Do you travel as often as you please? Would you hate me if I told you that I did?

Three years ago, I would’ve answered “yes” to the first question and responded to the second with a slap across the face. Unemployed and broke, I was also bitter: I wanted to travel the world more than anything, but assumed long-term travel to be a luxury reserved for the super wealthy who’d looted the economy in the first place.

It might surprise you to learn that today, I do travel as often as I please. Even more shocking, my income is modest and I have received zero help from either of my parents, whose incomes are almost as modest as mine. As the editor of a relatively popular travel blog I receive some free travel perks, but fund more than 95% of my travel out of my own pocket.

I’ve outlined the basic steps I followed to make travel my lifestyle. I firmly believe that by following the same steps, you too can make your travel dreams a reality.

1. Get the ball rolling
Although my ultimate goal was to travel the world, my immediate concern was that I had no money and no job prospects. I set the goal of moving to China and teaching English which would help me save money and give me a base for travel in Asia. Even if you don’t teach English or move to Asia, set a short-term travel goal that addresses the larger circumstances that prevent you from traveling.

2. Put it in writing
A goal is just a pipe dream if you don’t take action to achieve it. In my case, this action came in the form of aggressively applying and interviewing for jobs, signing an employment contract, applying for a Chinese work visa and, of course, buying a plane ticket. Action is commitment and commitment is scary, but if you don’t commit to achieving your goals, you will never achieve them.

3. Get on the plane
Conceptually, getting on a plane and flying to the other side of the planet for an indefinite period of time is easy, and maybe even exhilarating. But packing up everything you own and heading for the airport with just a couple bags in tow is terrifying! My advice? Don’t look back — and don’t look down. As a bit of graffiti I once saw in Laos said, “Jump, a net will appear.”

4. Savor, don’t stress
I’m a very “eyes on the prize” type person, and have been known to lock myself in seclusion for hours or even days when I’m focused on a task. Soon after arriving in Shanghai, however, I realized this would quickly drive me crazy. Don’t be afraid to work hard or discipline yourself, but also make sure to consciously enjoy as much of the experience as you can.

5. Close the deal
After eight months of living like a local, my credit card debt was gone and I had $3,000 in the bank. Even better, I had used the time I wasn’t out in Shanghai wasting money to procure contributor gigs with Shanghaiist, China’s largest English-language blog, and even CNN. Don’t stop working toward your goal until you achieve it, no matter how long it takes or how tirelessly you have to work.

6. Up the ante
Just before a planned two-week trip to Vietnam, I received an offer to begin work as a long-term, remote freelancer for a website content company, so I purposely missed my return flight to Shanghai! My new goal was to work as I traveled — and to travel indefinitely! Once you’ve achieved your original travel, set a new one — and make sure it’s bigger than the first one was!

7. Collect your winnings
It was difficult to make myself write for several hours per day as I traveled through Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe for months, but the thrill of setting foot on different streets every few days was more than enough to keep me focused. No matter how impossible your new goal seems, if you keep as focused on it as you were on your first one, you’ll realize it faster and more fully.

8. Pass “Go”
I left Austin, where I’d been living since graduating college, with the idea that I might return with my tail between my legs in the back of my mind. Returning to Austin not only allowed me to show the haters I encountered before I left that I’d had the last laugh, but also provided me with context for how much I’d achieved. Going “home” is the best way to get perspective on how far you’ve come.

9. Don’t “Go Directly To Jail”
No matter how much you love traveling, the prospect of “being home” will seem comforting. But I urge you: Do not get too comfortable, lest you get stuck. I was lucky enough to win a spot in a blogging contest in Thailand just weeks after I got back to Austin. Even if you aren’t as fortunate as I was, don’t plan to stick around for long.

10. Keep the ball rolling
After returning from Thailand, my next goal was to transform my then-personal blog into a comprehensive travel resource. To do that, however, I not only needed to travel more, but I also needed to write more. Over time, your travel goals should grow more elaborate and serve more and more specifically to facilitate more frequent, extensive travel.

11. Travel hard, work harder
Between then (December 2010) and now, I have traveled to South America, North Africa and Australia, and even returned to Europe and the Middle East. During this time I have not only produced more than 300 articles for my website, which now earns money, but have also continued freelancing for others. If you want to travel constantly, you must work constantly.

12. Quit while you’re ahead
As my own experience illustrates, long-term travelers never really go “on vacation.” As a result, travel isn’t a lifestyle that most people can comfortably sustain for their whole lives — and many who try become unhappy, lost souls. Travel as often as you can, but when you spend more days stressed out than blissed out, swallow your pride and settle down somewhere.

Technorati Tags achieving your goals, free travel, popular travel, term travel, travel dreams

The origins of Mother’s Day dates back thousands of years, even before Christ was born.  The earliest history actually dates back to the ancient annual spring festival that the Greeks dedicated to the maternal goddesses; they also used the occasion to honor Rhea, wife of Cronus and the mother of many deities of Greek mythology.

