amazing, very simple and cheap way to help change the life of a child! Check out the website, look at the pictures of the children that need sponsoring, and decide for yourself.

-Help end sex trafficking and exploitation.
Eden Ministries is an organization who's mission is to "restore freedom for the captives of Asia's red light districts through holistic programs- transforming body, mind and spirit. Using their international jewelry business as a platform, they provide career and skill
training- empowering women for a new life and future. They continually innovate
prevention and outreach programs- transforming entire communities. Eden is a voice to the oppressed, a light to the darkness."
So basically, they take in women who want to get out of prostitution, who wouldn't have anywhere else to go, and give them a job making jewelry. Eden then sells the jewelry and all the money goes to the women. Jewelry making is pretty much the only way that the women can make almost as much as they did prostituting. That's a big reason why a lot of women don't leave prostitution, because in China, working wage is VERY low, especially compared to what they are used to making in prostitution. When I was in China I got to see this program first-hand. I got to meet the founder of the organization, and go to the apartment where the women were actually making the jewelry. This is an INCREDIBLE organization, and if you want to change the world, this is definitely a good place to start.
How YOU can help:
All you have to do is buy beautiful hand made jewelry! Each piece of Eden Jewelry is handcrafted by the women being restored to life in their shelters. Income from the sale of the jewelry goes directly to pay the women's salaries so you can be assured that your purchase is definitely making a difference. Each piece comes packaged with a story of a life that has been changed by Eden’s intervention. I got to buy several pieces of jewelry when I was at their offices, but I will definitely be buying more jewelry from their website. The jewelry is BEAUTIFUL, hand crafted, and makes a great gift! Visit their website and blog, it will really open your eyes to the world of human trafficking and exploitation.

(Me working at an orphanage in Xi'an, China)

-Adopt a child
I know this one isn't a simple way to change the world, but I think it is one of the most beautiful, selfless, BIGGEST way to change the world! I know that every country has children in orphanages awaiting adoption, but my heart breaks specifically for Chinese orphans, because China has a very special situation with its babies. China has a 'one child' policy that was implemented by the government in 1979, to control China's very large population from getting out of control. So the one child policy, along with China's traditional preference for boys (to carry on the family name and such), results in hundreds of thousands of girls, and babies with 'flaws' (albino, mentally disabled, physically disabled etc.) to be abandoned each year. Most orphanages are so under-funded, and under-staffed, that it is impossible to give the children all the love and care that they need! So when I had the opportunity to volunteer at a Chinese orphanage, I was thrilled! I got to feed the children, play with them, and give them love and attention that babies NEED. It also gave the workers at the orphanage a little break (these amazing women work EVERY single day, barely getting a break).
How YOU can help:
Adopt a child. I know that it is expensive and time consuming, but it is also life-changing, not only for the child whose life you saved, but also for you! #26 on my List of Things I Want to do Before I Die, is to adopt a baby. I hope with all my heart that by the time I am ready to do that, I will have the funds necessary.
Volunteer at an orphanage. Here is a good one, or do your research, and find one for yourself.

-Treat Mother Nature with love, kindness, and respect
This is a GREAT way to make a HUGE impact in this world! And it's not too hard!
How YOU can help:
Read my article on 9 Ways toPreserve Mother Nature.

(Me with a baby at an orphanage in Xi'an China)

-Love others unconditionally
This is a huge one. A very wise speaker by the name of Dean Sherman says, "Every problem in the world is a problem of wrong relationship... not loving...others and ourselves."
If you think about that, it is SO true! Think about every problem in the world. Where does it stem from? Not loving others or ourselves: Wars? Not loving others. Murders/violence? Not loving others. Suicide? Not loving yourself OR others. Overdosing on drugs? Not loving yourself.
How YOU can help:
Look for things you like about people, rather than things you don't like. Treat others with kindness and respect. Treat others how you want to be treated, and remember that we are all just people trying our best to live our lives.

(Me)
-Love yourself unconditionally
This one can be tricky, but as I was saying above, is very important. If you don't love or respect yourself, you will always be thinking, "how can I help anybody, I'm not good enough."
How YOU can help:
No matter what your flaws, remember, everyone has flaws! Having flaws does not make you a bad person! Don't hate yourself because of these flaws. Learn to love and appreciate them (or if they're unproductive hurtful flaws, try your best to better yourself). Stop being so hard on yourself, learn to love yourself. You deserve it.

-Watch the Documentary Invisible Children
This documentary is a riveting, horrifying, eye-opening look at the exploitation of children in Uganda.
When I watched this documentary 7 years ago, it completely opened my eyes to the terror reigned over Uganda by the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). They kidnap and use children for soldiers in their army, giving them guns and forcing them to kill and help further the LRA's takeover.
How YOU can help:
Go to their website.
Buy Sustain It Products
Watch the videos.

(A school in Vanuatu)

-Read the book "How to Be Compassionate; A Handbook for Creating Inner Peace and a Happier World." By His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
It changed my life.

