Optimum Wellness

(CBS) There is a powerfully inspiring movement unfolding all around us. "Sustainability," possibly one of this centuries most popular buzz words, is catching on. It seems like almost everywhere we are seeing and hearing the need for sustainability. From the foods we choose to the energy we use, we can take this movement and its positive momentum to shift our lives in a direction of greater good and conscious creativity - by being a beneficial presence to the world around us...environmentally, socially and spiritually. We are perfectly positioned to be a source for transformation and inspiration for those around us.

Sustainability may be seen as a catalyst or a conduit. Loving, passionate and compassionate self-care serves as both a wake up and a call to my highest action. Sustainability begins first as an inside job and grows powerfully outward from there. In the way that we consciously choose to eat with mindfulness, we are living more sustainably. How do we do this most effectively? Set the intention and practice feeding our mind and bodies instead of feeding our emotions. Keep blood sugar stable by not skipping meals, moving towards right size portions that are balanced. Use the power of nourishing our innate chemistries and we will see our body-mind-emotion come alive with greater awareness and the diminishing desire for over-consumption. Choose what is whole and local to further sustain our energy as well as conserve the energy of the planet.

Sustainability is energy. We can produce sustainable energy by choosing to move our bodies with intention and gratitude. Nothing happens without action. Look for the opportunity to move with passion and with grace. When we find ourselves thinking that we are or do not have enough, then we must take that lower frequency and raise it naturally with mindful movement. Our body-mind awakens to the truth when we breathe from our bellies, when we raise our heart rates, when we enliven our creative chemistries. Wouldn't you love to be alive with joyous expectancy? We delight in trusting that our energy will produce right results. Exercise is an absolute. Invest in this energy with the knowing that it is always multiplied with each and every use.

We can be more sustainable when we are truly "satisfied"...satis comes from the Latin meaning "enough" and the word satisfaction meaning, to take "enough action." What makes you feel most satisfied? We are most often fulfilled when we are living examples and expressions of what we hold most sacred. When we work with the power and the principles of positive thinking and affirmative living, we realize that we have more than enough...that we are more than enough. The endless cycle of conspicuous consumption, where we keep on looking outside of ourselves to get fed with stuff, ends. Sustainability begins with one person, one action at a time.

Jean Houston urges us to recognize that this is "jump time"! This is not about willpower or building the ego to be stronger... this is about willingness and saying yes to showing up in every choice we make. This is "jump time." Jump into healthier eating. Jump into daily exercise, whether it's swimming, walking, dancing, or training for your first running event – be it a 5K or an ultramarathon! Jump into driving less, buying less, recycling more, and volunteering to help with a cause or organization that you believe in strongly. Now is the time to stand for sustainability.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)