I stumbled across this morning and it fit my mood. I wanted to read something uplifting, but frankly, I didn’t have a lot of time! So How to be a Positive Person in 300 Words or Less was just the ticket!

Realize it’s possible, instead of telling yourself why you can’t.
Become aware of your self-talk.
Squash negative thoughts like a bug.
Replace them with positive thoughts.
Love what you have already.
Be grateful for your life, your gifts, and other people.
Every day.
Focus on what you have, not on what you haven’t.
Don’t compare yourself to others.
But be inspired by them.
Accept criticism with grace.
But ignore the naysayers.
See bad things as a blessing in disguise.
See failure as a stepping stone to success.
Surround yourself by those who are positive.
Complain less, smile more.
Image that you’re already positive.
Then become that person in your next act.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of Prince Charles, I think of stodgy royalty. More of a figurehead than anything else. But Prince Charles is actually deeply entrenched in charitable work. And not just to look good; he really is walking the walk and talking the talk (or riding the bike, in this case).

Having personally founded 18 charities, The Prince of Wales’ new focus for positive change is you. START is his new initiative to help us all begin to take simple steps for sustainable living

The Prince of Wales is a man on a mission. Having personally founded 18 charities, he presides over the largest multi-cause charitable group in the UK, which raises over £100m annually and includes The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment, The Prince’s Countryside Fund and The Prince’s Trust, which has just announced £2.5m of investment in the places hardest hit by the riots across English cities in August 2011.

Prince Charles’ new focus for positive change is you. Start is his new initiative designed to help all of us begin to take simple steps for sustainable living, and to show what a more energy efficient, cleaner and healthier future could look like.

The concept has been developed and is now lead by Joey Tabone, a stalwart of the Prince’s Charities team. “Start is fun, enjoyable and a little quirky,” he says. “We want to involve the public in positive activities which make a difference while conveying an easy sustainable-living message.”

“Let’s inspire people with positive messages about what they can start doing, not what they have to stop doing.” HRH The Prince of Wales

Joey’s team wants to help people engage in their everyday actions in a new way, with both their hearts and minds. They believe that through our everyday choices and how we approach what we do, we all can make a difference. So far so good, but how is Start actually going to change the behaviour of the public?

At its hub is an interactive website which, while still in its infancy, is becoming a useful and dynamic resource for green living advice and actions. But several such sites already exist, so what’s different? Start’s power may lie in its ability to go where other sustainability initiatives cannot: to appeal beyond environmentalists, to a sometimes sceptical and cynical general public.

Start believes it can do this because it has: a world famous patron; an innovative and accessible events schedule; a motivated and switched on team; and a committed group of corporate partners who are prepared to put their extensive marketing capabilities to work for the cause.

Celebrities are also being brought on board, with actress Barbara Windsor for example, endorsing the benefits of holidaying in the UK (thereby avoiding air travel). “Britain is such a beautiful place to holiday in, I’m going to promise to start encouraging people to ‘carry on camping,’” she says.

In its first year, Start held a 12-day festival for 30,000 people along the Mall in London and took Prince Charles on a national rail tour (the train ran on chip-fat) with a swathe of accompanying regional events.

Read more about Prince Charles and his latest initiative START.

One group maximizes something any of us can do at any time: clip coupons. Remember, saving money means saving the community. Maximize savings in every purchase you make.

Heather Bonner is the founder of “Clipping for a Cause,” a nonprofit organization centered around finding and using coupons to buy items.

One night each week, a group of women meet in the basement of a church in Lawrenceville, Georgia to clip and organize coupons.

The church funds the group and the key to the group’s success is that they only buy things that are almost completely free.

Since beginning in March 2010, Clipping for a Cause has donated more than 19,500 items costing the church about $1,800. The net savings is $15,500 though.