The ancient Romans also celebrated a spring festival called Hilaria, which was dedicated to Cybele, a mother goddess, this celebration began 250 years before Christ was born.  This celebration made on the Ides of March by making offerings to the Temple of Cybele lasted three days and included games, masquerades, and parades,.  These celebrations were so popular that followers of Cybele were actually banished from Rome.

Early Christians celebrated a sort of Mother’s Day on the fourth Sunday of Lent, where they honored the Virgin Mary, who is the Mother of Christ.  This holiday was actually expanded in England in the 1600s, to honor all mother’s and was called Mothering Sunday.

On Mothering Sundays, the church would honor the Virgin Mary with a prayer, then after, children paid tributes to their own mothers by bringing gifts and flowers.  Even employees who lived away from home, such as servants and apprentices were encouraged by their employers to visit and honor their mothers.  Unfortunately, Mothering Sunday died out almost completely by the 19^th century; however, after World War II Mother’s Day was again being celebrated.

Julia Ward  Howe was the first to suggest the idea of an official celebration of Mothers Day in the U.S. in 1872.  Howe was a poet, writer, and activist who became famous  with her Civil War song, “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Howe suggested that June 2 be an annual celebration for Mothers Day and a day to dedicate to peace.  Howe penned the Mother’s Day Proclamation in Boston in 1870, where she urged women to rise against the war. She also initiated a Mothers Peace Day observance on the second Sunday in June in Boston. Howe never did get the Mother’s Day holiday declared; however, her hard work and declaration of the holiday spread ideas used to later create the Mother’s Day holiday which is celebrated every May.

Anna Jarvis is recognized as the founder of Mother’s Day in the U.S. Interestingly though, she was never married and did not have children.  She actually became known as the Mother of Mother’s Day.

Jarvis actually got inspiration from her own mother, Mrs. Anna Marie Reeves Jarvis, who was an activist and a social worker, who expressed her desire that one day someone would honor all mothers, living and dead, and pay tribute to all of the contributions that mothers make.  Mrs. Jarvis died in 1908 and Anna decided to take action, she was tired of the negligent attitudes of adult Americans towards their mothers, and she wanted a way to honor her own mother.

Anna first sent her mother’s favorite flower, Carnations, to a church service in Grafton, West Virginia to honor her mother.  Anna later began writing letters to people in positions of power lobbying for the official declaration of the Mother’s Day holiday.  Finally all of her hard work and letter writing paid off. By 1911 Mother’s Day was celebrated by nearly every state in the Union and on May 8, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

Today, Mother’s Day is celebrated in several countries around the globe including, the U.S., UK, India, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Mexico, Canada, China, Japan and Belgium. People take the day as an opportunity to pay tribute to their mothers and thank them for all their love and support.

Technorati Tags battle hymn of the republic, mother of christ, Mother's Day, virgin mary

When the subject of my daughter’s high school spring break came up earlier this year, the family discussion turned to getting away for a week — someplace easy to get to, fairly inexpensive and beachy. Hawaii was the frontrunner, but we decided we wanted something more exotic. It was that impulse that led us to Belize, the tiny Central American nation just below Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on the western most part of the Caribbean.

About the only thing we knew about Belize was that it was a destination for scuba divers, snorkelers and fishers. After some research, we looked west to Belize’s interior and eventually embarked on one of our most memorable adventures, driving three hours from Belize City’s International Airport to a 7,200 acre private reserve in the Mountain Pine Ridge area of the Cayo District, not far from the Guatemalan border.

Over four days, we hiked through dense tropical jungle on well-maintained trails to spectacular waterfalls, swam in crystal clear pools beneath the falls, explored caves both on foot and in canoes, watched huge Turkey and King Vultures glide over 1,000-foot escarpments, and scampered up the sides of the mystery- and jungle-enshrouded Caracol Mayan ruins. At times, as we bumped along rutted dirt roads in our guide’s SUV or swam in waterfall pools, gazing straight up sheer stone walls covered in dense jungle vines, we felt as if we were in an Indiana Jones movie.

Even so, we were far from roughing it, thanks to our accommodations, a small laid back but elegant find called the Hidden Valley Inn, nestled in the middle of the huge reserve, where we enjoyed excellent meals prepared with fresh ingredients, fresh roasted Belizean coffee every morning, and great individual service from the staff and guides. The inn has 12 cottages, each featuring fireplaces, handcrafted mahogany furnishings and tasteful décor, a look and feel mirrored in the main lodge where the dining room, cozy bar and comfortable lounge are located. Upon arrival, we each received a 10-minute hand massage, a welcome surprise after three hours in a car, the last one on unpaved dirt roads.

