Look for 'subjunctive' in your advanced English grammar book, and it'll explain why 'be' is used here.

It's a present subjunctive, as Su.Ki and Todd have said, which is worth recognizing, but I wouldn't try too hard to emulate it. It is only apparent either with the verb "to be" or in the third person singular of other verbs, and it's otherwise indistinguishable from the more common indicative. It mostly shows up in certain fixed expressions such as "if need be", "be it resolved ..." or "God save the Queen". Otherwise it is considered rather formal and old-fashioned, and the indicative is fine in many cases, including this. I personally would have used "are" in the context you cite.

It's the English subjunctive, as Su.Ki. said. In this case, the word 'whether' is implying that what follows isn't certain, and so 'be' is needed. The verb 'be' is used here because it's referring to the the things that *are* a part of your everyday life. I hope that helps.