“Have you ever noticed that happy people are very spontaneous? They are open to participate. They are willing to be foolish if that brings happiness. They are willing to dance even if they don’t know the steps or even if they don’t have feet. They are willing to sing when they don’t know how to hold the tune or remember the words. They become involved in joy regardless of what people, including themselves, think about it. They are free to laugh and laugh freely.

Maybe happy people are considered nuts, but they are happy nuts. What better choice do you really have than to be happy? Be happy.”

- John Morton
(From: You Are the Blessings, p. 57)

An amazing video to make you think. Launched in December of 2007, the site has been viewed by millions of people. The Story of Stuff, has done an amazing job of raising awareness of the real costs of our consumer driven culture.  Want more facts?  Annie has now written a book which is going to be launched March 9th.

“The question that women casually shopping for perfume ask more than any other is this: “What scent drives men wild?” After years of intense research, we know the definitive answer. It is bacon.” - Luca Turin

We spend $12 billion dollars annually on perfume between the US and Europe. Yet, there are nearly 5,000 unregulated compounds that can be found in these fragrances, and less then 20% of those have gone thru any type of testing for human safety.

The Concern

One of the biggest lies that we believe as consumers is that the government prevents toxic chemicals from entering the market.  I remember how shocked I was when I first learned this, and it still blows my mind. Yet, this is hard to believe, the perfume and cosmetic industries are not regulated at all. There is no testing required to ensure the safety of these chemicals. This essentially makes consumers a giant lab experiment with no controlled testing.

The toxins that are found in fragrances have been linked to cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders, asthma attacks and allergic reactions. These toxins include, cocoamide dea, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, acetone, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate, benzyl alcohol, camphor, ethanol, ethyl acetate, limonene, linalool, methylene chloride, a-pinene, g-terpinene and a-terpineol.  The Material Safety Data Sheets for these chemicals are filled with warnings  such as “Do not inhale vapors,” or “Avoid contact with skin.”  I know you really want to not believe this, I didn’t want to believe it either.

Even products that claim to be green or organic often times have fragrance listed in the ingredients. Did you also know that many of these same toxins are ones that you can find in cigarette smoke. Very few of us argue about the health dangers of cigarette smoke. Yet, we put these chemicals on our skin, where not only are they easily absorbed, but where they are easily inhaled by us and we do this everyday.

The Solution

I didn’t learn about all of this until I had multiple chemical sensitivities. These toxins affected me very seriously, for some it is headaches, tiredness and a general feeling of malaise.  Yet, everyone I know that has changed to non-toxic products has told me how much better they feel.

The key is being aware of the ingredients that are in products. Just because it is on the shelf, does not make it safe. Buy from companies that are passionate about healthy living at the core of what they do.  There are so many healthy alternatives to fragrance laden products. Buy only products that are scented with pure essential oils. Also, be careful about ‘fragrance free’ or ‘unscented’ products. Products that are labeled ‘fragrance free’ often have added chemicals to make them unscented.

photo via http://www.flickr.com/photos/denniswong/ / CC BY 2.0 WXU53HQHRVDH

“Don’t Exist.” Live

I look at this quote every morning.  Three powerful words.  They make me question. They make me ponder. They make me Live.  And I mean really LIVE.  I look over my life periodically and reflect on where I am at.  Am I living the life that I dream? The life that I had always imagined?  Or am I living someone elses life?

It’s ignoring convention. Questioning the rules. Breaking the rules.  Creating your own rules.

In our society the ‘right thing to do’ is to go to college, get a 9-5 job, date, get married, have kids, buy a house, buy a car, buy all these items that I have to work my a** off to afford.  Yet, none of that made sense to me. I could buy a lot less.  Work a lot less. And enjoy spending time with my friends and family.  Thats what I wanted.

What I wanted more then anything was to experience joy, love and pure happiness.  Ecstasy. The joy that brings you to tears.  I wanted passion, adventure, excitement.

What are your goals? What drives you?  For many it is the college, job, get married, and have kids.  But, for those of us that don’t share these dreams, that life will slowly suffocate us.  I have seen it happen to many friends and it hurts to watch.  Many believe the lie that that life is the life to live.  Yet, the only life you have to live is yours.  Live life by your own terms, be true to yourself, and LIVE.

So, once I determined what was important to me I really started living. I set out to travel the world, open my eyes, meet new people, challenge myself, break thru my self imposed limits and feel the life rushing thru me.  I traveled to 35 countries, climbed mountains, bungee jumped, sandboarded, lived in South Africa, lived in South Korea, learned basic Korean, learned basic Spanish, slept in airports, slept on beaches, spent many days seasick on boats, sailed around the world, slept in the nicest hotels, slept in places that still haunt me, ate meals that I swear are still in my intestines, got attacked my mosquitos (worse night ever, pure torture), experienced getting everything stolen in the middle of a foreign country and the peace that came from knowing I didn’t really need anything, made life long friends, pet a cheetah and worked just enough in all of that.

I lived.  I experienced love, happiness and the joy that brings you to tears.

Are you living the life you always imagined?