Traveling hassle-free and socially responsible with solid cosmetics from LUSH: Karma Komba Shampoo Bar, Jungle Conditioner Bar, Therapy Massage Bar and Dirty Toothy Tabs.
I'm going to be spending my holiday season volunteering at an elephant sanctuary and girls orphanage in Sri Lanka! This was another spontaneous travel idea, so I'm scrambling now to get my act together and prepare. Three weeks ago, I knew nothing about Sri Lanka. But I got really excited when I discovered the country offers volunteer opportunities as well as nice weather and good surf. So, I leave next week! I'll be updating the blog with my adventures!
For now, I'm just getting some things together to pack. I'm heading there on my own, and I'm traveling light: one carry-on backpack. So, I turned to one of my favorite cosmetic companies for some travel toiletries: LUSH.
What's great about LUSH? Importantly, their handmade soaps and cosmetics are socially responsible, many are vegan, they come with minimal product packaging and their ingredients are all natural. But I'm traveling with LUSH because they offer solid toiletries, like shampoo and conditioner bars, lotion bars and toothpaste tablets! This is perfect for traveling when the TSA limits the amount of liquids you can take on a plane. Now I have plenty of room for my sunscreen and mosquito repellant in that tiny little quart-size bag. Take that, TSA!
I've raved about LUSH before, here's the video:
If you're black Friday shopping like much of the country, you might want to stop in one of their stores or shop online and make a more socially responsible gift purchase!
I absolutely love this video by filmmaker Andrea Dorfman and Poet/Singer/Songwriter Tanya Davis. There are times when we all encounter feeling lonely. And while companionship is comforting...
Lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless, and lonely is healing if you make it.
We hear people utter this phrase all the time with hopeful aspirations of infinite happiness. I've actually told close friends in such conversations that I have no desire to win the lottery or ever be that rich. People are usually surprised by this. Aren't we all supposed to have the lottery dream?
I'm about to tell all here. I've never admitted this online, but I was once married to a millionaire. It didn't end well, and I'm happily divorced. Happily. I'm actually happier and more gratified with my simple life than I ever was living the lifestyle of the rich and famous. That's actually why I started the Greater Good Life. I have the perspectives of being rich and living in the lap of luxury and being simple and living modestly. I once stayed in a hotel suite in Sorrento, Italy, that cost $700/night. Contrast that with my recent trip to Nicaragua, where I stayed in a hostel costing just $6/night. I choose the latter, hands down. When I got divorced, I sold most of my possessions (used the money toward my master's degree that was already in progress), and I don't miss anything! The book, Shiny Objects: Why We Spend Money We Don't Have in Search of Happiness We Can't Buy by James A. Roberts, explains why.
Roberts explains we are spending our lives on "the treadmill of consumption." Similar to a drug addict that needs more and more of a fix to achieve a high, this treadmill is our barrier to happiness because we quickly adapt to having material things and take them for granted. To keep up on the treadmill, we seek more and more possessions -- shiny objects-- to improve our satisfaction.
Roberts is a marketing professor and this book takes an academic approach, sighting study after study of how riches don't buy happiness. He also spends a couple well-researched chapters reviewing our nation's cultural history, events such as the San Francisco Gold Rush and the Dot-Com bust that have shaped our view of the "American Dream" -- a materialistic dream connected to owning homes, cars, furniture, appliances, etc.
After ploughing through some history, the book takes a practical turn, even including self-assessments to determine your attitude toward status consumption, whether you are a compulsive buyer, how you handle spending and where you fall on a Spendthrift/Tightwad scale.
Still, it's a true marketing text, visiting classic theories such as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Everett Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations and the concept of Opinion Leadership (the latter two my favorites that I use in my own social media marketing research). Assuming most people do not have a marketing background, Roberts sets a good foundation of marketing principles to guide you through his extensive research on materialism. As consumers, we have a responsibility to learn how marketers motivate us, and this is just the book to do it.
Roberts offers a number of astounding anecdotes and facts throughout the book. My favorite touching on sustainability:
A shocking statistic about our throwaway society comes from international sustainability expert Annie Leonard's animated documentary The Story of Stuff, which examines our consumer society. Leonard discovered that after six months, only 1 percent (!) of all products we purchase is still in use. A full 99 percent has been relegated to dumps around the world -- or worse, is polluting our natural environment. (p. 209).
Later in the book, Roberts discusses the lost art of self-control, where we can learn how to modify our consumer behaviour. He explains we exercise self control when "we act in a way that is far-sighted; we think of the long-term effects of our actions rather than the immediate, short term pleasures." He goes on to explain three ingredients of self control: monitoring yourself, setting clear standards and developing the capacity to change.
The final chapters of the book focus on modifications we can make and practical tips for being less materialistic, including "25 Tweaks to Financial Tranquility." This is the good stuff, right here. I'll give you just a few: pay with cash instead of credit card, stop watching television, avoid shopping malls and keep track of your spending (even allotting envelopes with cash for certain portions of your budget, such as an envelope labeled "grocery money"). There are a lot of practical tips in this section, definitely making the book a worthwhile investment of your money and time.
Turn off the TV and pick up this book. Learn about how we've become a culture of consumers, and spend some of your own time truly reflecting on your lifestyle. It's likely you will agree with his argument that materialism is ruining our chances for happiness, our relationships and our environment, among other things. Simply taking the time to investigate why we're materialistic is a step forward in the direction of happiness and living the good life.
Product review disclaimer: An organization representing the author provided me a complimentary copy of this book for review. The reviews on this blog are truthful and honest opinions, not advertisements. While I was provided a complimentary product in exchange for a review, I was not obligated to write a favorable review. I promise to only review products that I believe are relevant and interesting to Greater Good Life readers.
