In honor of Mother Earth and in celebration of all she does for us I would like to tell a little story.
I think there are people in this world that we are destined to meet and that end up changing us in some profound way. I met one of these special people when I worked at my very first real job out of college. Her name was Dawn, kinda “earthy” don’t ya think? Anyway, she was one of my coworkers and she ultimately made me think about how what I do or do not do while I’m here can affect the world around us.
She had created a group at work called the Eden Club. My first reason for joining the group was to get in better with a few people at my new place of work. But once I went to a meeting I realized the mission was pretty great. We were trying to reduce waste while at work by reducing, reusing and recycling! This was in 2002 so we weren’t at the peak of the “Go Green” mentality. Only recently have the words “Go Green” infiltrated our daily lives.
Dawn was so wonderful in teaching me about the importance of being aware of how you’re impacting Earth. She was the one who made me want to be a vegetarian (Seriously, she is drop dead gorgeous and in great shape at 40-years-old). But she was good about telling me why I should be vegetarian. Still haven’t crossed that bridge but I know I will someday! She was the one who gave me a book to read about puppy mills and animal abuse. She was the one who introduced me to a world that I knew very little about but longed to be a part of. A world where you care about your environment. That world has slowly but surely grown on me.
Sure, I am a mad recycler. I am proud to live in a city where my taxes pay for the recycling program, preventing tons of waste from going to landfills each year. But it’s much more than that. Being “green” is about making choices. Sometimes the choices are tough and sometimes they are easy. For instance, if you go to a public restroom and they have both hand dryers and paper towels, well, you know what I’m getting at.
There are tougher choices too. I see beauty in everything around us and I have this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that humans are screwing it up. I feel like we all have responsibility to Mother Earth. She sustains us so why should we not return the favor?
Believe me, I’m no better than the next wasteful person. There are so many more things I can and should do to help the environment. I just put two recycling boxes in my office at work because they don’t have an “Eden Club” here. I started my own because I cringe every time I throw away a piece of paper. I keep adding new things to the list of green things to do but I feel this one will really make an impact.
I am going to a class this Saturday in preparation to make the transition from disposable diapers to cloth diapers. You read it correctly. I am one of those mothers. But guess what . . . I don’t care to hear why CD is gross, inconvenient, smelly or just plain stupid. I disagree. Cloth diapers have come a long way since my mother was doing it 30 years ago. And the fact remains that disposable diapers are one of the leading items clogging up our landfills today. Billions of them that don’t break down for more than 500 years. I don’t feel comfortable being a part of that. Although I will miss the convenience of pampers I think I’m going to at least try something new!
I am going to start slow. Thankfully we have a great resource right here in Kansas City to help me ease into this transition. You don’t have to join me. I realize that everyone has to have their own plan. However, I would like to encourage you to make one big change each year to help reduce your personal impact here on Earth.
So thanks Dawn and a big thank you to Mother Earth.
