Be the change ...

Jenny nominated me for a bloggers for positive global change award, which was very kind of her. As part of the process, I'm asked to nominate five other people, to pass the love around. But I'm not sure I can without being redundant. I'm late to the scene, and most of the blogs I visit and find inspiration from are part of everybody's blog roll. Many of the sites I really love have already been nominated others. But here are four people who might be making a difference in some big ways - I don't know - but whose lives, at least as they are told to us, make me appreicate the importance of acting local, particularly when that local is at the level of our own homes and backyards.

Tamsin at Something more comfortable. Tambo is a dear friend and an inspiration to me. We share many of the same ideals, struggles and questions but Tambo lives her life and loves her family with a graciousness and appreciation for beauty that warms me. For me, Tamsin's blog is about living beautifully in ways that sustain us emotionally as well has physically and environmentally.

I don't know how Janet at Muppinstuff would describe herself but when I read her work I gain an appreciation for how social change is lived in personal ways as much as it is pursued through protest and debate.

Em at three times three writes about her life with her family. Through her constant care and advocacy for her child with special needs she must surely be effecting some change for those who will follow her. I think her fight contributes to the development of support systems that are generous and responsive to people's needs.

I'd finally like to mention Nutmeg, from Another Nutter. Her blog is a book blog but Nutmeg is also developing a permaculture garden in what I suspect is the Sydney suburbs. If we all did this in our backyards, we'd be living in some very special places. I believe that our gardens are both a symbol of our engagement with the idea of 'nature' and our most direct and sustained relationship with it. Gardeners (Janet is one two, as is Tamsin) make a difference to our world, aesthetically, environmentally and philosophically.

Plus, all these women are mothers. And perhaps our greatest opportunity for social, political, environmental and global change comes through helping our children see the possibilities of different ways of living.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, ladies. They're much appreciated.