Little Miss Figgy Withit is the first tree I have grown. She will, theoretically, outlive me. Taking care of a living being that will continue after I’ve died is new to me. I once had property that I felt stewardship over, but the trees were well-established, and I spent more time cutting back nature than encouraging it to grow. This is different.
It’s fascinating to see the evolution of our environmental-based approach to consumerism threaded through these shifting models. The solutions to climate change must start with changing our paradigm. Without respect for the planet and the others we share it with, without rethinking consumerism on a deeper level, we will not create lasting sustainable change.
One of the mental fallacies I’ve worked on reframing has been the idea that every change I make must be all or nothing. I’m either sedentary or I’m walking for 30 minutes every single day. Eating fast food or cooking wholesome healthy meals three times a day. Not drinking any water or drinking some complicated formula’s worth of ounces each day. This approach has never worked for me. Not once. And I tried for decades.…
There’s a meme going around that nails how many of us feel about practically everything happening in the world right now, especially the climate crisis: One of the problems this creates is that it’s hard to get traction when you’re vacillating wildly between hope and nihilism. It’s exhausting. For a while now, I’ve been trying to figure out a way forward. One that creates a sense of hope that’s rooted in action, awareness, and understanding.…