JOURNEY FOR EARTH
Inspiring change for Humanity, the Environment and Animals
Jeff Rasley
H.E.A.R.T. Action ~
Making choices for your heart and from your heart...
H.E.A.R.T. Action Talks
As a single parent I know how hard it is to live...survive on a budget...but we can still educate ourselves and make informed choices about the food we are buying for ourselves and our families...where it comes from, how it impacts our minds and bodies and also how our choices impact the world around us. I was interviewed for the documentary Hunger in America narrated by Desperate Housewives star James Denton where I talk about buying healthy food on a budget.
It is my goal to share my passion on these topics with as many people (adults and teens) as possible and hopefully inspiring others to make changes in their lives, for themselves, their families and their world.
I have given my H.E.A.R.T. Action talks at Agape Spiritual Church, schools, parent/kid events, spiritual and wellness centers.
So what exactly is H.E.A.R.T. Action?
It’s about food…and more than food.
It’s about…
Health. Education. Animals. Responsibility. Today.
It’s about eating and making choices for your heart and from your heart…
It’s about asking questions…
And it’s about being aware of how each and every choice you make affects the world around you.
1. Health
It is not enough to just read what is on the front of a nice, shiny, enticing food/drink/beauty package, we must read the actual ingredients label on the back of it.
Do you read the labels on all of the products you buy?
There really are so many things we can do to teach our children about food and where it comes from….and this can be fun. When I take my son shopping I talk to him about the food on the shelves….why we don’t buy certain things, what is healthy. I talk to him about the importance of questioning where food comes from and not just buying something because the packaging looks fun and colorful or has his favorite character on it. We have a little communal garden where we live, where my neighbor grows food and my son loves to eat the kale fresh from the garden.
Ron Finley, a guerilla gardener who turned vacant concrete lots in South Central LA into gardens to grow food says: “If kids grow kale, kids eat kale. If they grow tomatoes, they eat tomatoes. But when none of this is presented to them, if they’re not shown how food affects the mind and the body, they blindly eat whatever you put in front of them.”
Empower yourself and take your health into your own hands!
2. Education
Change starts with education. It starts with willingness and an open mind. It starts with you.
And it starts with asking questions:
Do you think the companies that you buy from care about your health? How ethical are their practices? Where exactly does the food come from and how was it grown? How do the animals you eat live and how do they die? Is it humane?
Are you knowledgeable on: GMO’s, artificial sweeteners, additives, high fructose corn syrup, factory farming, sugar, preservatives?
Yes this can all seem overwhelming…just too much. But remember, you do not need to tackle all of these subjects at once. Take little steps towards educating yourself…and those little steps taken over a period of time accumulate to one big step forward.
3. Animals
Animals you might ask? Why is this important? It’s important because many of us eat meat, chicken, fish, dairy, eggs.
How these animals live, what they eat, and how they die affects the nutritional value of the meat, eggs etc that you eat.
“Animals in today’s industrialized farms are treated like commodities. They are crowded into warehouses, confined so tightly that they cannot easily walk or even turn around. They are de-beaked, de-toed, and their tails are docked without anesthetic. Their bones break because their bodies have been manipulated to grow so fast that they can’t support their own weight. Factory farm animals are denied fresh air, sun, wholesome food, room to move, and the freedom to exhibit their natural behaviors. This rampant abuse of millions of animals every day is largely invisible to the public.” – Gene Baur, founder of the nations largest farm animal sanctuary
It is my hope that one day we live in a world where it is unacceptable to keep animals confined in such a cruel manner and to treat them with such little regard.
A compassionate world really does begin with you! Making choices from your heart...
A fun day out is to take your kids to Gentle Barn or Farm Sanctuary! They really are wonderful places only about 45 mins from LA.
“We feel it is imperative that we teach our children kindness, compassion and empathy for all living beings.” – Gentlebarn.org
4. Responsibility
This is a big word: RESPONSIBILITY. All of us have responsibilities. What does it mean to you?
I believe it stretches beyond our immediate circle of duties in life…as a parent, wife, husband, friend, boss, employee. We each have a responsibility to our planet…to this earth our children and their children will inherit.
We have a responsibility to Humanity, to the Environment and to the Animals we share this earth with.
“Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” – Desmond Tutu
