Best of Mother Earth

sorry for the second post subscribers :: my url truncated

A Green Moms Carnival launched August 4th. 

The whole carnival gig was new to me and it had me completely enrolled. 

As I was discovering some of these other green moms, I read about another new and upcoming carnival.

Affluent Persons Living Sustainably.

I found myself stumped.

What the heck does that actually mean?? It was something that I kept noodling in the back of my mind.

Affluent.  Affluence to me means wealth. I don’t hang out with the rich and famous. Wealthy people are out of my league, not my demographic. I think of myself as very ordinary and certainly not rolling in the dough 

To allow myself to be judgemental for a moment. I sometimes think that wealthy people don’t care about the environment.  Allfuent people drive hummers and live in homes the size of Argentina.  How is it they, those of affluence became those people in my mind? As if it were them against me ?   I know that’s a narrow minded view but I feel that way sometimes.

Then attach the persons living sustainably part and I thought – oh wealthy people who take on greenness with the perfect looking re-usable tote bag and jimmy choos. I thought to myself, do I really think that ??  Do I believe that wealthy people are being green or buying green just to look good? 

At some level I feel that too.

Who am I to judge anyone by the shoes they wear, the automobile they drive or the size of the house they live in? And yet I did…

I thought  really hard about all the people I know who are of affluence and who are sustainably minded and realized that maybe I need to rethink my view.

It’s not my place to judge

My favorite example about affluent persons living sustainably follows:

Four years ago our wellness company was bought by Roger and Sloan Barnett.  We had been under a corporate umbrella for some time, and had been through our fair share of navy blue suited CEO’s. Some CEO’s left us with a sense that they were a human being, some didn’t. The founder /creator of our company was a person.He built this company based on his ideals and his passions.

Roger and Sloan are billionaires by the way.  When I think of that in zero’s I get all googly eyed. It’s boggling to me.  When I went to meet them in San Francisco along with thousands of others,  the only thing on my mind was WHO are these people?  

I was struck by a variety of things. They are young.  Younger than me I should say.  They love each other. Simply yet powerfully I totally experienced them as a couple. Hand in hand out to change the world 

I was struck by his brilliance, his belief that he had found the right fit for his investment. He had been searching for years, had spent millions particularly researching MLM companies.

Our companycompletely stole his heart. He in turn has given us his all.  

He promised to bring us the best experts from around the world, to expand our companies globally, he told us of his ambition to nourish the world. He believes in Peace. He showed us how connected he was, a man of business integrity and compassion.  His credibilty shined. He and his wife hang out with folks like Donald Trump, David Bach, Wangari Maathai and Oprah. 

Actually, when they were on Oprah last April – they were there as parents discovering that their child had asthma and how household toxins were a huge contributor. Oprah was quick to point out how they discovered our green clean line and decided to buy the company!! 

The Barnett’s foster relationships with organizations like the Green Belt Movement or the World Health Orgnaization.  Everywhere they go they tread lightly environmentally. When the convention was here in Chicago they planted trees, all the convention materials were made with recyclable materials and they continued to maintain their Climate Neutral Status – the first company in the world to ever achieve this.

They have 3 beautiful children, she struggled with weight loss after her third, he played the piano at last last years convention without his shoes on, they share their evening meal together as a family. How are they any different than me?

Recently, Roger Barnett’s wife, wrote a book. 

It’s called Green Goes With Everything: Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Safer Planet.

As I watched her promotional video  I found Sloan’s voice authentic. This is her way of contributing. She said, I don’t live in a log cabin…I am shades of green.  Her message was honest and authoratative.  I felt proud to be associated with her, with them, again with the company I love so much

Sloan Barnett is a Today Show contributor, Journalist and I Village Consumer and Green Editor 

What a combination! 

I write about them with awe, and admiration. They change my opinion of the affluent model I described earlier. They walk their talk, put their money where their mouth is and they work really hard.

Are they different from me? Not really. They just have more zero’s to their income. Well alot more zero’s. 

How do I personally live sustainably ?

I am still defining this. I feel like there is so much I have to learn and I am asking questions. I can say these few things:

I have been practicing basic green-esque ways for over 20 years.

I represent a truly green company.

I reduced my driving by 50% last year. 

I purged 50% of my office paper. 

I’d like to eventually be a paperless office. 

I’d like to run my business 100% virtual.

My garbage management had improved. Composting is now a reality.

I offset travel with tree planting.

My plastics project is ongoing. 

I’d like to have a stronger voice in the community. Not sure what that looks like.  Not sure who’s like minded.  I can bring that goal to reality now that I am a contributing columnist at my local paper ( I am sooooo excited!!)

I also feel I’d like to be an example to other business woman who want to foste
r sustainability as part of their marketing message. Mostly I want to do this honestly. Not blaring or with judgement.  

Hope that made sense.

Thank you for the opportunity to post along with this group, affluence may be wealth, influence is priceless.


flickr image credit 

Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Publisher
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition, Weight Loss, and Green Clean