(Me on top of a mountain in Fiji)

-Start Practising Yoga and Meditation.
When you practice yoga, it calms your mind, relaxes your thoughts, makes you happier,
and more at peace with yourself and the world. It is my belief, that if everyone were to practice yoga and meditation and be this happy, calm and at peace, we wouldn't have near as many fights, arguments, and bad feelings towards others. And this world would be a MUCH happier place.
How YOU can help:
You don't have to be a meditation master. Just start with a few minutes a day, sitting with your legs crossed, palms up resting on your knees in a dark, quiet room. Close your eyes, relax your body, focus on your breathing; breathing in through your nose, out through your mouth, and whenever your mind starts to wander and think about other things, slowly bring it back to your breathing. Focus on your breathing. You can start off with a couple minutes a day doing this, and work up to longer whenever you can.
Take a yoga class, or get a Yoga DVD. You will feel so much better about yourself, and so much better about the world.

(The village of Takara in Vanuatu)

-Buy "Fair Trade Certified" Goods.
From the Fair Trade Usa Website, "Fair Trade goods are just that. Fair. From far-away
farms to your shopping cart, products that bear our logo come from farmers and workers
who are justly compensated. We help farmers in developing countries build
sustainable businesses that positively influence their communities. We're a nonprofit, but
we don't do charity. Instead, we teach disadvantaged communities how to use the free
market to their advantage. With Fair Trade USA, the money you spend on day-to-day
goods can improve an entire community’s day-to-day lives."
How YOU can Help:
Go to the Fair Trade Usa's Website. Learn about fair trade. See how you can help.
Buy products that you would normally buy (coffee, clothing, tea, fruits, vegetables, spices),
from the website, or from stores that carry the Fair Trade Certified Label.

These are just some examples of how you can find every day items that are fair trade!

-Say Kind Words to People.
Look out for others, help them, say kind words to strangers, friends, and enemies.

(Me wearing a Sari given to me by this woman in Fiji)
And lastly,
-This
I literally cry every time I read it.

*Let this inspire you. Go make your own plan for changing the world, then go change the world! Write your "Changing the World" Plan, leave it in the comments, and I might include it in my next "Changing the World Post"!*
Please Like this post below, and share it! Thanks!

Peace Love and Changing the World
Jess <3

4 Comments

9 Ways to Preserve Mother Earth

1/25/2013

4 Comments

1. Recycle.
    Not hard at all! Recycle newspapers, magazines, pop cans, tin cans, and plastic bottles!

2. Use "for here" cups instead of "to go" cups when you're at a coffee shop.
    I always do this when I go to Starbucks or any Coffee Shop. They give you a
    mug instead of a plastic cup. It saves plastic from going into landfills, and I think
    it tastes better in a mug!

3. Shop at thrift stores instead of buying brand new things.
    When you need new clothes, or household items, find them at a thrift store instead of
    buying brand new things! You'll save things from going into landfills, and get them for
    super cheap too!

4. Donate your old clothes and other household items to a thrift store.
    Instead of throwing your old things away, donate them to a thrift store, or put
    them on freecycle.

5. Buy Hemp products.
    I am definitely NOT going to get into the whole legalization of marijuana thing. I am
    not talking about weed, supporting it or against it. What I am just saying, is that
    what Henry Ford said above is SO TRUE! Hemp is a sustainable, smart resource to use!
    "For thousands of years, humans have used parts of the hemp plant for food,
    textiles, paper, fabric, and fuel oil. Today, modern processing technologies have made
    it possible to create alternatives to gasoline, plastic, and other petroleum products that
    can help the human race lessen its reliance on polluting and expensive fossil fuels.
    The hemp plant is a renewable resource that can be produced domestically. It grows
    quickly, naturally resists plant diseases, requires little weeding, thrives in most climates,
    and enriches the soil it grows in. "
    Read here for more information on this amazing plant, and start buying hemp products.
    (I could just go on and on about this. Hmmm...maybe I'll hafta write an article about it
    sometime...)

6. Stop using paper towels.
    Paper towels is one of the biggest wastes ever! You buy sumthing just to turn around and
    throw it away! Instead, cut up old t-shirts and use them as rags! After wiping up a spill,
    you can just rinse it off and wring it out! And just wash in the washer instead of throwing
    away, filling our landfill with more unnecessary waste!

7. Start carrying your own reusable, to go cup.
    I take mine everywhere. Not only does it make it easier to drink enough water a day,
    but I use it instead of getting paper cups at fast food places.

8. Make your own Recycled Paper!

9. Save electricity.
Turn off lights when you leave a room, turn off the running water when you're brushing
your teeth, simple things like that, that make a huge difference.

Now go on out and save the planet! These are 9 very simple everyday things that you can do. Comment and let me know what YOUR plans are to save the world!~ (: Like and share please! (:

Peace Love and Mother Earth
Jess <3

4 Comments

Leaving for Adventure!

How to Change the World.

9 Ways to Preserve Mother Earth

I'm Jessica!

Popular Posts

Categories

Archives