The Inn prides itself on conservation, noting its support of a number of organizations and hosting biologists and researchers. The Inn, in fact, is an international magnet to serious amateur bird watchers and ornithologists, who come to the area to seek out dozens of species. Each guest room includes a list of all the birds in the area, a log sheet to for guests to keep track of their discoveries.

Besides the reserve’s birds, other wildlife include jaguars and puma, although these mostly nocturnal creatures are rarely sighted. On one hike, we noticed automatic cameras mounted on trees along select trails, triggered as the cats roam past at night.

Although we’re not serious birders, we were nonetheless impressed by our guide Fredy’s passion and knowledge of the birds in the reserve. One morning, as Fredy drove us along a dirt road to a trail head for a hike, he stopped his SUV abruptly and instructed us to get out and follow him into the woods. He pointed to a high point in one of the trees for a view of a rare and magnificent 18-inch-tall Stygian Owl, who looked back at us through our binoculars with huge unblinking yellow eyes while gripping the tree branch with huge talons.

The entire reserve and its 90 miles of trails are well-mapped with an abundance of clear sign posts. We were issues a walkie talkie every time we ventured out on foot or bicycle, allowing us constant contact with the staff. During one hike, when my wife almost stepped on a three-foot coffee brown snake, I called up the front desk, and tried to keep my voice analytical and non-shaky – just an interested naturalist making a routine inquiry — as I described the snake’s size and coloring. Minutes later, Freddy, who had monitored the call, drove up on the dirt road near our trail, and assured us that the snake was non-poisoness (that’s all I wanted to know).

Security concerns came up when we traveled with Rick, another expert guide, to visit the ancient Maya citadel of Caracol, a several-hour drive from Hidden Valley. At the site, we were greeted by three Belizian army troops, dressed in military fatigues and armed with automatic rifles. Rick explained that several years ago, Guatemalan bandits, coming over the border less than three miles away, had robbed a group of tourists. After that, the Belizian government ordered the military escorts, and there have been no further incidents.

Re-assured, we went on to climb and explore several of the Mayan structures, my first close-up encounter with Maya culture and history. I have been to the Egyptian pyramids several times, and they certainly have their powerful aura. But I found the Caracol ruins especially compelling and mysterious — large, well-built structures plopped down in the middle of dense jungle, constructed by a great civilization whose story is shrouded by the lack of written records.

As we explored the ruins, we were treated to more wildlife. A group of playful Howler monkeys swung in the trees around the ruins and flocks of Montezuma Oropendola, large and noisy birds known for their bright yellow tails and their communities of hanging nests where they sleep upside down.

Our exotic yet pampered stay in Hidden Valley finally ended and Rick drive us back to Belize City, where we caught a small 12-seater airplane for Ambergris Caye. We spent several days scuba diving and snorkeling on the island because that’s what you do on Ambergris Caye. We saw Nurse Sharks, turtles, stingrays and conchs and drank cheap beer on the streets of San Pedro.

Offered by our myBIGearth friends at the Huffington Post

Technorati Tags dense tropical jungle, mayan ruins, memorable adventures, waterfall pools, yucatan peninsula

Even though she met her husband through an arranged marriage, Pooja Sindhwani considers herself a modern woman. She worked in interior design in her native India for four years, and she and her husband spent a year getting to know each other before their wedding. When she followed her husband to Houston, she wasn’t worried about adjusting to life in the United States.

“You feel you’re going to a country that offers opportunities,” Sindhwani said, “you expect that things will work out.”

Except when they don’t.

Unable to land a job in Houston, Sindhwani slipped into depression. Like thousands of Indian women, she was issued an H-4 “dependent spouse” visa that did not allow her to work.

Sindhwani’s husband was a highly skilled foreign worker, sponsored by a U.S. company on an H-1B visa. The Indian women who marry highly skilled workers also tend to be well-educated professionals. Many think it will be easy to transfer from a dependent spouse visa to a work visa.

The constant rejections from companies that couldn’t sponsor her work visa took a toll on Sindhwani.

“I would cry, cry, cry,” she said, “and some days I would say I don’t want to live anymore.”

Her friends, her husband and her family back in India couldn’t understand her unhappiness, Sindhwani said.

“‘What do you do the whole day?’ That was the one question I always dreaded.” It hurt her so much that she stopped going to social gatherings in the Indian community.

At her lowest point, Sindhwani Googled “H-4 visa feeling frustrated” and found forums for “H-4 ladies” that were filled with Indian women. Of the 66,176 H-4 visas distributed in fiscal year 2010, more than half — 38,833 — were given to Indians, according to the U.S. State Department.

“I’m not the only person in this boat,” she realized.

Yet even as her modern values collided with traditional gender roles, Sindhwani found consolation in ancient spiritual practices.

