Less is More: Getting to One Can of Garbage a Year
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“And The Good News Is…..”
When things are wrong do we contact our elected leaders, or a manufacturer, talk to our circles of friends, sign petitions, and connect with our neighbors?
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One
Think about the little actions you take every day and how they add up. I’m writing this just after the turn of the year, at the beginning of 2023. It’s the tradition to make resolutions in January. This year, I will work on ONE thing at a time. ONE is so much less daunting than the whole long list of “shoulds” – those things that we feel we should accomplish. A counselor I knew said “Don’t should on yourself.” I agree! I am one of those individuals who always have lots of thoughts inserting themselves into their heads. Lately, the thoughts are about ONE: • One planet home • One…
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The Conversation
"The task of saving the planet will involve a great reckoning with ourselves – with our all-too-human reluctance to sacrifice immediate comfort for the sake of the future." – from We Are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer
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The Letter C
These days, two C words I think a lot about are Climate and Change. Betty Shelley Does that remind you of Sesame Street? I loved watching it with our son when he was little; it was a good way to have some quiet time with him while learning interesting things. One of the things they did on the show was highlighting a particular letter, explaining how to use it in spelling various words like Cat and Cow and Cup and COOKIE! And they would use the words in sentences to make sure the children Comprehended the meaning of the word. These days, two C words I think a lot about are Climate and Change. Other C words that come to…
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Thinking Upstream
“Hey, what’s that in the river?! It looks like…. It can’t be…Yes… yes, it’s a BABY! Oh my gosh, here comes another one! What on earth is happening?!? Where are those babies coming from?!” The people on the river banks jump in to rescue the babies floating downstream. They are able to reach them and save the babies from drowning. Then the next day, there are four babies struggling in the river! More folks jump in and save those babies. This process continues each consecutive day until finally, one of the people on the riverbank turns and runs upstream. “Where are you going?” shout the others. “I’m going to see…
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Enough
“Only when all contribute their firewood can they build up a strong fire.”Chinese proverb. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day today, and I was out for my walk, reveling in the colors of the leaves and the crispness of the air, this being my favorite season. As I passed the neighborhood elementary school, I noticed that some classes were sitting outside, having lunch under a shelter. The kids were sitting on mats, all spread out per COVID guidelines, and appeared to be enjoying themselves. Observing this made me think once again about how adaptable and flexible we need to be to cope with the multitude of challenges, large and…
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Living Locally
(or Living la Vida Local) “Community’s not a sentiment. It has to do with necessity – with people needing each other. If you allow the larger industrial system to remove the pattern of needs that is the force holding people together, then you lose the community.” –Wendell Berry Well, this essay is different than what I had planned to write before Corona Virus became a household word and worldwide concern. What struck me is that in this time when so much has changed so rapidly, we have the opportunity to notice what we take for granted, how attached we are to certain things, and what is relatively easy to let go…
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Picking Peas
Where Have all the Bugs Gone? Why are insects important? “When I was a kid….” No, I’m not going to say that I had to walk many miles to school in the snow. However, I will say that I remember that on summer evenings we would go for rides in the countryside, all of us in the family car, the windshield of which would be covered by smashed bugs. Loads and loads of smashed bugs. Ask any older person – they will remember that. I realized a few years ago that the bug-spattered windshields no longer happen. I will admit that it’s kind of nice not to have to soak…
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Gratitude
What will you remember most about this last year in which all of us were faced with a pandemic that abruptly put a halt to “normal” everyday life? I have to admit that it was pretty unnerving at the beginning when it was all an altered reality. Simple activities such as going to the grocery store made us anxious, and we rushed to get our food and leave as quickly as possible, and then we washed the food when we got home. It was stressful, no doubt about it. My husband and I both felt such gratitude that we were retired and not having to figure out work, educating children,…
