I have been organizing my life for some time now. Early in our marriage Brent and I agreed it was a good idea to save for our retirement. In my eyes, this was an act of love. It expressed faith in our future and thus love for each other. In turn that savings may better our children's future. Our burdens or bounty could become theirs someday. That means living with low family-debt. We live minimally compared to what we can afford. We live below our means attaining more of what we need, less of what we want.
Over the years I have put effort into organizing my finances, my home and even my psychology. Organizing is an exercise in deduction of the unnecessary. Paring down our belongings forces us to take stock in the things we purchase wastefully. Performing a deep-declutter of any kind, mental or material, quickly exposes its occupants weaknesses. My weaknesses are as follows:
clothing, shoes
linens, quilts, blankets
writing journals
felt tip pens
lip balms
America is a country sloshing in excess. We consume, we indulge, we flaunt, we offer no apologies. This is simply reality for most. Reality is formed by what we know and what we know is rarely put under the microscope. My love for the exquisite things above has not gone away. I still own a few of the best examples of my weaknesses. But when I have an impulse to purchase more of them, or any number of other items, I stop and ask myself a few questions:
Do I already have this? Often the answer is yes.
Do I need this? Often the answer is no.
Life is complex and we all face heartbreaks and stresses and demands. We suffer loses and experience bullying and grind towards deadlines. This just is, but the hardships of life are not an exemption from participating well. I have a habit of pressing my actions through an accountability and empathy sieve. This separates the need from the want and the goodwill from the oblivion. Do we have an obligation to redirect ourselves if we are causing harm? Personal desires make the answer to that question murky.
Sometimes what we want and do is not best for others. I wanted my chicken nuggets, fish fillets and Big Mac's as a child but that didn't work out well for the chickens, fish or cows. We, not so long ago, wanted to steal people from Africa and ship them to America (lands stolen from the Native Americans) for the express purpose of enslavement. That didn't work out well for those force into or forced out of. Adolf Hitler wanted an Aryan Nation but that didn't work out well for those of Jewish descent.
Throughout history animals have gone extinct at the hand of man like the Steller's Sea Cow, Atlas Bear, Passenger Pigeon and untold others. Those are meager when compared to the fact that an estimated 175 species of plants, insects and mammals go extinct daily in the 21st Century. We bungled protocol resulting in nuclear meltdowns like those in Chernobyl Ukraine, Tokaimura Japan and Goiania Brazil. We let our hatred and greed spin into mass genocides like those in Armenia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Yugoslavia and Sudan-Darfur. Humans put real effort into behaving badly sometimes and do really stupid, regrettable things.
We also involve ourselves in some amazing acts of kinship. In 1914 during WWI a temporary truce from the horrors of trench warfare was called along the Western Front for christmas celebrations. Men on opposing sides, had moments ago been mowing down the enemy with Lee-Enfield .303 rifles. But now carefully emerged from the trenches, shook hands, shared photos of family and played football together. The heartbreak is unimaginable in the commencement of battle, these men now brothers.
We are mammals of innovation. In 1928 Penicillin was sussed out in a science lab and used to fight infection forever offering hope to the ailing. In 2001 the Endoscopy Camera Pill made non-invasive gastrointestinal exploration possible. As early as 5000 B.C. wind energy was gliding boats down the Nile River. Today we harness wind and sun to use as sustainable energy sources. We are capable of extraordinary things.
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Human existence on our planet has a myriad of working parts. We are influenced by personal psychology, culture, disasters, inventions and conflicts. Sometimes the result is minute, a shift in mood. Sometimes it is alarming on a global scale. We come to loggerheads. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwptXauY2is
Greta Thunberg is speaking up and I for one am listening to this bright, articulate, young women. Even if you haven't a genetic offspring to leave this planet to, Greta is your child. She is your legacy and thank God for that. The impact global warming and ecological degradation will have on our planet, our peoples and creatures is a multidimensional, kinetic system interacting with cause and effect. We have made headway in some areas and fallen short in others.
