Living the green lifestyle and making the most compassionate choices isn’t always easy. I am not going to lie- I’ve been lazy a time or two, throwing a bottle in a trash can when there’s no recycling can around. And I feel GUILTY for it… SUPER GUILTY in fact which is why I’m confessing to you guys now and vowing NEVER to do it again.
My mother was WAY ahead of her time. I mean, she was recycling in the early 80’s when no one did. She was always after my sister, dad and I to save our plastic bottles. Back then we had no recycling pick up and had to drive everything to the recycling center at the landfill or at the nearest Ralph’s back parking lot. Mom even brought the recycling guys Christmas gifts. SERIOUSLY? Who does that!
One thing I ALWAYS made sure to do and never forget? To cut the plastic can holders around six packs of water bottles, coke cans and other beverages. Mom read about how those things got out into the ocean, trapping and killing birds and other animals of the sea. I was so paranoid I’d chop them up into a hundred pieces.
So don’t you think if we were all a bit more conscientious, the environment would be a greater place? It sounds like a line from a song or something but I truly mean it.
Take my story for example. I might have missed a few water bottles here and there but I always remembered to cut up the plastic for the birds. It’s something extremely important, right?
Well, what if each of us could work on living the greenest we could, focusing on maybe one aspect of green living that super duper attracts us?
Maybe it’s animal conservation and you want to volunteer in Africa. Maybe it’s a love of dolphins and knowing that trash gets into the ocean and they can die from ingesting plastic substances. Maybe it’s those birds and plastic rings? It could be ANYTHING!
Something I recently noticed about myself. I use FAR TOO MANY plastic bags to store food. Check out this photo. How easy is it to store things like veggies and nuts in a glass container that I can reuse OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN? Pretty darn easy if you’re paying attention! Well, I finally realized my mistake so here I am no longer buying ziplock baggies for every little thing. I help save the environment while saving my money on all those wasteful baggies. It’s a no brainer, win win situation.
So listen up. Maybe today is the day you pick one green thing to incorporate into your daily “mode de vie.”
It’s my belief that if we all just picked ONE thing, just ONE thing to focus on in the form of green living and conservation, our planet would be in much better shape.
Is there something that drives your compassion? Something you have major empathy for? Mine is animals. Please share, I’d love to hear what inspires you to help keep our planet green and beautiful and all living creatures in it thriving!
xx Shanna
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