When I was a kid trying to up the number of annual gift-getting occasions, I asked my mom why, if there’s a Mother’s Day and a Father’s Day, isn’t there a Children’s Day? “Because every day is Children’s Day,” she replied. “It’s the moms and dads people forget to appreciate.”
Oh.
For most of us, Earth Day, like
Veterans Day, feels like that. Only on those officially sanctioned dates do we
get all revved up and teary-eyed over our failures to pay attention to the
planet or the people who volunteer to defend our standard of living against all
comers (except the politicians: there is no defense against them save for
voter-enforced term limits). But the very next morning, our lives’ business
resumes as usual. We fail to toss the newspaper in the recycling bin; we buy our
lattés in “disposable”
plastic or styrofoam cups; we relegate the members of the armed services to
their customary out-of-sight, out-of-mind status.
Well, I’m only one person, you
say. What difference can I make?
Of course no single individual can
solve the world’s problems. But the game-changing thing you can do—starting now—is to
recycle some of the tons of waste you generate each year. What you can do is reduce the amount of frivolous
driving you do. What you can do is
plant a seed, or a tree. What you can
do is to actually consume all the food you buy instead of consigning some to
landfills. What you can do is start a compost
pile. What you can do is to remember
that everything you do has an impact,
however tiny, on the planet and its people. What you can do is to look, really look,
around you, and remember how interdependent we all are.
The moms, the dads, the veterans,
the earth need your awareness that they’re out there, waiting for you to see,
and acknowledge, and understand how we all connect. The most important thing
you can do is to pay attention. And
that makes all the difference in the world.
Another thing you can do is
click on this link for ten tips for reusing plastic bags, because every little bit helps.
Thanks for dropping by.
Kathy
