Five Surefire Ways to NOT Help Your Community Thrive
[Editor's Note: This post originally appeared in the Tiverton/Little Compton Rhode Island Patch, where I've started blogging on redefining the suburban experience as a way to help drive dialogue in my community on issues that I believe are important to our vitality and resilience. Given that you could easily replace Tiverton and Little Compton with your own community, I thought I would share it with everyone. Feel free to view the original and read... Read More
The Ups and Downs of Eating Local (And What You Can Do About It)
Our youngest carries our first two eggs from the coop (Editor’s Note: This is the final post chronicling our two-week 125-mile food challenge. You can read the other posts here. A special thanks goes out to all our friends and family who offered lots of support and encouragement along the way. Food does create community!) On October 1st, our family took on a little two-week challenge to only eat food that had been grown and/or produced within... Read More
Day Five of Our 125-Mile Local Food Challenge
[Editor's Note: This is the latest update on our 125-mile Local Food EcoChallenge through the Northwest Earth Institute. You can read the kick-off post here. To get future updates on our Challenge, feel free to subscribe to The New Pursuit. Thanks.] As I type this, Day 5 of our EcoChallenge is coming to an end. In some ways it’s hard to believe it’s ONLY Day 5, but in other ways, what we’re doing seems so right and so natural. The... Read More
Birthdays, World Views and the Game Plan to Bring it All Home
[Editor's Note: This could be the most personal post I've ever written. Forgive the number of "I"s throughout. But it's my hope you might connect with this in some way and use it to help yourself navigate similar hurdles in your life. Transparency and authenticity are important to me.] “The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.” ~ Buddha Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 37. I was hoping to use this as an occasion to bring... Read More
Take Action: 10 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Community TODAY
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ~ Anne Frank Over the past few weeks, the blogosphere has been abuzz with conversation about shifting from talking about action to actually DOING all those things to change our world for the better. Talking the talk will only take you so far. At some point, you have to start walkin’ it — or as many a wise fisherman has said, “You... Read More
Returning to the Power, Solace and Resilience of Community
“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live.” ~ George Bernard Shaw There is a quiet but growing movement happening all over. Perhaps it’s the result of shaky economies or people rediscovering the simple(r) more rewarding joys that come with shedding unnecessary... Read More
