I just came back from watching a screening of No Impact Man tonight, which left me with a thought: it is important to have a sense of community. One of the last things talked about was what Mr. NIM would recommend for people if they were to do just one thing to change their lives to be more environmentally-friendly. His advice? Volunteer for an environmental group because with that comes the community connection.
Typical Chinese meal: lots of dishes shared between everyone.
I find that to be a really good point – we’re not on this planet alone and we shouldn’t live and act like it (though oftentimes we do, especially in the American culture). Much of the poor behavior that we’ve learned is because of this mentality. Everyone wants a house to themselves, a car or two for their family, and their own share of everything. The concept of sharing even extends to how our meals are eaten, with individual portions given out rather than some of everything that is shared amongst a group. When we’re all too busy thinking about me, me, me, we do a lot of things that benefit us, but harm those around us, humans, animals/plants, and environment. Plus, having that sense of community bond keeps us grounded and centered so we don’t lose sight of ourselves and fall into the throes of negative behavior (assuming your “community” is not a gang or drug cartel).
This point seemed particularly relevant for a poster I saw on the walk back. It was advertising a young man who was struck by leukemia and was in the Intensive Care Unit at our local hospital. He desperately needs a bone marrow match and as the poster said, he needs your help. I thought of how when we as a population share our resources (which sometimes means donating blood or cells or the like), we are so much better off as a whole. There are so many lives that could be saved if the healthy people in the world were willing to share some of that health with those less fortunate.
Typical American meal: individual portions of each dish.
I actually just made a friend with a young lady in a similar situation (she just doesn’t need to be in an ICU). In her last video update, she said something that I feel is something more people should think about: if the person who got leukemia was your mother, father, sister, brother, cousin, aunt, uncle, etc., then how would you react? Would you still be so reluctant to donate cells that your body easily reproduces to save a life? We’re not even talking about organs that can’t be replaced or something that drastic. Sometime it’s blood, bone marrow, or plasma, but it’s all things that you can make more of in the coming days, weeks, and months.
I really think that this wouldn’t be so much an issue if we were more connected to our communities and had a better sense of those around us. Honestly, how could you continue to not offer what you can if you cared for the people around you? Once people start realizing that they won’t need to undergo the scary spinal tap procedure they thought was what you need to donate bone marrow, I think they have no excuses. It’s either just like giving blood or you’ll be under anesthesia anyway. In this case, sharing is caring!
Similarly for the environment, if we just cared more about others, we’d be able to move away from the individual cars per household mentality to the public transportation mentality. One reason people tout buying local so much is because it supports others’ businesses and prevents you from getting outrageous out-of-season foods that are harder to find during certain times of year. (Local produce may not actually be better for the environment though, but that’s an issue for another day.) Other ways to be environmental and help your “neighbors” (including those in other cities, countries, and continents) is to reuse things rather than creating more trash that will end up in somebody’s backyard. Too many people are living in dumps and all because of our irresponsible consumerism.
So moral of the story? Care more about your neighbors, local and global. It’ll make things so much better for everyone.
Lately I’ve been wearing a pair of white-frame sunglasses that I got at the LA County Fair. They’re modeled to resemble Ray Bans (I think that’s what they’re called) and because of their shape, they fit my face easily. I often run into trouble finding sunglasses that fit my head because I tend to have a wider distance between temples. Most sunglasses hug my eyes and leave red marks on my cheeks after wearing them for awhile. I usually end up with a headache too.
It’s been a long and exhausting weekend for us at Opportunity Green, as we worked long and hard to throw a fantastic conference for everyone. A lot of lessons have been learned on my end, watching how the intensely crazy registration panned out for us and getting a behind-the-scenes look at how things were running. We didn’t expect so many people to show up to the event, so it was challenging to handle the overload in capacity, but it’s great that we got so many interested people to attend. All in all I had a rewarding experience, getting great feedback from participants who were so thankful and appreciative!
Nestled in the hillside of Hong Kong is Victoria Peak, one of the highest vantage points in all the region. It is well-situated in an area that allows for spectacular views on both the north and south sides (though really it has a great panoramic view), which is probably why it has become a tourist destination. Atop “the Peak,” as it’s known, sits the Peak Tower, a funny goblet-looking building that houses a shopping complex and offers unbeatable views from its rooftop. And so, one sunny day, I went to seek out what the Peak had to offer.
The tram eventually made its way down, gently halting before letting off its people. I got in and grabbed a window seat, wondering what the grooves in the ground were for. It wasn’t until we were climbing up the mountain that I realized without those grooves, people would slide the entire length down the aisle. Along the way were some stops, which showed us just how vertical we were. Eventually, we got high enough to begin seeing some wonderful views. Everyone stared out the right side of the tram car to enjoy the landscape before us. After a few minutes, we reached our destination and filed out into the gift shop of the Peak Tower. Clever move on their part.
I, however, ignored all the flashy items and headed straight up. I came across the Bubba Gump’s that is up in the Tower and decided to settle for a quick lunch. I got a table with a fantastic view of the harbor and enjoyed a lovely meal there. As soon as I could, I took the final escalator up to the roof, where a gentle breeze filled the air and beautiful photos ops were everywhere. I took some pictures myself and asked another tourist to take some for me as well. Below me lay a clump of buildings on Hong Kong Island. On the opposite end was a view of the ocean dotted with islands, stretching out into the horizon. Along the face of the hill was a windy road for cars to drive along and in the distance, housing for those privileged enough to get such nice property. There was even a little garden for strolling that I wish I had the time to go visit!
Right next to that was the Flower Market, true to its name with a lot of flowers and plants in general. Actually, a lot of what they sold were just plants, but hey “Plant Market” hardly sounds as appealing, right? This place was a treasure trove, with brilliantly-colored flowers, plants shaped to look like little green creatures, bouquets bursting with all kinds of species, huge lily flowers, and even lotus flowers, complete with buds! My favorite were the vases that eat flies. I’ve always wanted a Venus flytrap, so any “carnivorous” plant will do! Oh, and I also liked the kitty who was sitting in one of the shops. 😛
Next up was the Ladies’ Market! At first I was afraid I’d miss it, but once I got to the street bordering one end of it, I discovered how silly that idea was. There was NO mistaking the dense market that suddenly appeared. I happy began my shopping spree, getting dresses and flip flops for myself, a tie for Panda, cuff links for the men at C&S, and compact mirrors for the ladies at C&S. I did a decent job bargaining (or at least I felt like I did) and I found some great stuff, so I was very happy by the end of it! Just for kicks, I dropped by the Jade Market and Night Market, but by then I was back to just window shopping. I did go by this one area that sold adult toys and such, which was completely random. I also managed to get a 