The online forums allow women to post questions about how to find work, while veterans offer suggestions about how to fill long days without a job: Volunteering, going back to school, finding a hobby, shopping, cooking Indian food, working out. Many leave their email addresses and suggest local meet-ups.

Through a forum, Sindhwani connected with Meghna Damani of New Jersey, who in turn introduced her to Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist organization known for its evangelism and ethnically diverse following.

Soka Gakkai’s daily chanting had restored Damani after she, too, was driven to suicidal thoughts over her H-4 visa status. “It’s based on the theory of karma, that everything is cause and effect, but it has incredible hope because you can change your karma in this lifetime,” she explained.

The law of cause and effect spans across reincarnated lifetimes, which can lead to fatalistic attitudes.

SGI has been criticized by some as nearly a cult for its aggressive proselytism, but it has grown in popularity among young professionals in India because it “illuminates one’s life with wisdom and a sense of compassion and also with a sense of purpose,” said Bill Aiken, director of public affairs for SGI-USA.

Damani found her sense of purpose in making a documentary about H-4 visas called “Hearts Suspended.” Too many Indian women simply accept their lot, even if they’re unhappy, she said.

Sindhwani still considers herself a Hindu, but the Buddhist practices she learned through Soka Gakkai have created “a shift in power and control in me,” she said. It also helped her appreciate the things she has, like a supportive husband.

Not all women on H-4 visas are so lucky. Some women join unknown husbands in the U.S. after their parents arrange marriages through matrimonial websites. The H-4 visa and its stay-at-home status reaffirms traditional familial roles.

“In our culture it is so dependent on the men. If the girl is getting married, then she needs to move to where the man is,” Sindhwani said. “I think that’s something that actually needs to be discussed rather than be assumed.”

Prazrajika Saradeshaprana, a monastic at the Vedanta Society of Hollywood, said Hinduism could be a resource for women. Being secularly minded, though, the H-4 women aren’t likely to have intellectual training in their faith tradition.

“The foundation of any suffering is lack of religious understanding,” she said. “Your true worth does not come from your work or your relationships. … The Hindu tradition says that you are the manifestation of the divine presence.”

The Vedanta Society offers a Western style of Hindu philosophy, while traditional temples remain places of individual devotion. Saradeshaprana suggests that study groups would help women mine their tradition for support.

For Sindhwani, Buddhism and the diversity of Soka Gakkai taught her that her suffering is not unique to H-4 visa holders.

“Buddhism and spirituality came to me at a point of time when I needed that one thing in my life to depend on or hold on to,” she said. “At the end of the day we have the same challenges and same troubles.”

Offered by our myBIGearth friends at The Huffington Post

Technorati Tags consolation, indian women, rejections, spiritual practices, spouse visa, unhappiness

As Lonely Planet’s US Travel Editor, I frequently get asked if it safe to go to Mexico. I have always said that, if you’re thoughtful about where you go, the answer is yes. But, after my most recent trip there, I’m answering the question with another question: Do you think it’s safe to go to Texas?

To be clear, violence in Mexico is no joke. There have been over 47,000 drug-related murders alone in the past five years. Its murder rate — 18 per 100,000 according to this United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime report – is more than three times the US rate of 4.8 per 100,000. Though Mexican tourism is starting to bounce back, Americans appear more reluctant to return than Canadians and Brits (5.7 million Americans visited in 2011, down 3% from 2010 – and, according to Expedia, more than four of five bookings were adults going without children). Many who don’t go cite violence as the reason.

What you don’t get from most reports in the US is statistical evidence that Americans are less likely to face violence in Mexico than at home, particularly when you zero in on Mexico’s most popular travel destinations. For example,: The gateway to Disney World, Orlando, saw 7.5 murders per 100,000 residents in 2010 according to the FBI; this is higher than Cancun or Puerto Vallarta, with rates of 1.83 and 5.9 respectively, per a Stanford University report (see data visualization here, summarized on this chart, page 21). Yet in March, the Texas Department of Public Safety advised against “spring break” travel anywhere in Mexico, a country the size of the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy combined. Never mind that popular destinations like the Bahamas, Belize and Jamaica have far higher homicide rates (36, 42 and 52 per 100,000). Why the singular focus?

Before you nix Mexico altogether, consider these five things:

1. Mexico may be more dangerous than the US overall, but not for Americans.

According to FBI crime statistics, 4.8 Americans per 100,000 were murdered in the US in 2010. The US State Department reports that 120 Americans of the 5.7 million who visited Mexico last year were murdered, which is a rate of 2.1 of 100,000 visitors. Regardless of whether they were or weren’t connected to drug trafficking, which is often not clear, it’s less than half the US national rate.

