The Only Thing That Satisfies Better Than Sex Or Chocolate
– by Tera Warner
The other day I wrote a little letter suggesting the possibility that if “you know too much for your own good“, maybe you should consider using it for the good of others.
I shared the story about what happened to me the other day when I had some time to burn in a local café. I looked out at the puffy-ankled and inflammation-prone folks eating their greasy spoon breakfasts, and rather than feel a sense of self-righteousness for my youthful glow and healthy skin, I started asking myself what I could do to make the world a bit less deep-fried and a bit more fresh and new.
If you didn’t read that letter, you can catch it here. In that article I promised to share a lesson I learned that saved my life (and brought me exquisite pleasure), so here goes…
The Difference Between Responsibility and Blame
About 8 years ago, I was listening to a lecture about personal responsibility, when I heard an idea that shook me to my core. First of all, it bears clarification that responsibility does not mean “blame”. Some people associate the two together, but responsibility is about your ability to respond to the idea that you are in some way able to influence change. When responsibility is imposed or forced upon a person, it can feel like blame, but they are not the same thing. Responsibility is an invitation to consider the possibility that you can do something about it.
If you drop a banana peel, your ability to respond and do something about it is very real to you. You’re going to bend over, pick it up, and put it in the compost.
If your car breaks down, you’re going to call your local motor association or a tow truck and get someone to help you. Unless you happen to know a thing or two about broken down cars and how to fix them, in which case your ability to respond will be much higher. The more you understand about how your car works and what is needed to fix it, the more you’re able to respond!
The same is true about any area of life. We’ve all heard the idea that knowledge is power, but knowledge alone isn’t worth a sneeze in the wind. It’s only when knowledge combines with the human spirit’s will to act that real power takes hold.
That willingness to act is responsibility.
The Idea That Changed (and Saved) My Life
I
‘d grown up like everyone else hearing about The Golden Rule and had the basics down of Thou Shalt Not Kill or Generally Be a Source of Destruction, Harm or Annoyance to Others. I figured that I was an upstanding citizen on planet Earth, behaving reasonably with no major crimes to my name and no significant threat to society. And indeed, this was true. But when you’re here to kick up dirt, make noise, wriggle, jiggle and dance through Life, then “upstanding” doesn’t really satisfy – or cut it.
The more I’ve learn about Life, the more I come to understand that it’s a game in which you either rise and expand, or you shrink and fall. We either increase our awareness, intelligence and ability, or we start to decline and degrade. At the point of my life when I encountered the idea I am about to share, I was ready for a serious upgrade of my spiritual hard drive. It was time to raise the bar.
Any person, anywhere, any time,
can do something to make a situation better.
And they know it!
The fact that they don’t take action
is the “sin of omission” they carry with them
no matter how honest they are.
*thud* It hit me like a brick. A thousand moments of my life came rushing in at me coupled by an overwhelming recognition that in so many instances, no matter how dark or dismal or dreary it seemed, there was always something I could have done, but didn’t.
Again, this isn’t about blame, regret or punishment. It’s about an awareness of the degree of influence one person can have on Life. It’s a coming to terms with the fact that our INACTION – as much as our action – can be the cause of harm, misery and upset in life. Once we realize this, we regain the power to influence things in a positive direction!
It’s easy for us to look out at the world and make a lot of noise about the things people do to create problems in Life: Acts of violence, drug use, unhealthy eating, sexual perversion, etc.. You only need to scan a few headlines in the local paper or tune into the evening news to be soaking in it.
We feel that if we live a relatively honest life, eat well, maintain some personal ethics and treat people with respect, then for the most part, our conscience should be relatively clear… right? We should be able to sleep with ourselves and feel good about it all. Well, sure.
Aaaaaaaand, there’s even more to the story…
Let Me Ask You a Few Important Questions
- When you look out at the world around you and see sickness and varying states of dis-ease…
- When you see relationships falling apart and arguments happening unnecessarily…
- When you hear someone you love announce they’ve been diagnosed with cancer…
- When you see conditions in life that you know you can do something about…
…what do you do?
What knowledge do you have that the world needs? What have you survived or overcome that could help another person get out of the mud? Are you sharing it? Are you communicating about it? Are you doing anything?
Long after a person has given up on themselves in life,
they will still find the will,
energy and motivation to help another!
Consider how many women finally start prioritizing their healthy diet the moment they decide to become pregnant – as though their own health and well-being wasn’t enough of a motivation!
There are people who, knowing the injustice of conditions in other parts of the world, dedicate their lives to the work of bringing about peace, ending world hunger, educating, empowering and uplifting the lives of others on the opposite side of the planet. If you’ve ever met someone who has sincerely committed their lives to philanthropic endeavors, then you know the peace and deep sense of fulfillment they carry with them.
You don’t have to run off to Sierra Leone to start making a difference. Sit in your local café and take a look around. People need you. If you know how to whip up spinach and fruit in a blender, you hold the secret to health and the fountain of youth. So share it.
If you’re here, there’s something you can do about the state of affairs out there, and the fact that you hit your pillow every night without doing it may be hurting you more than you realize!
