I am sharing this hoping that it brings awareness and donations for a great organization. I have had personal experience with the LiveStrong Foundation and found they are a great resource for cancer patients. Resources are crucial for people fighting the disease.

This weekend, the whole world will be watching Lance Armstrong and Team RadioShack as they cross the finish line at the Tour de France.

It’s been a long, tough race full of excitement and drama, and Lance and his team have a lot to be proud of. But as they approach the final stage, they want to make sure the world knows that this moment is about more than just a race—it’s about raising awareness and improving the lives of 28 million people living with cancer.

This is an amazing opportunity to advance our fight. But they can’t do it without you.

Join Lance Armstrong and his team before they cross the finish line. Make a donation of $28 or more to support the 28 million people living with cancer worldwide.

Lance and his team are helping fight a disease that claims eight million lives every year, and they’re riding for the 28 million survivors who face this fight with courage, determination and strength.

This weekend they will raise awareness of the fight against cancer on the global stage.

As they represent the LIVESTRONG movement, we’ll be there to stand with them. This moment has the potential to inspire people around the world to take action in the fight against cancer, but we all need to do our part.

Join Lance and his team this weekend as they make history for our cause.

Make a donation of $28 or more to support the 28 million people living with cancer worldwide.

This is going to be a special weekend for Lance, Team RadioShack and LIVESTRONG.

Thank you for making sure the world knows what our fight is all about,

LIVESTRONG

I recently read this article and thought it was more than worth sharing. – Marvelous Mouth

We’ve all seen Mad Max and been frightened, if only a bit, by how savage a future it depicts. As extreme as that world may be, there is something about its resource-hungry depravity that seems almost tangible.

Our industrial society has a lot of looming problems. From acidic oceans to flooded cities, shrinking biodiversity to new super-bugs, it’s clear that something needs to be done to avert disaster.

Could health care save us from these impending catastrophes?

1. Foods that Kill

Our food is killing us. There are the salmonella outbreaks, the most recent of which cost more than a billion dollars to peanut growers. Then there’s our diet, which has left us obese, diabetic, nutrient deprived, and sick.

Food is central to any discussion of health care. A health care system that treats chronic disease as something cheaper and easier to prevent than treat, places pressure on the food industry to change. As Michael Pollan explains, “to keep from bankrupting ourselves, we will…have to get to work on improving our health—which means going to work on the American way of eating.”

2. Pandemic Disease

Changing the way we make food is tied closely with health care for an entirely different reason: It could prevent pandemic disease. Swine flu has its roots in the industrial agriculture system, and it’s not alone. Some researchers believe that MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant staff infection that is becoming ubiquitous in hospitals, is the result of using regular antibiotic regimens on pig farms.

Then, there is the threat of diseases spreading to new regions as the planet warms. Tropical ailments like dengue fever could become problems in the now-temperate United States.

Health care could help avert these tragedies in two ways. First, it could take control of the use of antibiotics, ensuring that human drugs are not used irresponsibly and in ways that could create resistant microbes. Second, universally available health care will be better able to catch new diseases at their source before they have a chance to spread out of control.

3. Not a Drop to Drink

Droughts in California and Georgia, to name only two, have made it clear: The water crisis is global.

The most important thing we can do to avoid a peak water situation is protect the resources we still have. Incineration and disposal of medical waste pollutes the air and the water.

Our health care system needs to adopt a full-circle management approach that considers the production of medicine and supplies, their use, and ultimately their disposal.

4. Every Breath is Poison

Asthma, lung cancer, and even appendicitis: The air we breathe can make us sick. Recently, the EPA announced that greenhouse gasses pose a threat to public health.

A health care system that considered prevention valuable would be forced to pressure the government to regulate such public health threats. If government-backed health insurance costs increased based on the environmental risks of the insured’s residence, legislators would be motivated to take radical action to curb air pollution.

5. Home is Where the Toxins Are

Almost every home in America harbors a bounty of toxic chemicals and these toxins are not only under the sink or in the garage.

Lipstick, toys, and are all commonly cited examples of where toxins hide. While focusing on these individual sources makes for sensational headlines, it fails to miss the true scope of the problem. In 2005, it’s estimated that exposure to environmental toxins cost the health care industry upwards of $5.7 billion.

Eliminating or better controlling these substances would, in the words of one researcher, “significantly improve the state’s economic performance.” This is an understatement anyone in government could understand.

6. The Thermostat’s Broken

Climate change will affect your health in both minor and significant ways. Everything on this list will be made worse by a warming climate and, not even considering the implications it will have on health, climate change is expected to cost the United States $271 billion dollars by 2025.

A health care plan that advocated for locally produced whole foods, prevented the use of human antibiotics in industrial farming, regulated the production and disposal of medical supplies, demanded stronger action on dangerous emissions, and lobbied for stronger control of household toxins would, by default, position the United States as a leader in climate change action.

Any plan that does not address these environmental factors, or strive to correct them, will fail under the incredible cost of our dangerous lifestyle.