2. Texans are twice as safe in Mexico and three times safer than in Houston.

Looking at the numbers, it might be wise for Texans to ignore their Public Safety department’s advice against Mexico travel. Five per 100,000 Texans were homicide victims in 2010, per the FBI. Houston was worse, with 143 murders, or a rate of 6.8 – over three times the rate for Americans in Mexico.

3. And it’s not just Texas.

It’s interesting comparing each of the countries’ most dangerous cities. New Orleans, host city of next year’s Super Bowl, broke its own tourism record last year with 8 million visitors. Yet the Big Easy has ten times the US homicide rate, close to triple Mexico’s national rate.

Few go to Ciudad Juarez, a border town of 1.3 million that saw 8 to 11 murders a day in 2010 (accounts differ – CNN went with 8). It’s unlikely to ever be a tourism hostpot, but things have been quietly improving there. By 2011, CNN reported, the homicide rate dropped by 45%, and the first six weeks of this year saw an additional 57% drop, per this BBC story.

If that trend in Juarez continues all year, and it might not, the number of homicides would have dropped from over 3000 in 2010 to 710 in 2012. Meanwhile New Orleans’ homicide rate is increasing, up to 199 murders last year, equivalent to 736 in a city with the population of Juarez.

4. By the way, most of Mexico is not on the State Department’s travel warning.

The best of Mexico, in terms of travel, isn’t on the warning. The US warns against “non-essential travel” to just four of Mexico’s 31 states (all in the north: Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango and Tamaulipas). The warning goes on to recommend against travel to select parts of other states, but not including many popular destinations such as Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, the Riviera Nayarit, Cancun, Cozumel and Tulum.

Meanwhile, 13 states are fully free from the State Department’s warning, including Baja California Sur, Yucatan, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guanajuato and others.

5. Malia Obama ignored the Texas advice.

Of all people, President Obama and first lady said “OK” to their 13-year-old daughter’s spring break destination this year: Oaxaca. Then Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum made snide remarks over that, perhaps overlooking that Oaxaca state has a smaller body count from the drug war than his home state’s murder rate (Oaxaca’s 4.39 per 100,000 to Pennsylvania’s 5.2).

Oaxaca state, not on the US travel warning, is famed for its colonial city, Zapotec ruins and emerging beach destinations like Huatulco. Lonely Planet author Greg Benchwick even tried grasshoppers with the local mezcal (Malia apparently stuck with vanilla shakes.)

So, can you go to Mexico?

Yes. As the US State Department says, “millions of US citizens safely visit Mexico each year.” Last year, when I took on the subject for CNN, one commenter suggested Lonely Planet was being paid to promote travel there. No we weren’t. We took on the subject simply because – as travelers so often know – there is another story beyond the perception back home, be it Vietnam welcoming Americans in the ’90s or Colombia’s dramatic safety improvements in the ’00s. And, equally as importantly, Mexico makes for some of the world’s greatest travel experiences – it’s honestly why I’m in this line of work.

So yes, you can go to Mexico, just as you can go to Texas, or New Orleans, or Orlando, or the Bahamas. It’s simply up to you to decide whether you want to.

Offered by our myBIGearth friend Robert Reid at the Huffington Post

Technorati Tags department of public safety, fbi crime statistics, mexican tourism, popular travel destinations, spring break travel, texas department of public safety

There is a wonderful TED talk by Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie, called “the danger of a single story.” Adichie describes the danger of talking about any group of people as if they are one thing and one thing only. “The consequence of the single story is this,” she says. “It robs people of dignity. It makes recognition of our equal humanity difficult.”

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is replete with dignity-robbing single stories. There is the single story of Palestinians as ruthless terrorists with no regard for human life, even that of their own. And there is the single story of Palestinians as trampled victims, pushed to violent resistance only at the end of despair, removed from all agency and culpability. There is the single story of Israelis as callous and aggressive imperialist military brutes, occupiers and human rights violators, impervious to any suffering but their own. And there is the single story of Israelis as heroic and morally superior victims, surrounded by implacable hatred, and held up to a moral standard never applied to their enemies (or fault finders).

There are also the single stories we in the American public who care about the Middle East impose on one another from all sides: extremist, anti-Semite, racist, naïve, bigoted, loony.

The heart of my life’s-work has been to pry open these single stories, supporting people to do the jarring work of stepping inside multiple, seemingly incongruous points of view.

I have made this my life’s work because I believe that every move to break down this conflict into bad guys and good guys, colonists or terrorists against blameless victims, distorts and perpetuates this conflict rather than breaking through it to resolve it.

Blame-game single stories will only deepen entrenchment and escalation, enmity and fear.

This week’s Torah portion, Emor, Leviticus 21:1-24:23, contains a controversial verse often touted as evidence of the savage cruelty and vengeful nature of biblical justice: “If anyone maims his fellow, as he has done so shall it be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Leviticus 25:20).

