Environmental Action- What Seeds Are You Planting?

The original article below was written by my late father-in-law, Bill Johnston, co-founder of The Centre for Applied Human Dynamics and still one of the greatest men I've ever known.  Although he first wrote this 10 years ago, his perspective may hold even more merit in today.  Climate Change and Climate Action are the buzz words on everyone's lips - and rightfully so!  But in our social climate of feeling divided by every viewpoint and value we hold - be it from politics to religion, women's rights or racial equality, LGBTQ+ support and reconciliation with our indigenous peoples ... the question of asking ourselves "What seeds are we planting?" has never been more relevant or important. 

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We don't teach about world policy or global climate conditions in our line of work. But when we teach, we strive to build bridges between people; bridges built on understanding and empathy. Bridges that connect people, rather than divide.  I'm proud to tell people about the work I do - not only as an individual in this business, but as someone who continues to share the family legacy; seeds that were planted over 15 years ago. 
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​I hope you'll reflect on the wisdom Bill (Dad) shares with us here. He always was a wise man (sometimes even a bit of a wiseguy!) but he's one of few people whose words have become more prophetic after they're gone. Thanks Dad - and thank you all for being part of our people-garden! 

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Environmental Action: 
What Seeds Are You Planting? ​

Written by Bill Johnston
Co-Founder of The Centre for Applied Human Dynamics

Today I received a promotional piece in the mail. Now normally this type of "junk" mail usually ends up in file 13. Today partially because it came from an existing supplier I thought I would open the flap and see what the offer was. Pretty much the standard $20 or $30 off our next order. Nothing really new here and you are probably wondering "so?".

Well here is the kicker. When I read the offer I noticed they were promoting green products. Now as the father of a very active 23 year old environmentalist I was compelled to read further. 
When I looked at the coupons for placing the online order it said "plant these". Yup these coupons were organic and had wildflower seeds built right into them All I have to do is soak it in water (after using the code of course) and plant them in the garden and in 3-4 weeks wildflowers will appear!

What a brilliant marketing idea! However it made me wonder what are we doing to help the environment? Sure we have modern appliances that utilize very low electricity, we live in the country so we compost and recycle like crazy. We even plant a few tomato plants in a small garden for personal consumption. Our lights are all high efficiency, our furnace is 95% efficient, heck we even scoop after the dog!

So how does the Centre For Applied Human Dynamics help the environment? We believe we help the people environments in every team we work with. That is our goal every time we speak. We are constantly planting the seeds of encouragement, cultivating positive emotions about others, and teaching people to "smell the roses". That is what we do for the environment.
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How about you? What is your commitment to improving the lives of others. Do you volunteer? Do you uplift others? We want to know. Send us your stories, send us your heroes stories of community involvement. Let's see how much difference we can make as a team!

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