The health of our planet is a very complex issue. But then, maybe it is not. I do wonder, just as humans have made food and nutrition so complicated, perhaps we have made our planet and its health equally so. Solutions begin with education. We humans are prone to procrastination. Cramming for the test is often our mode of operandi. We are busy, distracted, and as Greta mentioned unaware. We are mentally removed as we shop for things we don't really need. We are geographically removed as we go about our days in the Land of Plenty. We are emotionally removed as the hurt hasn't yet arrived at our own front door.
In Europe climate change is not a theory to be debated but a scientific fact to which attention is needed. In America climate change is regarded as a hoax bated by environmentalists. I tend to put my eggs in the science basket and in addition I tread lightly were harm may be concerned. If I think I am doing harm I will redirect myself. I am a vegan for this very reason. I made a choice to not fund slaughterhouse practices with my purchases. We don't live in a third world country, therefore we have the luxury of making choices. In fact, we are so privileged our choices are often of a frivolous and shallow nature. How many of us have wondered whether we want a Pumpkin Spice Latte or a Mocha Chip Frappuccino from Starbucks as we sit in our air conditioned cars? Should we get new earrings to go with our new Steve Madden shoes? Will this post or that post get more likes on instagram?
If there is the possibility we are causing some damage to our planet, that is enough for me. Perhaps we should slow or even stall some of our practices to see if we are indeed contributing to an ill fate where our planet is concerned. This would be an act of love on a global scale. It would be a selfless act. Yet we, who often struggle with selflessness appear to be the very architects of our planet's future. Human beings are the most prolific alterer and creator of their surroundings. The results are wildly diverse as we sweep along all within our current.
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Here is what we, our children and all living things are up against:
Global Temperature Rise - heaviest increases within the last 35 years.
Warming Oceans - more than 0.4F rise since 1969.
Shrinking Ice Sheets - average 286 billion tons of ice per year between 1993-2016.
Glacial Retreat - world wide.
Decreased Snow Cover - less snow cover over last 5 decades and melting earlier.
Sea Level Rise - 8" in the last century.
Declining Arctic Sea Ice - extent and thickness in decline over last decades.
Extreme Events - record high temperatures increasing since 1950. Intense rainfall events.
High Global-Debt is gluttonous, sloppy usage of our resources, plus oblivion to the results, summing to uncertainty of the future. Perhaps we have a global weakness in this area. Maybe we need to move towards a new way. Greta Thunberg led me to research climate change, which led me to ecological issues, which led me to personal accountability, which led me to a small change in my behaviour. I have taken on the task of working towards a low-waste lifestyle. Per my cursory look into lessening the waste I produce, this subject is a rabbit hole. There is much more to understand. But I have begun to scurried down that path. Like with everything, change starts with the individual. In the last week I have made a few easy changes:
I enlisted my reusable grocery bags for my purchases.
I purchased some mesh reusable bags for produce.
I purchased some reusable Ziploc bags for storage.
I purchased some washable cloth squares to use instead of paper towels.
This $47 investment creates a lasting impact:
Seized my use of plastic grocery bags.
Seized my use of plastic produce bags.
Seized my use of Ziploc bags.
Seized my use of paper towels.
Just like that, I implemented change. I have begun the journey to lessen, and maybe in time eliminate my contribution of plastic and excess trash to our landfills, oceans and natural surroundings. Low Global-Debt begins with faith in our future. This must be followed by the innovation and invention of which human beings excel with prolificacy. But, nature seems to be the best advisor. Some of our climate change problems may be cured with simply planting trees. Low Global-Debt is thoughtful, reduced use of our resources, plus careful monitoring and readiness for new implementation as it arises, summing to an investment in our future.
Question intentions - Is this intention best for the health of our planet?
Dial-in solutions - Is there a better way to achieve this intention for the health of our planet?
Educate Humanity - Is humanity aware of what they need to do as individuals for the health of our planet?
To ask and respond to these questions is a global act of love. We must form the habit of pressing our actions through an accountability and empathy sieve. Do we have an obligation to redirect ourselves if we are causing harm? Our future has little value if our planet is in peril. Investing in our planet's health is saving for the future of mankind. Such a savings account is self centered by nature. But perhaps all living creatures, all flora and fauna will get swept along in our current as we go about banking hope in a healthy planetary future for ourselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMOEcUPGi9c
Resource - https://climate.nasa.gov/
· felt tip pens
· lip balms
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