This verse has long been associated with the brutal image of gouged eyes and bloodthirsty vindictiveness. But many biblical scholars believe that the true purpose of this law is in fact to de-escalate cycles of violence and constrain the impulse to unbridled retribution, not promote it.

The Torah — just a few chapters earlier enjoining its followers to overcome grudges and expression of revenge — seeks to formalize a principle of proportionate punishment in order to prevent long-running feuds and vigilantism. Recognizing that rage, grief and humiliation may lead families or extended communities to create new harms as they avenge old ones, “eye for an eye” attempts to bring closure to the degenerative spiral of one-upsmanship. It is a legal effort to break from the logic made famous by the film “The Untouchables”: “He sends one of yours to the hospital; you send one of his to the morgue.”

The Talmud and later rabbinic literature interpret this law figuratively — as a directive for equitable monetary compensation rather than physical retribution — and many scholars argue that this interpretation extends the Torah’s meaning rather than offers a departure from it.

Our sources recognize that both community and victims seek acknowledgement of wrongs, accountability, financial redress and deterrence of future harms. And when these needs go unanswered, hatred and retaliation may up the ante for further provocation and hostility such that peaceful resolution becomes more and more difficult to imagine, let alone achieve.

With the colossal violations of mutual trust of the last decade, both Israeli and Palestinian populations have hardened into single stories that obscure the complexity, lived experienced and driving intentions of the other. In the tragic dance of cause-and-effect between Israeli and Palestinian actions and reactions, both parties commonly depict the other as a perpetrator single-mindedly out to get them. In a classic “magnitude gap,” each tends to minimize the harms they inflict and zero in on the harms they endure. Each justifies their own escalatory behavior in the name of self-protection and deterrence, meanwhile feeding into the others’ worst perceptions.

The “eye for an eye” principle was meant to thwart this tragic pattern. It teaches that operating from the escalated emotions of high conflict will only yield greater and greater destruction. It recognizes the temptation to rationalize harmful action when we have reduced our adversaries to demonizing single stories. It gets that the line between “perpetrator” and “victim” often blurs. In response, it does not demand forced forgiveness or love of one’s enemies but rather creates appropriate channels for redress and resolution. It seeks a way for us as human beings, no matter what we’ve done, to be held accountable, but also spared and affirmed qua human beings — for the sake of all of us.

Sadly, many of us here in America — Jews, Mainline Protestants and Evangelicals, Israel advocates and Palestinian solidarity activists, hard-liners and doves — are reproducing this conflict’s us-and-them ethos from 7,000 miles away, and so have thrown ourselves in on the side of escalation rather than resolution.

When Palestinian non-violent activist Ali Abu Awad spoke at the British House of Lords, he walked into a room in which the members of Parliament had physically divided themselves into “pro-Israel” and “pro-Palestinian” camps. This is a man who was shot in the leg by an Israeli settler, and after receiving lengthy treatment in Saudi Arabia, returned home to find that his brother had been killed by an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint. After a long process of rage and desire for revenge, he went through a transformation that propelled him to dedicate his life to working for reconciliation alongside Israelis who have also lost loved ones to the conflict. Ali said to this room of British Lords: “We in the Holy Land will never be able to resolve this conflict unless you right here become not pro-Palestinian or pro-Israel but pro-solution.”

How can we be pro-solution? The “eye for an eye” principle teaches us that as third parties, we are called to help abate violence and advance security and justice by stepping beyond the mutually demonizing logic of entrenched conflict. We must refuse the single story and demand that our opinion leaders and elected officials do the same. Whether in our synagogues or churches, Congress or the media, we must commit to a fairness that stands in solidarity with all of the people suffering in this region, rather than push parties on the ground to greater fatalism, embattlement and intransigence when their anguish and history are not properly addressed and understood.

Refusing the single story is only the starting point for rightful action — but it is the precondition for working toward a solution founded on the dignity and humanity of all parties.

ON Scripture — The Torah is a weekly Jewish scriptural commentary, produced in collaboration with Odyssey Networks and Hebrew College. Thought leaders from the United States and beyond offer their insights into the weekly Torah portion and contemporary social, political, and spiritual life.

Offered by our myBIGearth friend Rabbi Melissa Weintraub at the Huffington Post

Technorati Tags biblical justice, israeli palestinian conflict, palestinians, ruthless terrorists, torah portion

Over at OnEarth, David Gessner has recently published a piece that hits close to something that I’ve been increasingly thinking.

When it comes to inspiring people to live in awe of nature, with reverence for all life, with a sense of never-ending wonder and desire for open-minded inquiry, environmentalism doesn’t really cut it. Like the word ‘sustainability’ it’s become a hollow word, a word divorced from meaning, a word lacking in soul, separated from its essence.

