The Eco-Friendly Way to Sustain Love

Sustainability is the catch phrase of the future.  So, how do I define it for Designing Love, Inc.? For me sustainability means how can we use current resources in a way that does not hinder how we give and receive love in an environment that we place value in our life. Whether that is our home, a date, or my company creating that magical moment, all it takes is a little thinking outside of the box to create an engaging and memorable moment to occur.  However, the key to the design is measuring sustainability over the course of time.  My company can merely set the stage for the design of loving in the moment to take place. Organically having those moments to occur in life take time and commitment to elevate the interpersonal and intrapersonal meaning of your love language with the environment that you live in and create.  Here are some tips to motivate you.

•  Make your dates eco-friendly from start to finish.  Prepare for your date by primping with paraben-free products made from USDA-certified organic ingredients, and choose restaurants that serve food that is organic and locally grown.  Use public transportation, ride a bike, or take a walk together on your date, and leave the car at home.

•    Go on dates that have a positive impact on the planet.  Dinner and a movie is overdone - try volunteering at a community garden instead.  Volunteering to help with a green cause is a unique bonding experience and a chance to learn about more ways you can reduce your impact on Mother Earth. Take a fitness, pottery, or cooking class together. Create a chef contest by going to a fresh market to pick up foods to cook together for various courses of a meal.  Use a camera or your cell phones and go out and take pictures of a park or city. Create a contest if you are competitive and reward the winner with a loving surprise.

•    Spice things up in the bedroom using natural aphrodisiacs.  Cassanova chowed down on oysters and so should you - oysters contain high amounts of zinc, a precursor of testosterone. Asparagus, honey, figs, avocado, and almonds are also foods that can stimulate the mind and the body.

•    Go green when you move in together.  Decorate your love nest with no-VOC paint and beeswax or non-GMO soy candles.  Outfit the bedroom with sustainable bedding made from organic cotton, bamboo, or hemp linens, and a natural latex mattress.  Replace incandescent light bulbs with more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs to set the mood.  Consider taking showers together and revamping your personal care routine so that it includes natural and organic products.

Sustaining love  in your life is just one aspect of our social responsibility to the world. In the words of Wislawa Szymborska, "Any knowledge that doesn't lead to new questions quickly dies out: it fails to maintain the temperature required for sustaining life." Therefore, make an effort each day to live a holisitc life that edifies your love of the earth and those around you for years to come.