Can all the little things we do save the planet????
There is a long list of "green behaviors" that we are told help the earth: change our light bulbs, shop local, avoid toxins, eat organic, car pool, take the bus, buy second hand (Michelle really scored the other day on an organic cotton Patagonia dress for $4.99), but will it really make a difference. Or do we have to accept the plant as is?
I don't know if the current green trends will change the world, but we can change the world with green thoughts and actions. I have never liked arguments about who is greener or what is better for the environment. How each of us lives our life, is our own personal decision and I am not the one to judge how someone chooses to be green. From my view I am choosing to be as light on the earth as I can. I am choosing to show my children how to respect and have reverence for our great mother. I am choosing my path as it is because that is and it is not because that is not. Being green is not about two choices or the lesser of two evils, we have to move beyond that discussion and find the middle way. My point of view is just that, a point, if I move to another point I will have a different view.
My own actions may not stop the climate (or they might) from changing, but my current behavior and actions will directly influence how my children will live in the future. As I have blogged in the past "I cannot change my past carbon footprint, but will do everything I can to change my children's". Some people have made statements that there is only a small fraction of global citizens making green choices and that in order to affect the change that is needed that fraction needs to be significantly larger (like all the world). I believe that a small fraction of people making a calculated consciousness shift can bring about the change needed to make a real difference. That rumbling sound we hear in our future is not the waves of the rising oceans but the sound of the middle way racing out of our collective consciousness to lead us to compassionate living for not only our earth but our fellow beings.
We live on the edge of a new era. An era in which we cooperate with all earthly beings, accept an economy which does not grow at great neck speed, design and build with compassion, live within our means, share our joys and comfort each other in times of sorrow. An era where we all know our neighbors and where words of moderation and compassion guide us to mutual understanding and acceptance down the middle way.
Peace
It may be a small fraction but it will spread as long as we stay the course. As eco-conscious people we inadvertently effect other people, influence them and encourage them to do the same. We can do this not by judgement but by just being the change we want to see. A friend of mine said after reading one of my posts, she and her daughter were looking at the plastic packages that their snack food comes in and decided to bake more granola bars and cookies at home. It's a small change but a start for this family. I didn't have to wag my finger or chide them. I just wrote a post about our world's use of plastic, where plastic comes from and how it is does not degrade. One post made a difference for someone's view of their part of the solution. That's all that matters. Slow but everlasting change.
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