Source: Lofty Matters

Oh I just love when we find positive quotes about something seemingly negative. Loneliness can open you up to a world of emotional depth. And hey, we all experience it in varying degrees, even if we’re partnered up. So read on and dive in:

A man in a bookstore buys a book on loneliness and every woman in the store hits on him. A woman buys a book on loneliness and the store clears out.
Doug Coupland

A woman who is willing to be herself and pursue her own potential runs not so much the risk of loneliness, as the challenge of exposure to more interesting men - and people in general.
Lorraine Hansberry

Acting is the greatest answer to my loneliness that I have found.
Claire Danes

An artist is always alone - if he is an artist. No, what the artist needs is loneliness.
Henry Miller

At the innermost core of all loneliness is a deep and powerful yearning for union with one’s lost self.
Brendan Francis

Being a good host offsets the deprivation and loneliness of my youth.
Alan Ladd

But the West of the old times, with its strong characters, its stern battles and its tremendous stretches of loneliness, can never be blotted from my mind.
Buffalo Bill

Fame always brings loneliness. Success is as ice cold and lonely as the North Pole.
Vicki Baum

Forget sex or politics or religion, loneliness is the subject that clears out a room.
Doug Coupland

Friendship needs no words - it is solitude delivered from the anguish of loneliness.
Dag Hammarskjold

Gatherings and, simultaneously, loneliness are the conditions of a writer’s life.
Jerzy Kosinski

Hollywood is loneliness beside the swimming pool.
Liv Ullmann

I also wanted to express the strength of cinema to hide reality, while being entertaining. Cinema can fill in the empty spaces of your life and your loneliness.
Pedro Almodovar

I had become, with the approach of night, once more aware of loneliness and time - those two companions without whom no journey can yield us anything.
Lawrence Durrell

I’m one of the writers for Only Positive News, and just a few hours ago, we experienced an earthquake. Relatively minor. 3.2 by the time it reached us. (The epicenter was in Virginia, I live at the Jersey shore.) Everything was fine here, but what a reality check! You generally expect the ground to stay put! But nothing is certain.

That may frighten us, but that uncertainty might be a reminder to let go, to stop trying control the “earthquakes” that happen every day, in one form or the answer. We don’t have control of everything. And instead of it frightening us, what if we embraced it?

How do we embrace our natural disasters, whether internal or external?

1. Get used to danger. When was the last time you did something a little physically risky? Or even mentally challenging? Or socially risky, such as public speaking? The more we stretch our ability to tolerate danger, the more we can handle the small stuff. Or the big stuff.

2. Ride the unpredictable like a wave. Just as every one of us may have an inner child, perhaps we each possess a rebellious, wild teenager waiting to leap and jump off a bridge. Instead of the fear and anxiety you normally feel, try to change your mindset and think of our daily ups and downs as a thrill, a ride, a natural high.

3. Remember nature as a metaphor. All natural occurrences have some sort of personal, relatable metaphor. What was the last earthquake you experienced? Lightning storm? Can you make yourself feel like a tornado on command? Try it. Take a deep breath and bring your energy upward, spiraling through your center. Feel your strength, your power, grow.

And always, always remember, we are interconnected - these natural disasters, the planets, the moon, the air, the water. Be grateful of this amazing connection we have to Mother Nature. She is, after all, BOSS.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes it seems hard to keep up, nutrition-wise. Every week brings news about a new kind of food that is no longer good for you, including fruits and vegetables sometimes (pesticides, etc.) So here are a few foods that are good again.

1. A Good Egg

Nutritional experts had long maligned eggs because they are high in cholesterol, but more recent research revealed that saturated fat—not cholesterol—poses the greatest risk. Plus, eggs provide protein, iron, and lutein, a nutrient that helps stem age-related eyesight decline. (Spinach and other leafy greens are also good sources of lutein.) The American Dietetic Association considers eating eggs in moderation a healthy habit and suggests removing some of the egg yolks to reduce fat and cholesterol. For example, in a recipe that calls for two whole eggs, the association recommends substituting with two egg whites and one whole egg.

2. The Case for Coffee

Forgoing coffee was like a badge of honor in health nut circles, but not any longer. Recent studies have refuted caffeine’s link to heart disease, cancer, and high blood pressure. In addition, health experts now tell us that filling up our mugs has health benefits. According to the American Medical Association, regular coffee drinkers are less likely to have type II diabetes and their caffeine habit may reduce the risk of developing colon cancer, liver disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Researchers have also seen a reduced risk of dementia among people who drink three to five cups of coffee a day.

