Respecting the Earth (December 18th)
December 18 – Respecting the Earth: Upon waking, stay in bed a while and think about how the Earth provides for you — without its air, you would suffocate; without its water, you would die of thirst; without its animals and plants, you would starve … Upon rising, go immediately and lower your thermostat significantly. If you end up wearing more cozy clothes around the house &/or using your fireplace more, so be it. Now go forth and buy a large quantity of energy-efficient light bulbs and install them throughout your home. Finally, at sundown, choose to use only candlelight before going to bed …
Bonus Activity: Invest in solar power for your home. It will more than pay for itself eventually, and in the meantime does the Earth a lot of good.
On its face, this one was a bit tricky for me. After all, I have no home of my own, and have money with which to purchase anything for it even if I did. And yet, as with all the previous tasks, this one presented many opportunities to creatively fulfill its underlying intention: to actively care for our Earth.
So, even though my apartment is not actually “mine”, I did lower my thermostat this morning (I like wearing “cozy clothes” when it’s cold outside anyway), and I did ask permission to install energy-efficient bulbs and a water-heater blanket therein.
Funny thing was, once I did these very simple tasks, it just didn’t feel like “enough”.
The Earth is so magnificent – so beautiful – so vibrant – and so forgiving. Like so many other things in my life, I tend to take Her for granted. And I got to wondering: what else could I do for Her today?
Here are a few of the ideas I dug up …
Carry several small plastic bags with you and dedicate the entire day to picking up litter.
Carry a medium sized plastic cup around today, regularly filling it with water and “feeding” the plants & trees you encounter.
Go to a nearby plot of “wilderness” and tend a corner of it by cleaning it up. Rearrange its features to enhance its “Feel”.
Recycle everything you use today. Collect all paper, plastic, metals and glass used and take them to your local recycling center at the end of the day. Take all your biodegradable refuse, chop it up and “express-compost” it in your garden/yard.
All day long, turn off the tap when brushing your teeth & while washing dishes , shower no longer than 5 minutes, and wash a load of clothes by hand.
It’s not a matter of trying to save the Earth. Let’s face it, the Earth will be fine regardless of what we do to Her. It might take a few millions of years to heal the wounds we inflict upon Her, and yet heal She will.
No, the issue is simply one of kindness; not doing something to get personal benefit (though our survival as a species is a nice bonus) and not doing it because we are “supposed to”, but simply doing the loving thing because it is available to do — simply because it brings another (in this case, the Earth) more peace.
Remember: there are no insignificant acts of kindness — especially those we do for the Home of all earthly life.
So let’s get out there and give it a whirl today!
See You when I see you …
… and until then, Be Now!
Scaughdt
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