Sunday, June 22, 2008

Trees for the Future

I am profoundly and passionately touched by the work, from the heart, of Dave & Grace Deppner and the kind, caring folks at Trees for the Future.

They have planted 50 million trees around the world!

10 cents plants a tree. Over half-a-billion trees could be planted around the world. It's possible. Imagine the impact...

hey have an idea called the "forest garden" which combines the best attributes of both, producing a great amount of product, sustainably, on a very small piece of land. With this you are sending millions of roots down into the ground which are guiding water back into underground aqua firs, you have a return of diversity, you've cooled the land, cleared the air a bit, and improved the quality of life just by planing some seeds (as Dave tells it).The results are incredible! Their work is simple, clear and inclusive. Their success comes from involving communities, teaching proper stewardship and harmony with nature.
After having volunteered in developing countries around the world in the 1970s the Deppners' saw the increasing human tragedy brought on by illegal logging and unsustainable land management. They started to take action to help the families who could no longer sustain themselves and struggled to put food on the table.

Working with community leaders, the Deppners began to find ways to offer hope to villagers by reestablishing productive lands - with their families and culture intact. They renewed degraded lands by providing farmers with beneficial tree seed, technical training, and on-site planning assistance. People responded enthusiastically. Entire villages joined in, making great sacrifices to save their homes and way of life.

Visit Trees for the Future website to learn how easy it is to support their efforts that benefit us all, globally.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Book Expo and Slash

There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of stories I can tell you about my recent days at Book Expo American, the largest gathering in the literary industry. But of the countless conversations I had at BEA one which stands out the most is my chat with Slash from rock band Guns N' Roses. We bumped into each other back stage in the author signing area and Slash said to me "I know you right? ...yeah, we've met before." Though we could not place the exact events and times we accepted that we were meeting up again. I've been in the entertainment and media business for so long I can't always recall all of my numerous adventures, though you'd think I remember the events around prior encounters with Slash.

None the less we had a lovely, and for me, unexpected conversation about kindness. It made my day. I'm thinking to myself, now here I am talking with "tough guy", "rock n' roller", Slash, about how we'd all be better off if we were just kinder, more considerate and respectful to each other. It just shows you the diverse range of folks who are thinking like this... it's time to be kinder, more understanding of others and respectful of all. You can be cool and kind!

This chat held more synchronistic relevance for me as I was in the middle of reading Perro Furrucci's delightful book 'The Power of Kindness.'

I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music...I get most joy in life out of music. - Albert Einstein
(found on Slash's official fan site)