Normal Green: Save, Serve, Savor the World

We were asked to recall the moment in our lives when we first knew that the world wasn't perfect. When we realized that there were people and places who needed who depended on the kindness and resources of friends as well as strangers. Think about that moment in your own life. I was rather late to the game. I was in college taking what I thought was just another elective to fill my liberal arts requirement. I took a class completely unrelated to my major, a class on teaching in inner city schools. It was my first encounter with work of Jonathan Kozol and his book Savage Inequalities about the disparities between low-income urban public schools and wealthier suburban public schools. I graduated from college and though I went to work in a field completely other than teaching, I couldn't shake that course.

So, nine years after graduating, I quit my cushy corporate job, got my teaching credential, and went to work teaching in an inner city school. I did that up until the birth of my first child and it remains one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. One of the speakers at hippie church today volunteers his time serving a village in his native India. He lives part of the year in the San Francisco Bay Area and part of the year abroad. He had his calling and followed it and felt that he could not "savor" his life unless he knew that part of it was spent in service to a community that needed him. His life is more enjoyable because he is doing good. Some people read a story on the news and feel compelled to help a cause, while for others the news can make them feel sad or depressed. Here at Tonic, we try to focus the positive, inspiring aspects of going green rather than dragging you down and making you feel guilty for all that you aren't doing. We bring you uplifting stories of people who do good in the hopes of inspiring you to make small changes in your life. Some people tutor in a low-income school or volunteer in soup kitchens or clean up beaches. Some people dedicate their lives to serving others and for others it's an every once in a while thing. When was the last time you thought about saving the world? What will you chose to do? Whatever you do, make sure you savor it.