Here's an interview with a mom who truly is making a difference that starts at home.

The following is an interview I had with Stacy Lewis of Mama-Om, her personal blog that is gaining great hype in the parent world. With gratitude, love, and peace she inspires her own family and seeks to bring families into community with each other. Her inspiring words surely will touch any person's life, as she shows how simple it is to save the world!

Visit her each Wednesday for talk on gratitude!

Interview with Stacy Lewis

When I was a kid, I wrote stories and poetry all the time. My inspiration seemed to be anything and everything! I didn't write for most of my adult life until I became a mother in my early thirties. Now, my inspiration is to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the people around me.

For the Mama-Om blog, I am inspired to write in a way that shows we don't have to parent alone or in ways that compromise our hearts. Plus, parenting is really funny!

How has being a mom helped you to make a difference in the world around you?

I remember very clearly in the first days of my son's life feeling as though my heart had exploded. I was wide open to the world, and I remember thinking, "I have to find it. I have to find the connection between motherhood, peace, and community. I know it's here."

There are many variations on the phrase "peace begins within," and motherhood has allowed me to develop practices around this. It may seem slightly backward, but this concept is what helps me make a difference in the world - from keeping my cool and connecting with my kids during the day to helping mothers in public situations to examining the effects of my everyday actions on the world at large and aligning my actions with my values. When I feel centered/clear/calm, I am much more able and inspired to give.

What is your favorite part about being a mom?

Being able to honor daily what it means to be human and laughing dozens of times a day - when I'm not too tired! Or, even when I'm tired.

How do you remain inspired through the day-to-day happenings as a mom?

What inspires me is the thought of raising children who can listen to their own inner guidance, express themselves and work with others in a peaceful way, and who enjoy life!

But there always comes a saturation point where I feel too frazzled, too irritated, and too tired to even make the kids a sandwich! I take this as a major sign that it’s time to recharge and re-strategize. Recharging usually involves spending some time with friends, meditating, being with my husband, or writing. Re-strategizing usually involves remembering all those things I've fallen out of the habit of: getting outside every day, showing respect for my children, giving them hands-on projects, seeing friends. I recently wrote a post about this.

How do you and your family seek to make a difference in the world?

We seek to understand, and truly feel, how all things - people, animals, plants - are connected. In addition peaceful communication and compassionately connecting with other people, our family spends as much time outdoors as possible, in our garden, at the ravine near our house, on the beach, or even just walking through our neighborhood.

We notice the things living around us (the ants, the mushrooms, the berries and birds) and see how things change over time. If my son wants to pick dozens of berries instead of one or two, I say, “Let’s leave some for the birds.” We catch and release wasps who wander into our home, pick up worms stranded on the sidewalk, and have had burial ceremonies for our kitchen spider and a mouse killed (but not eaten) by our cat.

As my children age (they're currently both under five), we will explicitly explore why we recycle, compost and conserve, but for now I focus on showing them nature at work and modeling behavior that respects life itself.

Some of the things we do regularly to lighten our impact on the earth:
* Recycle and compost. I love my worm bin and the kids do too!
* Buy entirely organic foods.
* Support a local farm through a CSA program.
* Use canvas bags not only at the grocery store but at other stores as well.
* Reuse produce bags or not use them at all.
* Use stainless steel water bottles, glass tupperware, and reusable sandwich wrappers.
* Use the kids' bathwater to water the garden (in the summer).
* Dry our clothes on the line in the summer and use high-efficiency laundry appliances.
* Practice elimination communication (EC) and use cotton diapers and wipes.
* Give away stuff on Freecycle and PaperBackSwap and to local charities.
* Reduce our online shopping because of the packaging and shipping costs/waste.

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