The PlanetChange.TV Blog

Hope is in the Cards, is a grassroots effort to generate 300 million upbeat messages throughout our country. The idea is simple - get everyone in America to mail one positive card or letter to someone else, right now. How cool is that? Check out http://HopeIsInTheCards.org, but even easier? Send a positive card or letter to someone today, or write the word HOPE on the back of anything you mail. You may find Hope is in the Cards on Twitter: @hopeinthecards. Follow the HOPE project and help send 300 million positive, REAL messages across America this year!

(The following post is borrowed from my literature blog, LiveWires...) Ultimately it boils down to Story. Even the poems I've loved are more than just words strung together - they are dense bites of stories. A good song, even if instrumental, will feel as if we have descended into a story. Humans are hardwired for narrative and plot - and it's the verbal storytellers* who have provided us with the richest and most enduring stories, fodder for nearly everything we read today. And before language, I imagine humans described adventures and relationships through movement, vocal tone, beat, and gestures. It's just what we humans do. We tell stories. There is some good work going on out there right now in regard to story preservation. Hearing Voices collects bits and pieces of stories heard on American public radio in sixty-minute streams of "driveway moments" connected by a weekly theme, with the help of a guest host. StoryCorps Griot is another ongoing initiative, which ensures that the voices, experiences, and life stories of African Americans will be preserved and presented with dignity. Sit back and take a listen to some stories, here, and for some homework, why not write down or tell a story to someone today. I am sure it will be quite easy to find a willing audience. Another bit of fun: The Hearing Vocab Lexicon. *The griot (pronounced gree-oh) in West African tradition is a role of honor, designating someone who maintains community tradition and memory through storytelling, music, and dance.

The deep corruption in our global food web is the single most important issue that we must choose to face, and face quickly... This feature length film, The Future of Food, will educate you and inspire you to action. Please pass the information you learn to everyone you know. Our children's lives depend on it. (Props to contributor Faith Gimzek for sending this our way.)

At the start of the new millennium the Dalai Lama issued eighteen rules for living. We are nearly a decade into the millennium now, and I think we could all use a refresher... (Thank you to "Well" - The Newsletter for Wellness)

Just a short Buddhist outlook on life.

• Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
• When you lose don't lose the lesson.
• Follow the three R's: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions.
• Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
• Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
• Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
• When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
• Spend some time alone every day.
• Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
• Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
• Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
• A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
• In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
• Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
• Be gentle with the earth.
• Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
• Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
• Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
• Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

The folks that bring you the PlanetChange2012 blog want to know what you think about, well, everything on the planet! We will present periodic questions here that I hope will spark conversation, debate, and positive action (comment like crazy on all of our posts please! We love it.) Some examples: What needs to be done right now to ensure the best possible world for the largest number of people? What are some ways to speedily bring about zero nuclear weapons on planet earth? What you do think the next 10 years will bring in terms of scientific or technological discoveries that will assist humanity in its quest for world peace? How did you cut down on your carbon emissions today?