THE GREEN ZONE BLOG by LINDA MASON HUNTER
All about taking care of yourself, your family, and the planet, "The Green Zone" offers short, basic tips to incorporate into your daily life to make Earth a cleaner, more sustainable place.
In the Zone
"The Green Zone" airs four times daily at approximately. 2:50 a.m., 6:50 a.m., 4:50 p.m. and 9:50 p.m. central time. Listen every day for a new tip you can put to good use.
Just a little bit…
December, 2024
It’s just a little bit of chlorine in your water.
It’s just a little bit of heavy metals in your food.
It’s just a little bit of fragrance in your cologne.
It’s just a little bit of benzene in your sunscreen.
It’s just a little bit of aluminum in your deodorant.
It’s just a little bit of PFOAs in your nonstick pans.
It’s just a little bit of phthalates in your plastic storage bags.
It’s just a little bit of methanol in your surface cleaner.
It’s just a little bit of artificial coloring in your toothpaste.
It’s just a little bit of ammonia in your sugar-free sweetener.
It’s just a little bit of propylene glycol in your skincare products.
It’s just a little bit of sodium lauryl sulfate in your shampoo.
It’s just a little bit of glyphosate in your breakfast cereal.
It’s just a little bit of BPA in your plastic bottles.
It’s just a little bit of fluoride in your drinking water.
It’s just a little bit of parabens in your moisturizer.
Hmmmm. Let me ask you this: When does “just a little bit” become too much for the body to handle?
Make Each Dance Meaningful
December, 2024
We all dance through the grand hall of life, never knowing when the music will fade. Yet, one thing is certain—it won’t play forever. Every step we take, every twirl we make, is singular, never to be repeated. So make each dance meaningful.
Find joy in the simple moments.
Be kind, generous, and thoughtful.
Forgive swiftly. Love deeply.
Recognize the impact you leave on the world and on those around you.
Live each day with passion to ensure your final dance is a celebration of a life beautifully lived. Though your dance may be fleeting, it can be filled with grace and purpose.
This holiday season my wish for you is to Make Each Dance Meaningful. Let love be the rhythm that guides your every move.
Happy Holidays everybody.
Peace on Earth, Good Will to All
By Linda Mason Hunter
December, 2024
Today, with our country—and indeed the world--so divided, this message sounds like pie-in-the-sky. In my lifetime we’ve never had “Peace on earth.” But one thing each one of us can do is live in a way that fosters peace in our little corner of the world. And I know how to do it.
It’s the simple practice of treating others as you would want to be treated. What is known as the Golden Rule, an age-old tenet that is the first principle of every religion.
· In the Christian faith it’s “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
· In Islam, it’s "None of you believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
· The Jewish and Buddhist interpretations are similar: "What is hateful unto you do not unto others."
It’s a simple common morality. But if religious teachings are not your thing, perhaps this quote from Kurt Vonnegut, one of my favorite authors, will be more to your liking:
“Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Want to transform your life? Follow the Four Agreements
November, 2024
By Linda Mason Hunter
My favorite book of all time is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. It’s a recipe to transform your life and avoid needless suffering. Here are the four agreements:
Agreement #1: Be impeccable with your word. This means speaking with integrity. Saying what you mean. Avoiding gossip. Using the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
Agreement #2: Don’t take anything personally. This is a big one for me. Nothing others say or do is because of you. What others say and do is a reflection of their own reality.
Agreement #3: Don’t make assumptions. Ask questions and express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama.
Agreement #4: Always do your best. Understand your best is going to change from moment to moment. It will be different when you are healthy as opposed to when you are sick. Under all circumstances, simply do your best and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
There you have it. The secret to avoiding suffering from the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Wise Words
September, 2024
I first read this quote from John Fire Lame Deer several years ago, but it never fails to wake me up and to urge me to be a better steward of the land. Indeed, our consumer culture gives us innumerable riches, but at what cost? In a few short words, Lame Deer tells us:
"Only human beings have come to a point where they no longer know why they exist. They don't use their brains, and they have forgotten the secret knowledge of their bodies, their senses, or their dreams. They don't use the knowledge the spirit has put into every one of them; they are not even aware of this, and so they stumble along blindly on the road to nowhere--a paved highway which they themselves bulldoze and make smooth so that they can get faster to the big empty hole which they'll find at the end, waiting to swallow them up. It's a quick comfortable superhighway, but I know where it leads. I've seen it. I've been there in my vision, and it makes me shudder to think about it."
It makes me shudder, too. Perhaps it’s time we listen to our native ancestors and pay more attention to the earth, our home and our mother. It will survive long after we humans are gone.
