A Simpler Way of Life

Tonight was the kick-off of my first class on issues of sustainability. In my opinion, it went really well. We did some getting to know each other, made some journals for note-taking during the class (or whatever we wanted) with recycled materials for which I have been dumpster diving for the past couple of weeks, and talked about some of our preconceived notions of sustainability. Then watched a pretty good video clip from ABC about a family that strives to live a simple, sustainable life. It's worth the 8 mins it takes to watch. Check it out here. Then we talked about how this video affected our views. I wish we would have had more time to chat because I could talk about this stuff all day, but I really do think it went well. I will keep you all updated on how it goes and let me know if you have any ideas!

Leslie's Wedding and the Dalia Lama

This weekend, Andrew and I went to Tucson, Arizona for his sister's wedding. The wedding was gorgeous (especially the bride!), the desert was gorgeous, the weather was gorgeous, and the food was delish. I want to wish Leslie and Charles a very happy marriage. I have never been out west and really enjoyed exploring the terrain, even if it was only for a very short period of time. I hope to explore around there some day.

But while I'm here, other exciting news... today I went to a very intimate talk with the Dalia Lama. It was awesome. He really challenged the audience to work towards peace and harmony (both of which I happen to be a big fan of) and slow down in order to reach our inner peace. One of my favorite quotes from the day (in reference to achieving harmony) the Dalia Lama said, "For harmony, trust is essential. The basis of trust is love and compassion." Good one Dalia Lama! I think it's a pretty applicable quote to life no matter what religious or non-religious background you might come from. He really reminded of Yoda off of Star Wars. He was pretty darn cute and had a great sense of humor. Check him out with the Memphis Mayor here. Pretty hilarious! The chat made for a great day worth the books.