WHOA you say…  That’s a pretty negative description of one of America’s favorite foods.  Sadly, it’s all true – at least when we’re talking about “conventionally grown” tomatoes bought out of season in our grocery stores.  And any real tomato lover would have to agree – the flavor just isn’t there anymore.  What has happened? [...]

Here I go again…blogging about chocolate.  But let’s face it, when it comes to holidays, chocolate is big.  Next holiday up: Valentine’s Day – a REALLY big chocolate day.  Love and chocolate.  It’s a delightful combination, but not when the labor of trafficked children — children who are trafficked across borders to work as slaves [...]

Awareness is the first step required for change.  When it comes to human trafficking, the ever-increasing exposure of this crime is beginning to reach more people, and that’s a good thing.  Yet, human trafficking continues to grow.  Action is required from every one of us who finds this abuse of human rights offensive.  And who [...]

 Since the first of the year, I have been on the receiving end of a small deluge of emails, blog posts, newsletters, and other types of messages about integrity or about being true to one’s self.   I have been considering the fact that we often receive the information we need, when we need it, so [...]

“The real job is to lay the groundwork for a deep change of heart on the part of the whole nation so that one day it can really go through the metanoia we need for a peaceful world.” —–Thomas Merton Metanoia. I stumbled across the word several years ago, and fell in love with the [...]

Have you ever felt that you have utterly and miserably failed at something? I sure have and, in 2011, I felt that way more than once. Back in 2005, when I first visited Cambodia, I returned home with a heartfelt determination to “do something” – to somehow improve the lives of even a few victims [...]

This is the third time I’ve written about chocolate since mid-October. Hmmm…. I do love chocolate, and consider it a necessary ingredient for a balanced diet, and even for a not-so-balanced diet. And the ever-increasing number of studies documenting its health benefits makes it all the more appealing – and less guilt-inducing. A recent Swedish [...]