Can green living save you money and make you healthy?  Absolutely.  Without a doubt, I can vouch that living a little lighter on the planet can be easy, fun and fruitful.  But there are still times when it feels like sacrifice.  For example, I was dining at a favorite restaurant last week.  I considered the lasagna but went for the eggplant parmigiana instead. Pleased with myself for selecting a vegetarian option, I proudly announced to my dining companions, "Did you know that if we Americans ate just 10 percent less meat, there would be enough grain left over to feed 60 million people?" Julie and Nancy sort of looked at me like, "Where did THAT come from?" I continued, "And look at you two eating your salads. Way to make a difference!"  This was apparently too big a leap for Julie. "Are you actually saying," she exclaimed, "that by not eating meat today, we are helping solve world hunger?"  Laughing, I said, "Well, it's a bit idealistic, but sure."  The whole thing launched a pretty interesting exploration of the different perspectives that liberals and conservatives (I hate those labels) have on the green movement.  We made pretty good progress though. By the end of our lunch, Nancy said, "Anna, the way you describe 'green' sounds like nothing more than the Golden Rule.  Share your resources with others as you would want them to share with you."  I think Nancy really nailed it. 

By eating salads instead of steak, whether intended or not, you are "thinking globally and acting locally."  In short, you may be greener than you think.  I don't know how many small acts it takes to reach a tipping point, but change has to start somewhere. I can't go to Africa tomorrow with a bagful of food, but today I can make the choice to eat a little less meat to save a little more grain so that somebody, somewhere might benefit.  If enough of us did that, we could feed the world.  I was thinking about this when a friend from church sent me this story:

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.' The Lord led the holy man to two doors.  He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.  In the middle of the room was a large round table.  In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew that smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.  But the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly.  They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.  However, because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.  The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell.

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.  There was the large round table with the large pot of stew that made the holy man's mouth water.  The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.  The holy man said, 'I don't understand. 'It is simple,' said the Lord. 'It requires but one skill.

You see, they have learned to feed each other.

Food for thought, no?