Currently, I am on a job search. Many hours have been spent searching through job descriptions, creating cost/benefit and pro/con lists, and contemplating what I truly want out of a forty hour work week.

However, when trying to get in touch with what I want, I find that sometimes it’s as simple as my memories…

I recall a time when I was about 7 years old. At that age, I didn’t care much for showers. Who wanted to waste all that time?

This particular afternoon, we were at my aunt’s friend’s house and it started raining. It was one of those blissful, hard summer rains; the kind where the air smells crisp and clean, the water cascades down the gutters, and tin roofs become musical instruments.

Many people were there- friends of my aunt’s friends, and a boy I used to play with during those days. Well, being young, the boy and I decided to dance in the rain. It was more fun back then, too, because who washed our clothes when they got muddy? Certainly not us!

The adults decided to capitalize on the moment…they brought out a bar of soap. Our free flowing, dance of twirling was punctuated by Ivory Bar scrubbing, cleaning off a day’s worth of frog hunting and play. The nearby stream got stronger as we washed, and I still can picture our dance and the feeling of freedom. I cannot remember what I wore, but I distinctly remember how it felt.

When I was, oh say, 17, I rediscovered twirling…with renewed vigor. There was no goal, just spinning in circles with the pure reason of dizziness. At 21, we added starry skies and a bit of adult beverage, along with a mountain that made for an interesting obstacle. At 22, though, it stopped. No more twirling…why? I don’t know. Perhaps I felt grown up, perhaps I was too focused on achieving and doing things and my spirit wasn’t free enough to do such frivolous activities. You can’t put twirling on a resume, anyway…where would it even fit?

Let’s fast forward to summer of 2008. 23 going on 24, I was finished with college courses for good. Something in me clicked, and I twirled again. Perhaps in the rain, perhaps in a waterfall, I don’t remember my first re-acquaintance with the activity. However, I do remember the feeling…the grass beneath my feet, skirt flowing around me, the sky swirling round my head. I’ve done it a few times since, most memorably in a wooden swing. I’ve perfected my rope twirl…the lower you hang on, the faster you spin. It’s fantastically fun. My twirling today is more sporadic, but it’s just as joy-filled as it used to be.

Looking back, I realize that this is what I am looking for while looking for work- I want to maintain a twirling state of soul. I realize that work can be hard, but I don’t want it to be so draining that I don’t want to twirl.

This is my benchmark for success; if I can achieve all my dreams and still feel free enough to twirl, I will feel successful.

What is your benchmark for success? When will you feel you’ve reached the top of your game?

In twirling and self sustainability,

AB

Remember my love-note last week calling on all passionate and positive thinkers to consider joining PPnG’s community of guest bloggers?

Well, Amber Brown, (shown at left) reached out and introduced herself by telling me the story about her pink and green watermelon suit and the power of embracing our personal style. How could I resist?

Amber is passionate, creative and her first post made me smile.

Look for it right here first thing tomorrow morning.

Recently I purchased some Compact Fluorescent (CF) bulbs for some bedside lamps. As I thought about the bulb choices available to me in the lighting aisle of the local supermarket, I was reminded that sometimes eco-friendly products come in eco-unfriendly packaging. Pictured to the left is the bulb I ended up purchasing.

There were some CF bulbs available in recyclable, paper-based packaging, but not the shape and wattage I needed. I noticed that most of the CF bulbs available at this store were packaged in thick plastic envelops.

That reminds me of something that would be funny if it weren’t so indicative of the (sad) larger situation. One of my most used, and most valuable tools is a pair of heavy-duty kitchen shears (thanks Mom for these. They’re one of the best gifts you ever gave me!). I use them so much that the one time my housemate mis-placed them, I almost panicked! I use them for: opening the heavy sealed plastic envelopes that many items are packaged in, cutting pizza into slices, snipping price tags off of clothing, and lots of other household chores.

And that day I used them for opening my eco-friendly light bulbs that were packaged in eco-unfriendly packaging.

I think manufacturers can do better. In fact, I know they can, because from time to time I see examples of what better looks like. A few months ago I got a pannier for my bike. It looked like this, (photo on right).

If you look closely, you can see that the information tag attached to this item is hand-tied with a red ribbon! I can’t tell you how much that small touch made my heart sing!

When faced with the choice to use a plastic tie and a hand-tied piece of ribbon, this manufacturer made the right choice. And that gives me hope that more manufacturers will do the same.

It’s official; we ‘ve got a new guest blogger on PPnG and it’s exciting!

We’d like to introduce you to Thalia Plummer of Premiere Events Portland; an Events Management firm located in Portland, Oregon. Thalia plans and designs parties, galas and meetings for corporations, individuals and non profits looking to incorporate sustainable practices into their events.

Thalia most recently launched The Green Bride (debuting here on PPnG) - a collaboration of blog posts, real life stories and free resource searches designed to help all brides plan beautiful and environmentally friendly weddings.

Thalia is passionate about green living, writing, volunteering, and living her life in a way that has a positive impact on the world around her. Read about how she left her corporate day job to pursue her dream.

For more on Thalia, visit her website and check back frequently for her latests posts on The Green Bride. Photo taken by Amy Mcmullen: www.amymcmullen.com.

It seems that photographers cannot resist photographing the Veratrum Californicum or the corn lily. As we were relaxing by Mirror Lake in Oregon, I turned to my girlfriend Cheryl and snarkily said, “Look, there’s the most cliche photograph in the book right there. A corn lily!” The next day, I was helplessly drawn to a field with several corn lily plants, snapping away at the spiraling, sensuous shapes in my viewfinder. I had fallen spell to the corn lily and was wasting no time making as many exposures as I could of this beautiful plant. While I’m not sure I can improve upon the numerous beautiful photographs that have already been made of the corn lily, I’ll think twice next time before I denounce cliche subject matter so quickly!