3. Sweet Sin or Simply Sugar?

Cane sugar earned a bad rap, sparking a move to replace it with everything from honey to concentrated fruit juice. Studies show that the substitutes are no better than the real deal. Whatever the original source, consuming too many of these sweet simple carbohydrates can cause health problems like obesity, type II diabetes, and tooth decay. Yet, cane sugar can be part of a healthful diet in reasonable quantities. The World Health Organization recommends limiting added sugar to 10 percent of daily calorie intake. And as for the new pariah, high fructose corn syrup, the nutrition gurus say that it’s probably no better or worse than all the rest. Although food marketers are taking advantage of the public’s negative perception of high fructose corn syrup, experts say that consumers shouldn’t be fooled by the new marketing techniques. In terms of your health, it’s the calories that count.

4. A Drink a Day …

For a long time, science was lockstep with Puritan thinking, shunning all alcohol. But within the last few years, there has been a growing body of evidence that alcohol in small amounts is associated with better health. Experts believe that having a few drinks a week may reduce your risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Studies indicate that red wine in particular has positive benefits. Rich in antioxidants, including resveratrol, red wine may help prevent clogged arteries. Be warned, though, while it’s tempting to embrace the more-is-better philosophy, three plus drinks a day will up your risk of liver, mouth, breast, and throat cancer as well as memory loss. Experts recommend one beverage a day for women and two for men. Not exactly a night on the town, but a glass of syrah with dinner. Not bad!

5. Dispelling the Chocolate Myth

For ages, it seems, parents and health professionals said that chocolate makes us pimply, rots our teeth, and offers no health benefits. Au contraire. Chocolate is chock full of minerals and has some of the same antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables that ward off disease, particularly heart disease. Unlike gummy and caramel candies, chocolate doesn’t stick to your teeth causing cavities. And don’t try to blame chocolate for blemishes; researchers have found no correlation between the two. In fact, the antioxidants may improve the appearance of your skin by combating inflammation from free radicals. Look for dark chocolate that contains at least 70 percent cocoa—the higher the cocoa percentage, the more healthy flavanol antioxidants it contains. (Tea, grapes, blueberries, and cranberries are also high in flavanols.) The label should also say non- or lightly alkalized or non-dutch processed. An even better way to get your flavanol fix is with natural cocoa powder; when converted into chocolate bars, the cocoa beans lose some of their antioxidants. Plus, chocolate is a mood-booster, increasing serotonin in the brain.

6. Butter Is (Sometimes) Better

We all know that butter isn’t good for us. But, according to the scientists at Harvard Health Publications, a little butter isn’t so bad and is actually better than stick margarines. Margarine was thought to be heart healthy because, unlike butter, it doesn’t contain cholesterol or saturated fat. But the common process to convert liquid oil into margarine by adding hydrogen atoms creates harmful trans fats that, like butter, increase bad cholesterol in the blood while decreasing the good kind. The hydrogenation is essential to create the stick margarine, but many of the soft margarines in tubs are now made with fewer or no trans fats and some health experts recommend those over butter. As for the overall fat and calorie content, it’s a tie—neither will do your waistline any favors, so use them sparingly.

Source: Gimundo

In the heart of summer, festivals of all types abound. But this eco-conscious festival has something to teach the participants that they won’t soon forget: a deeper appreciation for the land.

Set amidst a swath of green fields just north of London, Real Farm Festival is taking place this weekend, 17–19 June, in an effort to promote more peaceful, self-sufficient and natural ways of living. The event at Church Farm, Hertfordshire, near Stevenage will provide an opportunity for people of any age to discover what it is really like to live a healthy, ‘green’ life and to see a modern farm in action.

“This summer there are many festivals on farms across the country but Real Farm Festival puts the farm at the heart of the event, reconnecting people, land and food,” said Neil Nayar, musical director of Real Farm Festival. “We’re having a party to bring normal folks out to the farm for a weekend to experience what modern farm life is like.”

