Earth Day - Every Day

Last year about this time I really started to think about the environment and how I can do my part to take care of this planet that God created. I took small steps...started a compost, tried to always take a mug to coffee, recycled, etc. This year as Earth Day crept up my family started asking each other..."what is your earth day resolution?" My sister and her husband decided to become vegetarians. This resolution doesn't quite fit for me at this time in my life, but I really wanted to take another step in what I believe is not just a stewardship issue, but an issue that comes from a deep, compelling love for the Creator and his people. My resolution is a bit vague, and I'm not sure how exactly it will play out. I really want to take the 1st of the "3 R's" seriously - REDUCE. Every time I buy something I have started to become aware of the potential waste it is. My eyes are open and it's hard. Today I bought deodorant, and I thought about the plastic container and where it's going to go when I am finished with it. What do I do with this? I can stop wearing deodorant completely (although many days I do go without), but is this really the best alternative? :) I would like to keep my friends. What about all of the containers that food comes in? Most things cannot be recycled. I want to start being intentional with the things that I buy, not just for the sake of Reducing for the environment, but also for the sake of just not accumulating so much stuff. Economics and life circumstances have forced Aaron and I to evaluate every little purchase we make and we have little choice but to live rather simply right now. So it's a little easy to be on a soapbox and talk about all the excess that North Americans live with and all of the hoarding that takes place. But I have to ask myself -will I keep this mentality when we make more money and have our own place? Or is it just easy to look at all of the excess around me and be jealous or critical?

My thoughts are so jumbled, and I don't mean to be judgmental or critical, I am just trying to figure out how I am going to put my thoughts into actions, and I'm not exactly sure how to do it. I get disgusted by the way that we as North Americans tend to hoard and buy and not use. For example, tonight the news was reporting on how the cost of food and gas is rising and how Americans are responding. They showed one man's response - "stocking up" on food and water...for what reason, I'm not too sure. He has 139 pounds of beef in his freezer!! I know this sounds so cliche, but does he have ANY idea how many people that could feed? Oh and then Aaron heard about how Costco is limiting customers to only 3-5 2olb bags of rice per visit, when a group of people in a 3rd world country are fighting over a bag half the size (he really saw both images back to back on the news). I literally don't know what to do with this, but it pisses me off. Okay my earth day post just turned into a rant session, but Earth Day this year represents more than just saving some energy. It's so much bigger than that. For me it was a call to evaluate my own life and the things that I hoard. It was a call to simplify and ask myself what I truly need and to be intentional about the things I buy and where they came from and how they are packaged. Just one more rant and then I will drag myself off of the soapbox...more places are starting to sell affordable organic clothing and that's really nice, but what good is it if it is being made by women and children who are not being paid fair wages and it is sold in stores that do not treat their employees well??

Okay, I'm done. I just vomited on the page all in the name of Earth Day. I think what it all boils down to is BALANCE. I want to do my part, but I don't want to become a crazy, unbearable woman in the process. I want to choose to live simply and try to reduce the waste in my life, but I will continue to buy deodorant and shower (but maybe only semi-regularly!). This is a call for me to be more intentional, purposeful, and balanced - it is a call to love and appreciate God, His Creation, and His Children.