The Green Spot

My daughter called the Charleston (SC) Green Taxi Company to take her to the airport. How about that? Hybrid taxis.

We were to meet in San Francisco. Denver Flight F9 696 was delayed, and it was a close connection even if I had been on time. And to top that off I had to pick up and then recheck my bags with the new carrier. After speaking with several people about my situation, I was told I could not make my overseas flight. I thought of my daughter and I having to take separate flights. I wouldn't take no for an answer. I pictured both of us making the trip and then spoke to the right person. A Frontier flight attendant took up my cause and made the impossible happen.

In San Francisco, another jack rabbit Frontier employee, raced with me to my daughter (who had a late Delta connection- when I was on the plane in route to San Francisco, I thought she would be on time and waiting on the plane), took us through barriers, under ropes and delivered us just in time to make our flight. Two winded, but happy women, sat down and embraced. We arrived safely in Seoul, spent a few days, and headed for Thailand.

Following are green observations from my travels.

• Seoul, S. Korea and Bangkok, Thailand are major metropolitan areas. Greater Seoul sports a whopping population of 24.5 million, and the Bangkok area is home to 15 million people. Seoul is clean and one feels safe to roam around town. The traffic should be horrific, but the streets seem orderly, even during the busy times. What makes a city of 24.5 million orderly, clean and easy to travel? Public transportation. The Seoul Metropolitan Subway is one of the most heavily travelled in the world with more than eight million trips made daily. More than 70 percent of the subway is underground.

• The Bangkok Skytrain opened in December 1999. It revolutionized travel within the congested Thai capital for millions of city commuters. Trips that previously took an hour now take minutes.

• The Bangkok Metro, officially called the Mass Rapid Transit, opened in July 2004. More than 180,000 persons ride the metro daily. Wouldn’t you love to travel from The Woodlands to downtown in 10 to 15 minutes and save tons of CO2 emissions? The metro serves the areas not serviced by the Skytrain.

• Seventy percent of Thailand’s energy source is natural gas, which burns more cleanly than other fossil fuels. It has fewer emissions of sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen than coal or oil, and when it is burned, it leaves almost no ash particles.

• Neither country uses chorine or fluoride in their water. Of course the people don’t drink the water, but I don’t drink unfiltered water here either. My hair shined for the first time in years. Other countries that do not use fluoride or stopped using it when the toxicology reports came in are: West Germany, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Italy, and Scotland. This is a controversial subject, but I use reverse osmosis to filter out those chemicals. The fish and micro organisms, which get our runoff water, have no choice as we continue to poison them with the chemicals. My friend, Dr. Anthony George, says, “We live in a chemical stew.” And unfortunately we are in the stew pot.

If you are interested in the toxic effects of chlorine or fluoride you will find over five million articles on the internet. Here are a few links.

http://www.toxicfluoride.com/
http://www.wholywater.com/fluoride.html
http://www.nontoxic.com/water/moreonfluoride.html
http://www.nontoxic.com/nontoxic/chlorine.html
http://www.lightparty.com/Health/DangersOfChlorine.html

It looks like green is a turn on near and far. I saw recycling, green attitudes and general conservation. How refreshing. Let’s continue to join the global community as green citizens.

Green Tip

What can we do to put more green in our lives? Use beeswax candles with cotton wicks, soy candles or other vegetable based waxes. Paraffin candles are toxic when burning and 40 % of our candles have lead in the wick. For more information read http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/realmoney/articles/candles.cfm

Waiting: Make it Count

Do you fidget when you wait? Do you see waiting as a major inconvenience? People get irritated or hostile in traffic jams. Waiting before events or meetings, is inevitable. We wait in the doctor's office, the grocery store, the department store and the automotive shop. Waiting is a part of our culture. For many, waiting means wasting or lost time. Do you really want to take a large segment of the time in your life and waste it? One thing you can bet on, the more you resist waiting, the more of it you will receive. Like Job, what we fear befalls us. Let's look at new ways to experience waiting.

1. Waiting is a call to slow down.

Life has a way of providing slowdown when we hurry. Waiting is one of these slowdowns. Use this time to breathe, be still inside and to center. Think about your life. Am I doing what I want to do with my life? Am I having fun? Can I do something to change the things so I can get more of what I want? “Life is great when you like to wait.” You make waiting what it is. You give the experience of waiting all the meaning it has for you. What will you choose?
Which One are You?

There was an old woman who stood in a line
She whined and pouted as she waited her time
She stuck out her tongue
And acted the part
Of a put out female with out any heart.

There was a great woman who stood in the queue
Good naturedly smiling, her grace she imbued.
She beamed and sparkled in sheer delight
Patience her virtue, she was happy and bright.

2. Be open to synchronicity (meaningful coincidence). You might have a close encounter with a person in line that provides a lesson for you. The spiritually aware understand that no encounter is accidental. Treat the person who is next to you with awe, knowing the encounter is not a mistake. Become alert while waiting; don't go unconscious. “The more you wait the better your fate!”
Once upon a time, before cell phones, my car broke down in rural Mississippi. I went to the closest home to use the phone. A wonderful woman greeted us and invited my husband and me in. She fed us, entertained us and captured our hearts. We waited for a tow truck for several hours, then left promising to keep in touch. We actually corresponded for years. We wrote of our trials and joys. I drank in her words. Her courage, to get out of her go nowhere life, start her own business and to strike out as a single mother was dear to me.

3. "Slowliness is holiness." The eastern mystic Babaji says that slowliness is sacred. In our culture, we value rushing, expediency and productiveness. The subtle nature of the heart reveals itself when we slow down. When we rush around in we stay of the outskirts of life. We are around but not in our lives. Use waiting as a time to be. Question your driven-ness always to be doing or accomplishing. “Meditate while you wait.”
4. Redefine WAIT: Wonderful Adventure In Time (WAIT). Every moment is precious. Each here and now offers the entry into infinite peace, love, prosperity and joy. Being present and alive in the here and now moves us into a timeless reality. The only time we are free is in the now. At last, at last – free from the past!

Glad to Wait

If you get mad when you wait
Your life will be full of hate
Irritation and frustration too
You’ll go through life without a clue
Of all the gifts you might have had
By staying cool and being glad.

So next time you have to wait
Be with it, don’t hesitate
Relax, smile and be of cheer
Connect with self and those who’re near.
Life’s too short to throw away
Enjoy the wait and make it pay.

We define the quality of our lives moment to moment. Let's transform the thought of waiting from
one of inconvenience and wasted time into one of possibility, wholeness and rest. When we do this, our lives become easier and easier.

Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
The end.

Anne Sermons Gillis is an author, speaker and life coach. Contact her at 281-419-1775 or at annegillis.com