Priority 1

The first post mentioned priorities. Life is an exploration of your own personal priorities. What's important to you and your family today may change. Today's economic climate has caused millions to reassess their own priorities.
 

However, there are some things that are fundamental. There are things that transcend cultural and societal traditions and lie at the core of what makes us humans. Understanding someone else's decisions begins with understanding their priorities. And understanding your own priorities is important to making decisions that keep you in harmony with yourself and your world. But let's be clear about the most fundamental human drive: survival. 
 

Our most basic drive is the drive to survive. We are in a unique position from all other species in all other periods of recorded history: We have the ability to make absurd choices in an effort to make survival as uncompromising and enjoyable as possible. We spend precious resources bringing every possible fruit, vegetable and foodstuff across the globe to our local grocery store. We think that because we can, we should. At the same time, there are farmers within 100 miles of our homes who can't survive without government subsidies. There are families who can't afford natural or local foods so they buy the cheapest calories they can find. Often those cheap calories aren't the healthiest for the consumer or the planet.  
 

Priority 1: Eat Responsibly: Understand your unique nutritional requirements and find foods that meet those requirements within 100 miles of home - whenever possible. Getting to a point where diet is in harmony with your body and your environment is a process. It's easy to get overwhelmed and give up. But remember that every time you make the choice for the locally raised Pears over the Mango that comes from the Philippines, you've made a choice that has serious long-term impact. Same goes for making a healthier choice - choosing not to eat an extra cupcake won't immediately give you the body you want -but a lifetime of such choices will.

Life in harmony

What does it mean to live in harmony with our planet?
What does it mean to live in harmony with our own bodies?
How can we reasonably maintain a balance between fitness, health and our environment?

We, as a species, are under pressure by our environment to define a new way of existing that suits our role in the planet as the apex species. We are omnivores, so we can eat almost anything. We are intelligent, so we can design and build things that affect our environment. We are curious, so we feel the urge to understand the circumstances and science that make the world around us. We are driven by our desire to be secure, safe and well fed. We've existed with little need to understand how our choices imact our environment and our health. However, its become clear that as our population grows, our choices have a real impact. Whether our individual choices have a positive or negative impact, they are amplified by our sheer numbers. The smallest quantity of a toxic chemical compound used to clean the toilet once a month isn't toxic - until everyone in the neighborhood buys the Costco-sized container and uses it with the same frequency. It is time for our species to consider our responsibility to the planet. We are intelligent - the only species with the intelligence to help save our planet. As such, we are compelled to do so.

How does this change happen?
One person, one decision, one small step at a time.
With so much great information about food choices, fitness options, and green choices, how are we to make sense of the things that have the greatest impact? The first step is to understand and define our priorities. We must prioritize the things that drive our lives in a way that better coincides with our core human needs. We must consider the sacrifices that we need to make to save our lives and our planet. I will share my knowledge, explorations and experiences in the pursuit of a more harmonious existence.