“We want to bring together a new generation of people from a wide variety of backgrounds to hang out together for a weekend, share good times and also engage in a very important discussion for the future of farming.”

Scientists, philosophers and anthropologists including top organic scientist Prof. Martin Wolfe and biologist Rupert Sheldrake will share their views in a series of conversations entitled Question Time: The New Agrarianism. Real Farm Festival will also be building the first ever edible living room, as well as hosting 40 environmentally-conscious musicians.

Read more.

Self-esteem can seem rather elusive and slippery. One day, you might feel fine about yourself but then the next? Not so fine. And you’re not even sure why. Maybe it was a comment someone made about you. Or a mistake you made. Or heck, it could even be hormonal or weather-related! Here are a few words from the experts:

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.  ~Eleanor Roosevelt

It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes.  ~Sally Field

Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie
Which we ascribe to heaven.
~William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well

A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.  ~David Brinkley

We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemies.  ~Roderick Thorp, Rainbow Drive

It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to.  ~W.C. Fields

Whether you think you can or think you can’t - you are right.  ~Henry Ford

I quit being afraid when my first venture failed and the sky didn’t fall down.  ~Allen H. Neuharth

If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.  ~Vincent Van Gogh

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am convinced all of humanity is born with more gifts than we know.  Most are born geniuses and just get de-geniused rapidly.  ~Buckminster Fuller

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am not a has-been.  I am a will be.  ~Lauren Bacall

Sex appeal is fifty percent what you’ve got and fifty percent what people think you’ve got.  ~Sophia Loren

Does your mind seem as messy as a teenager’s bedroom? Most of us don’t think of our minds in term of messiness but that’s exactly what happens when we’re continual not present. Our brains seem chockfull of current stressors and worries, internal conversations, the future, the past…but not the here, the now.

So how can you “sweep up” your sloppy thoughts? Here are a few quick cleaning tips:

1. Breathe. With each inhale, imagine a vacuum cleaner pulling nagging thoughts right out of your head.

2. Be in your body. How does your body feel right now? What would make it feel better? A little dance. A quick walk. A good stretch. A hot bath. When you’re present in your body, you tend to be more present in general.

3. Notice the messy thoughts. A little awareness goes a long way. If you find you’re eating breakfast worrying about your electric bill, you’re affecting your digestion and some needed peaceful time. Some thoughts can wait. Some are unnecessary and repetitive. Sort through your thoughts and keep only the ones you need!

4. Meditate. It’s not rocket science, I promise! It simply requires a little time dedicated to being as thought free as possible. You’ll feel better after 15 minutes of it. Find a good quiet spot and sit with you clean mind!

Often we think of stress as some vague, amorphous “thing” that takes us over and we can do nothing about. But the power remains within us. Here are some easy changes to implement today that contribute to a stress-free lifestyle:

First, you need to learn how to organize your time. You may find keeping a schedule helpful so you will know when it’s time to say no to other commitments. Excessive demands on your time can put you in a lot of stress. Utilize shortcuts so you’ll have more time to do things and be less frantic. Also, you’ll have spare time to relax or do things that you enjoy.

Maintain an organized home and work environment. A cluttered space can give you additional stress and even drain your energy. Don’t make your environment a stressor. De-clutter and decorate your house or your workplace with things that gives you a soothing feeling. Make it a habit to keep your things and space clean and organized. Not only is it pleasing to the eyes, it will also save you from stressing on taking time to find things and missing some.

Take good care of your body. A healthy body means you are in good condition to handle your daily stressors. Being unhealthy makes stressful things even more stressful and in itself an additional stress for you. So, have a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and make sure to get enough rest and sleep. Take vitamins or supplements if necessary. Pamper yourself sometimes like getting a massage or going on a vacation. It can help you avoid chronic stress and make your body re-energized.

Develop a supportive social network. Studies show that people who have a supportive social network have less stressful lives than those who don’t even have a close friend or partner to lean on during tough times. Meet more people and develop better relationships. You will feel less stress if you can air out your negative emotions with people you trust and get an encouraging response from them. Remember, a burden when shared equals half the burden. Bottling things up inside will only make the pressure increase.

Source: Social Media Ala Carte