Conscious Box kindly asked me to review their new product, a monthly subscription service where you receive an assortment of ethical, sustainable and healthy products to sample and enjoy. Each month a box arrives at your door with a variety of natural products, such as snacks and cosmetics. The basic subscription costs $12 plus $7 shipping, for a total of $19/month, and you can save more money by signing up for 3 or 6 months at a time.
My first impression of the box was how nicely packaged it is. You will definitely feel like you are receiving a special gift by its presentation. Importantly, the packaging is 100 percent recycled, BPA-free and is printed with vegetable inks.
Inside the box there is an information card about the products inside. This month's box included the following:
HONEST TEA - 6.75 oz pouch Tropical Tango punch
FUNKY MONKEY - .42 oz snack bag of freeze dried pineapple and guava fruit
PHARMACOPIA - Two sample-size bottles (about 1 oz each) of body wash and body lotion
GLEE GUM - Two, 2-piece sample packages
KIND BAR - Two full-size, 1.4 oz bars, almond & coconut flavor
100% PURE - Two .06 fl oz (ketchup-size packets) of body cream, vanilla bean and green apple scents
COCOAWELL - two packages containing 2 capsules each of fair trade, vegetarian, organic energy supplements
While I haven't had a chance to test out all of these products individually, overall, this is a good selection of high-quality eco-friendly, healthy, cruelty-free and/or fair trade products.
Is Conscious Box a good value? That depends. Only about half of the products are full-size, the rest are trial size, or what we all might consider "free sample" size. So the perceived value of the actual products may not be $12 worth of product, let alone $19 worth when factoring in the shipping. At the same time, we all know organic, sustainable, healthy products are more expensive. Also, you have to consider that you're not just paying for the products, but also the service of having them carefully selected and delivered. Conscious Box does the homework for your to find socially responsible and ethical products. If that service is worth the extra money for you, then there's value.
Conscious Box will help you discover new brands and products to suit your eco, ethical and healthy lifestyle. I only recognized about half of the brands in the box, so a lot of it was new to me. I'm particularly interested to try the CocaoWell energy supplements and Pharmacopia products for the first time. This is especially helpful if you live in a small town and don't have access to a Whole Foods or a health food/organic store. With Conscious Box, you'll definitely be exposed to quality products of interest that you can test out and then purchase online if you can't find them conveniently where you live.
Personally, I would consider Conscious Box an indulgence. I'd be unlikely to splurge on it for myself on a regular basis (though, maybe occassionally), but that's because I really live simply and tend to make my own homemade healthy snacks and cosmetics. But I think Conscious Box would be great for gifts and care packages. If I were to send a care package to a friend, I'd definitely send Conscious Box since it's a socially responsible gift option. And I'd totally be stoked if one of these care packages arrived at my mailbox (hmmm, maybe my mom will read this!). Anyone who receives a box would find the products useful.
Conscious Box has been challenging customers to submit unique ways to reuse the box that comes as part of their packaging. I offer my own idea to make a "Gratitude Box," which I explain in the review video.
Each month's Conscious Box has a theme, and this month's theme is gratitude. Here is part of November's inspirational message:
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates vision for tomorrow.
--Melody Beattie
Product review disclaimer: The reviews on this blog are truthful and honest opinions, not advertisements. While organizations may provide me with a complimentary product in exchange for a review, I am not obligated to write a favorable review and will do my best to provide an unbiased opinion. I promise to only review products that I think are relevant and interesting to Greater Good Life readers.
Being nice. I'm not sure why this one is so hard. It seems like everyone is so caught up in their own agenda that taking a minimal amount of energy to smile and be courteous to someone is an inconvenience. How sad. Who wants to be sad like that? Not me!
I realize being nice is basic human communication. But then I also know from my experience that many people don't do this. I'd like to think people don't mean to be rude, they are just too busy to be nice. But being nice is not manners, it's not a formality; it's just being genuinely caring and thoughtful.
Being nice is our most abundant opportunity to share some positive energy in this world.
So here's what brings this up.
The other day, I was out having some drinks with friends. A girl I didn't recognize came up to me and asked, "Do you come into The Pit?" (a restaurant/bar where I live in the Outer Banks). I go there, but not often. She told me she used to be a bartender there, and then I recognized her. Over a month ago, I had gone in with friends and she served us. I asked her name and just did my normal thing. She told me she remembered me because she was having an awful night, and I was so nice to her and it made her feel better. Pretty sweet. We never know how someone's day is going, but even as strangers we have an effect on it. Every encounter is an opportunity to make someone's day better. (Megan and I are good friends now.)
Here's another memorable encounter that was even more surprising:
I met a friend one evening for coffee at a Starbucks in Virginia Beach. We were both going through a rough time and needed some girl chat. It was the holiday season, and the Starbucks was very busy. We waited in line for a couple minutes and then ordered our coffee. I simply said hello, smiled, placed my order and said thank you. That's it! The girl behind the counter then smiled at me and told me she was giving me my coffee for free because I was the only nice person who had been in there all day! Wow, a Starbucks filled with rude, busy holiday shoppers...season's greetings!
I want to stay in my naive world where everyone is nice and writing this would seem absurd. We all know being nice makes everyone happy. Maybe we just need a reminder. Simplify your life and take every opportunity to spread around some positive energy. Genuinely smile and acknowledge every person you meet. That simple act could just make their day, and yours!
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 2:17PM 
Traveling hassle-free and socially responsible with solid cosmetics from LUSH: Karma Komba Shampoo Bar, Jungle Conditioner Bar, Therapy Massage Bar and Dirty Toothy Tabs.