For me that essence consists of, more than anything, a love of nature, a love of exploration, a love of dirt, leaves, trees, water both rushing and stagnant, small stones and great rocks, a love of animals both human and non-human (a distinction that the English language unfortunately makes more concrete than the reality), a love of play, of recreation.

Which is where Gessner comes in.

After writing about his daughter’s apparent wolf obsession, Gessner references David Sobel about the perils of what’s become traditional environmental messaging (save this! stop this! even, save ourselves!) may backfire with children:

Children who are taught that the natural world is being destroyed, that the rain forests are being mown down, and that a boogeyman called global warming is coming, often tend to withdraw and distance themselves from nature. In fact, there’s no surer way to send them running for the TV or computer screen. “The natural world is being abused and they don’t want to have to deal with it,” Sobel writes, equating this with other types of abuse. As it turns out, a better way to involve young children, at least kids from the age of seven to 11, is exactly the way they used to involve themselves, before play became more structured and the woods off limits. Sobel writes of those formative years: “This is the time to immerse children in the stuff of the physical and natural worlds. Constructing forts, creating small imaginary words, hunting and gathering, searching for treasures, following streams and pathways, making maps, taking care of animals, gardening and shaping the earth are perfect activities during this stage.” Eventually, of course, they will learn about the death of the rain forests, but first comes a more direct, and playful, connection with the so-called environment.

I’m pretty sure that this applies to children of all ages actually.

But maybe part of the problem is that we’re not children of all ages, in the sense that our sense of wonder gets dimmed, either through familiarity or what we perceive as the need to get serious in life, to get real (as if reality is real from only one perspective).

It also applies to those of us who’ve been diligently working away, in our own varied ways, in the environmental movement for years—even those of us who have tried, as we’ve consciously tried to do at TreeHugger to varying degrees of effect and frequency, to as Gessner says not start with shoulds or finger wagging.

“It starts with fun,” Gessner writes. “It starts with building forts in our backyards, it starts with animal explorations. And, it goes without saying, it starts with pretending you are a wolf.”

True enough. Though I think I might be more at ease pretending to be a cat or walking low slung gorilla-like. Try the latter sometime. It’s fun. Lower your butt and spread your legs a bit while walking. It ends up being something like the behind the scenes footage from Lord of the Rings, with extras being taught to walk like orcs. And it really stretches your hip joints. But I digress.

The thing is, when it comes to starting with fun, I tend to think that we mis-equate fun and animal exploration as simply gawking at cute animal photos (as undeniably cute as they are sometimes) or daydreaming about some futuristic building concept that will never be more than a concept, often for very good reason.

It may sound exactly like the type of prescription that Gessner advises against, but I wonder if it’s not, in that there’s a big differences between fun and exploration, and what’s essentially distraction from the darker aspects of all this, the doom and gloom.

When it comes to getting more people to reconnect with the world around them that haven’t done so, and to do so in a present, conscious, aware and clear-sighted way, neither distraction nor doom and gloom are going to do it. Nor will trying to get them to be “environmentalists” (I’m not even sure I personally identify with that term any longer), nor will talking about enlightened self-interest, or the economic benefits of combatting climate change, switching to clean energy, or not chopping down forests because of the valuable ecosystem services those trees provide do it.

But what will work, I’m increasingly certain, is encouraging ourselves, our families, and perfect strangers, in our own way, childlike to more adult, to build those forts, search for treasures, follow streams and pathways, and make our own maps of inspiration and fascination. In cultivating this love of the world around us, this love of nature (which to me includes a love of humanity, necessarily) all these problems of “the environment” will, if not solve themselves, at least become all the easier to resolve.

Offered by our myBIGearth friends at Tree Hugger

Technorati Tags formative years, global warming, great rocks, inspiring people, rain forests, save the earth

The young designer presented a collection that sported painted fabrics. The designer chose sustainable fabrics as her canvas and focused on durable and better materials for the environment.

The collection consisted of 80 % organic fiber, made from100% of  hemp and hemp blend fabrics sourced from HempTraders. The rest of her fabrics are a mix of up-cycled garments like cashmere sweaters and the leftover pieces of fabrics on her fabric box.

For paint, she used a mixture of acrylic paint and an acrylic polymer emulsion from Golden Artist Colors. This made the paint colorfast and washable, and also allowed retaining a softer hand. Her designs were completely different from one another, with some of them painted with subtle colors that expressed a vibrant outlook.

The best noticeable designs of Deckner included a pale blue and white washed jacket with forest green side panels and an overcoat featuring vibrant hues. She gave modern touches like hot pink piping and clear buttons to her creations. A mint green shaded pants which she dyed by hand was a catchy piece.

For her sustainable and eco-friendly designs she has already received much appreciation from around the fashion world.

