I'm not usually an Oprah's Favorite Things viewer, but the previews of this year's program intrigued me enough to get me to watch. In case you weren't paying any attention, check with your neighbors, someone probably taped the show.

Like you, I am inspired by Oprah's success and her willingness to share her wealth with others. But, I am at least as amazed at how quickly we can sometimes be moved to purchase products simply because a wealthy person tells us to, oftentimes without giving it any kind of thought. Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to judge Oprah or anyone else for that matter. I am, however, here to challenge you to make your own decisions about products and services that really suit your life and your lifestyle. In other words, don't buy blind.

One of the products that was featured on this year's list was the Shaklee Get Clean Starter Kit. Now, I'm not easily impressed by other people's product choices and yet, this one did impress me. Why? Because I was surprised to see a "regular" (as in non-designer) item featured on the list.

Comfort Products:

1. Have their greatest value in personal (not shared) use.

2. Benefit us personally more than they benefit community.

3. Are not necessities of life, even though we'd like them to be.

Cause Products:

1. Have their greatest value in shared (not personal) use.

2. Benefit the community-at-large in addition to benefitting us personally.

3. Are necessities of life whether we realize it or not.

The Shaklee Get Clean Starter Kit is definitely a "Cause" product because it meets each of the cause product criteria above. It has its greatest value in shared use. It benefits the community-at-large in addition to benefitting us personally. And, it is a necessity of life, whether you realize it or not. Here are three reasons why.

1. It's non-toxic.

2. It's all natural.

3. It's made in line with the company's vision of products in harmony with nature and good health. It is an environmentally-responsible product.

As a nation and as a planet, we are facing, and even already experiencing, the very severe consequences of our environmental disdain and disregard. As the human creatures inhabiting earth, we are the most intelligent and therefore, the ones responsible for the overall well-being of the world and the other living creatures in it. What we do to ourselves, we effectively do to others due to the nature of our interdependency. To our discredit, we have not given our responsibility to ourselves, our neighbors, and our world serious enough consideration until now which is exactly why we find ourselves in one "mell of a hess" with regard to our environment.

We are breathing air and drinking water that we have polluted or allowed to be so. We are eating food that we've contaminated or allowed to be so. We are reaping the rewards of our own ignorance and inaction. And yet, we are still alive, so there is still opportunity for you and me to take responsibility to make the world a better place than what we currently know it to be. The seeds we sow today will be the harvest of our tomorrow.

With all of that said, or written as it were, if you're willing to take at least some responsibility for improving the current condition of your world (and yes, you do have a part in it), then take a look at the number of comfort products you buy and use versus the number of cause products you buy and use. That exercise alone will reveal a lot about you and what's important to you.

As for Oprah and her favorite things, I'm just glad that a "Cause" product like the Get Clean Starter Kit made the list. Maybe it should be on your list of favorite things, too.