Read more HERE

Article from: http://www.treehugger.com

You can join people around the world raising their voices to fight cancer. Sign the World Cancer Declaration today. Act Now

The GLOBAL Cancer Summit is August 24- 26. Read about it HERE

Consider donating to Susan B Komen Foundation or the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Cancer will touch everyone at some point in their lives and these two foundations do work that is beyond incredible for cancer patients of all ages. In my family there have been many of us including myself that are cancer survivors. My father is now experiencing the journey.

“The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm, but because of those who look at it without doing anything” – Albert Einstein

I will donate all profit to these two organizations from the purchase of the Marvelous “Heart” shirt through the end of this year. Buy the shirt HERE

“The only thing we really have is nowness, is now.

Have you actually understood, and realized, the truth of impermanence? Have you so integrated it with your every thought, breath, and movement that your life has been transformed? Ask yourself these two questions: Do I remember at every moment that I am dying, and everyone and everything else is, and so treat all beings at all times with compassion? Has my understanding of death and impermanence become so keen and so urgent that I am devoting every second to the pursuit of enlightenment? If you can answer ‘yes’ to both of these, then you really understand impermanence.”

An excerpt from the book “The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying”. The lessons here are ones for everyday life and enriching your life in positive ways. There are also some very good messages on dealing with the death journey of others close to you. You don’t have to be Buddhist to understand and implement these ideas. You don’t have to be religious at all to recognize the leaf that has fallen from the tree has experienced it’s life cycle.

The Art of Artlessness: On Living Simply and Naturally

“If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, then this is the best season of your life.” - Wu-Men

Post written by Leo Babauta from zen habits

A lot of the complexity in our lives come when we try to keep up certain appearances.

A simpler, happier life can be achieved when we drop those appearances and just live naturally, without pretense or artfulness.

Let me give you just a few examples:

* There was a time when wardrobe was important to me — I wanted to impress my superiors and so I had lots of (fairly) expensive clothes. Now that I’ve decided I don’t need to keep up those appearances, I normally wear shorts and a T-shirt and sandals to all of my meetings. I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not, and people can deal with me on those terms or not. I’m happier, and my wardrobe and life are simpler for it.
* I’ve also decided that a huge, fancy house and beautiful luxury car are no longer important to me (not that I ever had either, but I did strive for them). Now I go for function, and I’m debt-free.
* There was also a time when I tried to impress others with my knowledge, intelligence, competence. I’d try to show off, or take on more than I could handle, just to impress people. Now I worry less about this and instead just try to do the best I can in whatever I do. In the end, I’m more satisfied with the job I do, and with myself, and others seem to be happy with this as well.

Shaking off these pretenses, this artfulness, results in simplicity. It’s when we try to hold up the pretenses that things get complex. We’re also less honest, and less true to ourselves.

Learn to live a simpler, more natural life, and drop the pretenses one at a time. You’ll be glad you did.

A few ideas to get you started:

1. Dress: Do your clothes aim to impress? Do you have to keep a complicated, expensive wardrobe to maintain this image? How can you shed this need to impress, and just dress simply and functionally instead? I’m not saying you need to dress in rags (or wear sandals, as I do).
2. Grooming: I no longer worry about grooming as much as I once did. Now I have a shaved head, and my grooming tools are down to a reasonable minimum: soap, razor and shaving cream, deodorant, electric trimmer (for the hair). I don’t need hair products, aftershave, a comb, or many other grooming products. Of course, not everyone is going to shave their head, but going for a more natural look could simplify things: stop trying to look a certain way, and you can cut back on the number of grooming products and tools you use and keep.
3. Language: I know lots of people who use “impressive” language, often full of jargon or academic-speak or geek-speak. Well, that might impress some, but knowledgeable people know that you’re covering up a lack of real competence with complicated language. Speak simply, with plain language, and your real intelligence will shine through. You’ll also communicate better — a plus in my book.
4. Decorating: Almost every home I visit is filled with decorative things, perhaps meant to impress or convey a certain message about the home. I find that the simple, natural look is better — subtract as much as you can, until you are left with a minimum of simple, beautiful things.
5. Gifts: When we try to impress and keep up appearances, we can end up spending a lot of money on gifts, especially around the holidays but also on birthdays and other occasions. And while I think it’s great to show someone that you care with a gift, does it really need to be expensive? Can’t something home-made, or consumable, be just as nice? Or perhaps you can do something nice for someone, like a massage or chores or babysitting? Keep things simple, but show you care.
6. Work: Don’t do things at work to impress — you’ll end up doing things that are artificial and false, and often stretch too far and fail, or at least show your shortcomings. While there’s nothing wrong with having shortcomings (who doesn’t have them?), you should aim instead to do the best you can, not because you want to impress but because you want to feel good about the job you’ve done.
7. Transportation: Forget about an impressive car — go for minimalism and function. Or maybe you don’t need a car at all — can public transportation or a bike suffice? I’ve been walking more, for transportation, because I no longer worry about what people will think of me. As a result, I get more exercise, and I enjoy the outdoors more and I help conserve resources a little more.
8. Devices: Do you have to have the latest and greatest gadget (the iPhone, the Palm Pre, the Android), not because you need it but because you want to show people you have it? I’ve done this many times. Drop the pretension and get only what you need.

Life is so much richer when you live in the moment, live for you and be present with the earth. – Marvelous Mouth