My coworker Kelsey and I have been applying for some paid blogging jobs, so that we can earn some extra money (while doing something we love, yay!) Some of the job postings we’ve run across have been a little sketchy (I responded to one vague ad only to receive an e-mail about writing content for the adult entertainment industry. No, I did not respond) so I’m excited to have received a trial assignment blogging for altglobe.com. Altglobe is a social network dedicated to green living and spiritual matters. Topics covered include the environment, politics, fair trade, recycling, organic foods, yoga, meditation, and eco-friendly technological innovations. All my favorite things!
My trial assignment is to write about “what is happiness,” which is a very timely topic, since another coworker, Paul, recently let me borrow his copy of The High Price of Materialism, by psychologist (and Knox College professor!) Tim Kasser. I’ve been wanting to read Kasser’s book for a while so I’m glad Paul got a hold of a copy. Kasser’s findings on materialism are interesting: he reports that a higher importance placed on material values consistently results in lower levels of personal well-being and happiness. True happiness is more often achieved through cultivating three things: self-actualization, affiliation (positive relationships with friends and family members) and community involvement. I plan to center my Altglobe post on these three concepts, with personal examples to support each one. I’ll post a link here when my Altglobe blog is up and running (if I’m accepted as a paid blogger … keep your fingers crossed). I hope I can carve out a fair amount of time to devote to my Altglobe activities … not only to write but to learn from other bloggers and to explore some of the ideas presented on the site. Not only will it give me more to write about (and be a fantastic way to earn some extra cash!), it’ll give me the opportunity to continue learning about issues that are important to me and finding ways to learn an even more green, sustainable, inwardly rich life.
