Welcome davehatton.com & L8Bloomer.com followers! You Are In the Right Place!

Heh! Notice something new? I hope so! I have changed my blog interface. I am running my blog using WordPress now. WordPress offers free blogging software and provides many more features than my last blogging software. So, I decided to make the switch. You may still use http://davehatton.com to get here, or you may add http://blissedout.net to your bookmarks. Why the new name? Well, I wanted to have something other than my own personal name that might attract attention to my blog. Also, with the change in blogging software, it was easier for me to get a new name, and forward my old domain name to this site. When I saw that blissedout.net was available, it was a no-brainer.

The great thing about the term “blissed out” is that it has two meanings. The first is “high on drugs, especially ecstasy.” “But, Dave,” you might ask, “why would you want a website name associated with being on drugs?” Well, that brings me to the second meaning, “experiencing bliss: ECSTATIC.”  That is how I define blissed out. So why is that so great? Simply because just like with anything in life, it is up to you to interpret it how you want.

All too often, people will define things from a negative perspective just because that is what they are programed to do. It always astonishes me, when I turn on talk radio of some kind (yes – I listen to talk radio – but only for research!), that the focus is always on the negative. Even if there are pink  elephants flying across the sky – “The world is coming to an end!”  Everything is doom and gloom to these people. Try this the next time you listen to talk radio: turn whatever the host is saying around and frame it from a positive perspective. Now, this is not always easy, but it can be done. “Global Warming is going to doom the planet” becomes “Global warming is making customers more aware of the need for environmentally friendly products.” Or “Global warming causes people to look at their earth-harming habits and change them.”

The trend, as I see it, is to look at the positive in things. Then again, maybe it is not. But it doesn’t really matter. What matters is how I see things for myself. I cannot control what happens around me, but I can control how I react to it. Again, I can control how I react to it. Reaction is everything. Some people look at an issue and see it as hopeless.

This reminds me of the story that some of you may have heard about the man who was walking along the beach one day and he noticed a large number of starfish had washed up onto the shore. He walked around the multitude of starfish without so much as a glance.  Then he looked up ahead and saw a man picking up starfish and throwing them back into the surf. The first man caught up to the second man and asked, “Why are you throwing the starfish back into the water?” The man replied, “If they stay on the beach overnight, they will die. If I throw them back, they might live.” The first man looked around and said, “There must be thousands of them on the beach, how on earth do you think you are going to make a difference?” The second man looked at the first and a big smile crossed his face and he leaned down to pick up another starfish and tossed it as hard as he could into the surf and looked back at him with the same big smile, “Made a difference for that one.” He turned and continued as he had been before.

The first man now had a choice, right? He could agree, and start throwing starfish back into the surf himself, or he can continue to believe as he had before that it is impossible to even think about making a difference and continue on with life as he had before. More and more, I am finding that the response is the former rather than the latter. I am thankful for that. I think that people are becoming more and more aware of their own individual impact on the planet. They are learning that how they act can affect how other people act later.

I have been a vegetarian for nearly fourteen years now. The main reason I decided to become a vegetarian was because of the adverse environmental impact of the beef industry on our planet. I won’t go into detail just yet, but obviously one person is not going to make a significant impact, right? In fact, in the time that I have been a vegetarian, I can honestly say that I have never been directly responsible for someone becoming a vegetarian. However, in the past year, my best friend became a vegetarian. I won’t say that I was directly involved, but he knew I was a vegetarian, and he has seen the way I eat for over a decade, and I can’t help but think that I may have had at least a small impact. Additionally, my mother and step-father made a decision to no longer eat red meat in their house. They will still eat it if that is what is offered by their hosts when they have dinner at friends homes, but they have made a conscious decision to stop eating red meat at their home. My mother was proud enough of this decision to let me know about it. And quite honestly, I was surprised and glad at the same time. My mom has always made an effort to make sure there is something vegetarian for me for every meal. I may not have directly influenced this decision, but I may have indirectly contributed to it. That is really all it takes to change the planet.

My mom also learned of the impact that using the clothes dryer had not only on her electric bill, but also on the environment. She made a conscious decision to hang her clothes to dry. In making that decision, she was surprised to find how meditative the action of hanging her clothes was. This was something I had discussed with her when I was living in her house and “had” to hang my own laundry. I had remarked the same thing, and she said that is definitely one of the side benefits of hanging the wash. That reminds me, I really need to get a clothesline and start hanging my wash again! I don’t pay electricity in my current living situation, but that doesn’t mean I am not impacting the environment negatively. A little guilt never hurts!

So “blissed out” – what do you choose for it to mean? I think you know what I choose.