Are you ready for a miracle? This week’s Awesome Stories bring you miracles, food traffic, meditation magic and more.
The Miracle is You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYgl_z05bqY Sometimes we get distracted by our physical (or emotional) ailments. I recently had back strain and could hardly move without pain. I allowed the back pain to limit me and narrow my focus. This fun video helps remind us of the miracle of our bodies. As the videos says, close your eyes, breath in, listen to the music and feel the miracle of you!
Food Traffic Control
Calling all towers, food waste is now being diverted to food charities throughout the nation. According to NRDC, about 40% of our food in the US is wasted in various ways like excess supply, poor distribution, blemishes and out of date items. Thanks to a startup called FoodCowboy, some of this food is being rerouted from dumpsters to people in need. So far, they’ve diverted about 300,000 lbs of food in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Connecticut and Nebraska. More startups like CropMobster have similar plans or are working on reducing the waste at the farm and distribution side. Similarly, Trader Joe’s former president, Doug Rauch, is opening a store called Daily Table to sell bargain meals cooked from food that would otherwise be discarded. It’s great to see all these creative ideas on how to reduce our food waste and help feed the hungry.
Cleveland Gets Creative
Cleveland has a housing problem with 1 in 5 homes sitting vacant. Local permaculture designer Jean Loria proposed the BioCellar project which has been approved. The idea is to repurpose empty homes into greenhouses used to feed neighborhoods. The home foundations are used to create sunken greenhouses that will use solar panels to run irrigation and sell excess electricity back to the grid. Rain harvesting will water the plants and run aquaponics. Learn more about this exciting repurposing in this article from Inhabitat.
Meditation Magic
Just in case you don’t meditate or need more motivation to do so, here is a great post offering 10 benefits from meditation that can help you live better and maybe longer. Tim Brownson backs up his list with research and links if you’re interested in digging deeper. For me it’s simple; I meditate because I feel better, physically, mentally and emotionally. Following your breath in and out is one of the simplest and effective meditation techniques for me. Breath in, breath out!
Wave Energy Harnessed off Australian Coast
Wave energy is getting closer to being a reality. Oceanlink just launched a wave energy platform off the coast of Australia. What’s intriguing to me is that it has no anchors or moving parts, yet allows the wave energy to move through the unit creating air pressure that gets transformed into electricity. Learn more in this post by Phys.org.
The Harmonica Man
This is a great story about following your joy. Andy Meck has survived 10 heart surgeries and numerous trials. Ultimately, he decided to quit taking his medicine and instead use the money to make “strumsticks”, buy harmonicas and give free music lessons to kids in northwest Washington. He’s still making music and now called the Harmonica Man. Watch to see why. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSpoMWQRCiU
writing to freedom 
Music (and my dogs) soothe me more than anything. Repurposing empty homes for a productive community purpose, what took so long? 🙂 And as for the harmonica man, I’ve been living a variation on his interesting life for some time. I sense I’m destined to do more in his unique vein. Encouraging stories, indeed, Brad. Thanks!
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Hello my friend. Music & nature would be my top soothers. What’s your variation on the Harmonica man? I didn’t understand your reference.
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I’ve had two MIs, a quad bypass, and four cardiac catheterizations, all at entirely too young ages. I opt to not dwell on my fragility and have instead, chosen to live a life of significance – a space in which I get to give and be in service to others, expecting little if anything in return. I see this a part of what Harmonica Man is being. Does that help to clarify?
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Wow Eric. That’s an inspiring story. I appreciate you sharing and admire the choices you’ve made. You walk the talk, while I mostly write about it. Thanks for sharing and being a great model. blessings, Brad
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