“We’re All in the Same Boat”
It’s a silly cliché, but if people took it seriously I wonder to what degree the world would be a better place.
We’ve become attached to our names and hairdos and are far too easily impressed by a hot pair of jeans and the number of “fans” and “friends” we all have. There are bills to pay, things to do, noses to wipe and hot yoga, too, and with all these multi-faceted distractions and diversions it’s a very easy thing to forget that – at the heart of the matter – we all breath the same air and drink the same water.
The fat cells of polar bears in the Arctic have been tested and were discovered to contain toxins found in the beauty care products used by women in California.
If one of us is making choices, consciously or unconsciously, to self-destruct, it undermines the delicate ecological and spiritual web that binds us all.
Helping others isn’t just about “them“, it’s actually the best thing you could do for you and for the well-being of Life on Earth.
What Sex, Chocolate and Ice Cream Can’t Do
I’ve looked down the barrel of enough buckets of ice cream feeling fat and sorry for myself that I know “Rocky Road” didn’t have the secret recipe for my spiritual fulfillment. I’ve stayed home from enough parties feeling puffy and pimply to know that withdrawing from Life and playing small never made me feel better.
I’ve had my share of hot, sweaty nights of passion, too; and while there may be better lovers than those with whom I’ve had the opportunity to tangle thighs, I’m quite sure there’s not one who can make me rush, glow, and get the rosy-cheeked sweet satisfaction I’ve experienced by helping a woman believe in herself again enough to turn her life around.
We may look for satisfaction in a nice, dark chocolate, or a tall, dark and handsome man, but you’ll never find there what you’ll find when you embrace and act upon your responsibility to do something to make the world a better place.
The things that have lifted me up in life were:
- Weekends spent volunteering in the long term care unit of my local hospital.
- Creating a series of inspirational interviews that changed the lives of tens of thousands of women around the world.
- Kissing my grandpa on the forehead hours before he died.
- Watching my Dad dramatically improve his health and well-being after years of suffering with a chronic health condition and feeling discouraged.
- Teaching my daughter to believe in her dreams no matter what anyone else told her.
Nothing can compare to the sense of deep, spiritual gratification that comes from helping another person who was unable to help themselves – even if doing so starts with something as simple as spinach, fresh fruit and a blender.
Newton’s First Law of Motion
In simple terms, Sir Isaac’s First Law of Motion suggests that:
An object that is at rest will stay at rest
unless an unbalanced force acts upon it.
As I sat in my little café in the sticks last week, I felt that “unbalanced force” act upon me like a lightning rod. It wasn’t enough for me to sit and smile a self-righteous smile from across the room anymore. It was time to do something about it.
If you’ve not yet been hit by that same lightning rod, I invite you to head on over to your local greasy spoon diner and look a few people lovingly in the eyes. Hang out in the emergency waiting room of your local hospital. Your inaction, failure to act and do something you know you can doesn’t serve the world, and it doesn’t even serve you. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it may be as simple as seeing the beauty in a stranger and then having the courage to tell them you saw it.
There’s enough drama in the headlines. While the world sits in front of the their headlines and news broadcasts we can be out there making good news happen! Let’s get to it:
How to Become a Global Green-Powered Superhero
If you’re new around here and you’ve not yet taken our 3-Day Green Smoothie Challenge, it’s time. Doing so will equip you with everything you need to know to help people who are sick, suffering and struggling with their health.
If you have already bonded with your blender and been charmed by chlorophyll, then you are now officially equipped to make yourself a global green-powered superhero.
Here’s what we’d like to do to help motivate you:
For every 3 people you get to take the 3-Day Green Smoothie Challenge, we’ll credit you with $20 toward any of our programs.
So… If you get 3 people signed up for a 3-Day Challenge, you could access most of our e-books.
If you get 15 people to take the 3-Day Green Smoothie Challenge, you can access our Self-Study version of our 21-Day Green Smoothie Detox for Free!
22 people signed up for a 3-Day Challenge, you could take the full support version of our 21-Day Green Smoothie Detox for Free!
If you get 45 people signed up for the 3-Day Green Smoothie Challenge, you could even take 17-Week Wild Edible Course, or any of our Body Enlightenment programs for Free.
… You get the idea. 
We often receive requests for scholarships and work exchange opportunities and love to make our programs accessible to anyone, regardless of their personal financial situation. We understand it takes a team to make the world a better place, and we recognize that we really are all in the same boat.
So, if you grab an oar by helping tell a few more people about some simple things they can do to turn their health around, we’ll grab an oar and do whatever we can to help you take your health and well-being to the next level, too!
IN ORDER TO ACTIVATE YOUR CREDIT: Please keep track of the names of the people you get to participate in the 3-Day Green Smoothie Challenge. When you’ve got the number of people you need to access the program you want, please send an email to Doll Creelman with the following information included:
- The names of the people you’ve helped to get signed up.
- The name of the program you’d like to access.
- How you feel about having done something that could change so many people’s lives.
And it’s that easy! Here’s to you, Smoothie-Slurpin’ Superhero!
Love and smooth sailing,
Tera
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What events or actions have lifted up your life, as well as the lives of others, in a way that sex or chocolate could never compare? Please leave a comment below and share with us your story.