Change for the "Greener" Good

Everywhere we turn in the news, there are stories about the dramatic effects of climate change. Though the role of human behavior is still debated, it seems inevitable that our way of life has a significant impression on the makeup of our planet. Most of us understand that our lifestyles need to change in someway to help leave future generations with a healthy, vital earth, but the prospect of "going green" sometimes is so overwhelming, it's hard to know where to start. The good news is that there are small changes we can make in our daily routines that can make a big difference. Here are some green tips:

Slow down and tune up - Studies have shown that, by slowing down our average highway speed to between 60 and 65 miles per hour, and by keeping our tires properly inflated, our air filters clean and our engines well-tuned, we can save as much as 2- to 25% in fuel efficiency. These easy changes help both our wallets and the climate.

Eat whole foods - There's a basic theory about buying healthier food in the grocery store that recommends shopping for items around the perimeter of the store, while avoiding the middle aisles. In general, the goods along the outside are less processed, which means they're usually better for you. What's more, naturally-grown produce generally takes less energy to make it to your table, so the same things that are best for your body may well be better for Mother Earth too.

Buy used or trade - Lots of people are struggling to make ends meet these days, but for those of us whose favorite pastime is shopping, it's especially hard. Instead of cutting out your shopping sprees all together, consider a weekend adventure through your local thrift stores, consignment shops and garage sales. You'll save money, and you keep otherwise discarded items in use. There are also lots of websites like Swapthing.com and Freecycle.org where you can unload your unwanted items, or even trade them for something you want that another person is tired of.

It helps to remember that little changes add up. What's more, you may find that the adjustments you make to "go green" make you feel better about yourself as well. Give it a try!

Is there Such a Thing as a Good Lie?

We've all been put in a situation before where we feel like we can't win by telling the truth. Examples include a spouse asking if an outfit makes them look fat, or a loved one inquiring what we think of our in-laws. Sometimes it seems like it's just easier to lie than it is to hurt someone's feelings. After all, if the truth is going to hurt, why put ourselves and someone else through the discomfort?

Though white lies may help us avoid temporary awkwardness, there are longer-term consequences to consider. The more we "massage" the truth, the harder it is to keep track of what we've said to whom, and the consequences can be stressful, if not detrimental, when it comes to our relationships.

If we make a habit of telling half-truths, the pattern becomes more obvious over time. Even if a certain friend or loved one doesn't know you've balked at sharing the whole truth with them, they may recognize a white lie you tell to others, which may call your character into question for them.

Though honesty truly is the best policy, there is a difference between careful forthrightness and brutal candor. Choosing the words that are both an honest expression of our opinions, while also taking the time to consider their power and potential impact before sharing them, is a valuable middle-ground. You may not always make people happy with what you have to say, but they always will know they can trust you to tell them the truth.

Happiness is fickle and largely out of our control, but trust is a precious commodity only preserved with care and consistency. It's a worthwhile investment!

Is a mind such a terrible thing to change?

One only has to look as far as the current political races to find evidence that we're increasingly polarized as a nation. As leaders struggle to distinguish themselves from one another, they tend to dig their heels in, shouting louder about what they stand for, instead of listening more. This trend is reflective of a larger tendency among all of us to hold fast to our opinions, as if having our minds changed was a concession of defeat. But perhaps we're missing out on some valuable insight by not looking at the world from someone else's point of reference.

Scholar Roger Martin is a lifelong student of something he calls "the opposable mind." He contends that, although we are born with a basic ability to hold multiple, opposing concepts in tension in our mind, we tend to condition ourselves from childhood to do just the opposite.

Martin argues that the problem begins in grade school, with the way we teach our children to think. Though we begin early on show children how to read, write and add, the skills of critical thought, rhetoric and analysis often come a decade later or more, if at all.

This vacuum of higher-order thinking trickles over into a culture that, instead of welcoming debate and opposing views, feels threatened by difference. Rather than learning from alternate perspectives, we cling to our own ideals even tighter, casting verbal volleys at the "other side," and if we're lucky, the fight stops before things really get messy.

Gregory Jones, a fan of Martin's work and now the dean at Duke University Divinity, suggests a strategy he was taught in school, and which has had a significant impact on the way he views the world. He was given the challenge of selecting a topic about which he felt very strongly, and then researching and arguing in favor of the opposite view. The exercise pushed his intellectual and emotional skills to their limits, but he came away with a much richer sense of the importance of different viewpoints.

"Such exercises do not ask us to become less passionate or to compromise our views," he says. "But they do help us learn to hold our own views in a deeper tension with alternative possibilities."

There's an old saying that suggests minds, like parachutes, work best when they are open. Being right isn't necessarily the same thing as being wise, and letting go of our hold on the former can lead to more of the latter.

There's an old folk adage that suggests, in so many words, that we humans will hunt up new things to get worked up about if we don't have enough troubles already. It's almost as if we become so used to negative stress that we practically become hooked on it. It's all too easy to let our days become dictated by trivial problems that add up: traffic jams, long meetings, crying children and jammed printers can build up into a serious pain in the neck - literally. We come to the end of the day and wonder why in the world we're so worn out, lacking the energy for our loved ones. Where has the energy gone? Perhaps it's trickled away, one bit at a time, invested in our troubles.

The last thing we want to do when emotionally tied in knots is to take a step back and gain some healthy perspective, but it may be the key ingredient for a recipe of long-term peace of mind.

Did someone cut you off on the highway? Imagine the precious seconds they'll save being a single car-length in front of you. Kids whining you into a frenzy? Taking a breath and approaching them with patience may afford you insight into the source of their anxiety, instead of adding to it with your own.

In fact, most problems are hardly worth our emotional and mental well-being, and worrying about them almost never leads to a solution. Patience isn't so much about suppressing our feelings as it is about maintaining a healthy sense of perspective about both the good and bad in our lives. With peace at the end of the day in mind, it may be a little easier to set our minor bumps aside and move on without giving them the energy they can otherwise demand.

Patience isn't just a virtue: it's important self-care. Practice a little bit every day!

The Tri-Cities now has maintenence free living outside of condo developments. Legacy at Creekstone is a new community offering completely maintained yards and still offers the privacy of a single family home.

Legacy at Creekstone is a niche community in the Tri-Cities. All of the homes here have covered proches and patios and look great from the street with our Architect-designed elevations. Three different options can be had for each home: Craftsman, English, and Traditional. Each option has its own unique features including front doors, garage doors, exterior lights, siding details, and roof shapes.

Stop by Legacy at Creekstone to see our community in person at 5718 W. 18th in Kennewick, WA. Or email us for home plans and availability.

Living in Legacy at Creekstone allows you the freedom of leaving for extended periods of time, or spending your time with family or at work. None of those options involve mowing or weeding, or even painting the outside of your home down the road!