There are two significant moments which stick-out as the kick start of my re-kindled ecological and ethical awareness.

The first was a chance-encounter friendship with an ecological and ethical vegetarian couple I met almost two years ago.  My average, every-day  citizen of the planet response after meeting them was to disqualify Steve and myself from being eligible to be included amongst their friends.  I felt totally unworthy after having fallen so far from my once so staunchly held eco-ethical belief systems.  Lucky for me, they refused my self-disqualification.  They lit the pilot light again and I am grateful for the good fortune of their generous open-mindedness to see past my average-ness.  More than getting back on the eco wagon, I am grateful for their inspiration of their inclusiveness and acceptance.

Then one sunny afternoon almost two years ago, my daughter asked if we could go into a little shop in our neighbourhood.  My daughter approached a lovely human being named Helen, the shop-owner in the Yonge and Lawrence area.  Helen was patiently explaining to my girl that the mural that was made of moss and stones in the front of the cash register area was something she and her son made and in the centre of the moss and stones was hand made red shiny heart her son had placed there at the very end.   I have been shopping there for my eco and locally made items for a while and these items gained notice in my home and on my children. Helen’s willingness to talk about any aspect of local, ethical and eco trade was a constant reminder for me to share the message with anyone who asks.   The information I was able to share by extension was repeated over and over again until Little Green Being was born as a medium to further share information.  I am so grateful for Helen’s inspiration, opening up such a unique shop, graciously sharing information, kindly welcoming anyone into her shop regardless of their eco awareness.  She really is the red shiny heart at the centre of a green environment.

In the economic downturn, hard times have befallen without prejudice, causing everyone to reconsider some choices in their everyday lives.  Today I had the privilege of spending part of a sunny afternoon taking yet another lesson from Helen.  She is winding down the current materialization of Dandelion Mud Pie.  The shop at it’s current Fairlawn Avenue location will no longer exist much longer and I am learning so much about being present in the current moment from Helen and her realistic and useful attitude.  She has done her best and now welcomes what comes next, still shrouded in possibilities.  She is open to an opportunity of perhaps re-opening in another shop in the area or whatever else next week might hold for her.  What has really made an impression on me is the grace with which she lives in, regardless of the turns her life is taking.

When the media and the pessimists benefit from fear-mongering, the light and energy that people like Helen bring in their times of transition is truly enlightening.

I stumbled on a useful message from the Bhagavad Gita: Live your own destiny imperfectly instead of  living and imitation of someone else’s life to perfection.

We are always in between one state or another, just sometimes it’s more obvious.

Change, but be yourself now.