Offered by our myBIGearth friends at Green Packs

Technorati Tags acrylic polymer emulsion, cashmere sweaters, fashion world, golden artist colors, pratt institute, rising star

Designer John Robshaw has traveled the globe for his eponymous textile company, working alongside artisans and studying their traditional printing methods. He makes at least one buying trip to Asia each year. Here, he shares some tips for exploring the region.

Carry on or check in?

Check in, always: Carrying bags makes me feel like a mule. I also ship a load of stuff back when I go on buying trips.

Which one item do you always pack?

My Canon S100, which takes video as well as stills — I like to video people in workshops printing and stitching textiles.

What advice do you have for traveling in Asia?

Don’t eat the street food in India, slather yourself in mosquito repellant, particularly in the hot season when dengue fever is a risk, and when you start crossing a road in India don’t stop or you’ll cause an accident.

Any tips on buying furniture and textiles there?

Don’t be the nice American: Offer 30 percent of the price and don’t be in a hurry to strike a deal — if you can, come back a few days later and you’ll get a better price.

Tell us about your recent trip to India — what were the highlights?

Wandering through Jodhpur’s old furniture warehouses was like a history lesson. I loved the quirky portraits and the hybrid furniture, a hodge-podge of periods and styles: A Nepali empire chair combined with a Rajasthani oak cart, for example. And trekking in Shimla — the views of the Himalayas — mountain peak after mountain peak — were fantastic.

What was the best thing you ate on your last trip?

An incredible South Indian prawn curry at the restaurant at Oberoi Gurgaon, just outside New Delhi — they fly in the morning catch for lunch every day.

Are there foods and drinks you gravitate to in different countries?

Thailand has amazing street food. I always have mango sticky rice when mangos are in season, and I get plain lassis from Lassi Wallah on MI Road in Jaipur, India.

What’s your traveling wardrobe?

Light cotton trousers, John Varvatos for Converse sneakers, fitted shirts I make from leftover textiles, and I carry a man purse — it’s a beat-up old leather shoulder bag by Endelman — with a Moleskine notebook, colored pens and pencils, and dried mango inside.

And finally, what will you be looking for when you judge the Pinterest boards?

Apart from girls in bikinis? A voice and a point of view — and I find it really easy to get drawn into color.

Offered by our myBIGearth friends at the Huffington Post

Technorati Tags international travel, interview, john robshaw, travel

Let’s be honest – I don’t know a lot about fashion. It’s certainly not my expertise – that would be trash.

In addition to knowing a lot about trash, I know a fair bit about changing people’s perception of trash. TerraCycle’s goal is to get people thinking different about trash in order to eliminate the idea of waste.

To that end, we do a lot of PR, marketing, and engagement activities to show people that any type of trash can be useful and can be remade into something else when its first life is over. I think fashion and art are two great ways of encouraging this kind of thinking because they’re visual and influential.

Visual Aids for the Environment

Everyone is familiar with trash. Seeing it remade into another familiar item – art, or a dress, or a t-shirt – and being able to recognize it for what it used to be make art and fashion especially impactful. The trash and the art are very within reach for every artist and viewer. Not everyone can work with oil paints and watercolors, but anyone has access to and can work with trash.

There’s some really neat upcycled art out there, from cardboard sculptures to book art and even jewelry made from unusual trash like colored pencils, measuring tape, and buttons.

If you can’t think of a way to use a piece of trash around the home, office, or wherever, it can still be made into art. Art and design also spill into the world of dresses, fashion, and style. And not only will an upcycled dress or piece of clothing be useful, it can also combine elements of art and creativity – becoming an effective recycling and environmental influence.

Shampoo Bottle Fashion

A designer friend of mine, Giorgia Fonyodi, recently made a beautiful, stylish dress with sequins from waste shampoo bottles. This kind of fashion pushes the envelope – the idea of wearing trash on your body seems foreign and odd. But with encouragement from talented designers, the idea can come to seem more natural and trendy. Check it out:

Fashionable Food

St. Catherine University Department of Fashion Merchandising and Apparel Design has also sent us samples of really neat dresses made out of Colgate, Doritos, and Frito Lay packaging! We’re going to host a contest on our Facebook page for upcycled fashion fans to choose their favorite dresses. The inside of such packaging is pretty shiny, making the dresses bright and eye-catching!

Fashion trends are closely tied to culture and events – think about how the Beatles influenced fashion and how people study what celebrities wear to award shows. Using fashion as an example of what we can do with trash really hits home the idea that these items are reusable and are not trash. Everyone needs to wear clothes, so everyone can relate to apparel, no matter its material. Eco-design should know no limits!

This is a guest post from Tom Szaky, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of TerraCycle, which provides free waste collection, and then turns that waste into sustainable products.

Offered by our myBIGearth friends at Tree Hugger

Technorati Tags elements of art, environmental influence, fashion, stylish dress, talented designers, TerraCycle