EcoGriff
3.24.10
I am doing my best to make real life changes to be more eco-sensitive. This week I have begun walking to work. I am not able to walk all 5 days because Tuesdays and Thursdays are my days to drop Nate off at daycare. My goal is to walk at least two days per week. If possible, I will walk 3 days. So far, so good. I walked to work on Monday and Wednesday. I walked home on Monday. Wednesday, Kelly picked me up a couple of blocks from school. Tired? No. Nathan has swimming lessons on Wednesdays after work, and I would not be able to walk there in time.
Monday afternoon at about 5 pm, one of our student workers informed me that she and another student worker felt that I should be carrying mace with me for my walks home at night. When I inquired why, it was because they were concerned that I could be mugged. I am honored that these two were worried for my safety. The challenge with actualizing that is that something’s not right about a guy 6’2” and 260 pounds carrying mace. That would be some serious debits off the man card! (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Man%20Card) Needless to say, I will not be carrying mace.
Today I tried another food new to my palate: Beets. Tuesday evening we ate the stems in an oyster sauce and Wednesday we ate the actual beet. I would never have thought to eat a beet. Why? No reason other than I have only ever seen canned beets and I think those are pickled. While I enjoy the occasional dill, I have not had a craving for the beet. What I am learning about myself is that I am becoming brave in my old age. In my youth, I would have taken the debits off the man card and maced the hell out of those beets! Today, I willingly put stuff in my mouth that I normally would not. Wait, maybe it is not my old age; maybe I am learning bad habits from my 2 year old. Anyway, I digress. How did the beets enter my world? This is thanks to our friend Jim. Over some cocktails at happy hour last week, we were talking about our meatless March. How we got on the subject of beets is beyond my recollection. I do however remembering Jim uttering a phrase something to the effect of “The beet is GREAT! I love the beet! This led to us buying beets at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning.
Why is it that we as a society think saying you are busy is a sign of accomplishment? (Sorry for the abrupt change in topic). Why do we think that saying that phrase “I am busy” protects our pride? Can we all be really that busy? If we are that busy, what are we busy doing? Is it important work? Will it change the world as we know it? Is it worth the time away from our family and friends? When people tell me they are busy, my first thought is “yeah, and?”. Look, I get that we as people feel the need to multitask our lives away. I get that when we are young we want to be older and when we finally are older, we wish we were younger. I get that filling your day with stuff is the American way. What I don’t get is the worth in it. I am learning every day from my son. He looks at the world with such amazement. Everything he does is new and awesome. The only multitasking he is doing is playing with cars and watching Dora the Explorer at the same time. At what age do we lose that? Why does it take retirement to get it back? Why is it that some people never get it back? Why is it that we put things above people? Why do we say “how are you doing?” we don’t care to hear the answer?
I get the fact that we need to work. I love what I do. I enjoy working. Here is the thing. When I pass, I do not want my headstone to read: “This guy worked his butt off.” “What a great employee.” I want it to say something like “What a great husband, father, friend, son, etc.” I know I have work to do in that department, I just hope I am not too busy doing things that don’t matter in the long run when I should be spending the time where it matters.
What does this have to do with the environment? Here is my take: There is purpose to why we are here. I believe that with all my heart. I love humanity enough to make changes in my life to protect our planet. You see for me, it is about being eco-sensitive so that humanity has a world that is livable. We need this planet to sustain our lives. Not the other way around. All the stuff we are putting into the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, etc., can’t be good for us. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I am seeking them. Imagine our possibilities if we all slow down, find our purpose and become inspired.
From the wisdom of Yogi Berra:
You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there.
ECOcation:
https://www.myearthhour.org/home
EcoGriff
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