Taking Care of Our Planet Physically and Mentally
By ULRIKE
I was scrutinized by a friend
a couple of months ago when he watched me washing out a ketchup bottle before
throwing it into a recycling bin. “What are you doing?” he asked, with a smirk
on his face. “Aren’t you going a bit overboard? You are cleaning trash before
throwing it into the garbage?” “Nope,” I snarled back at him, “we can’t be too
caring when it comes to our environment. Every little bit helps!”
I read on a flyer the
Sanitation Department sent recently, that cleansing the cans and bottles of
food or debris before discarding them into the proper vessels, will really help
them out in the recycling process. So why not — it takes 2 seconds!
Unfortunately, American culture
in general is used to wastefulness and a selfish
‘someone-else-can-deal-with-it’ attitude. I can’t speak for the rest of the
world, but I can speak about a small, often overlooked country called Austria,
my birthplace.
Even 30-plus years ago, I
still remember clearly, my mother and the other family members would bundle
paper neatly (yes, neatly) before stashing it into a container until the weekly
assigned drop-off day had arrived. The food cans and bottles were rinsed out
and driven to the nearest recycling center, with boxes of paper and plastic items.The convenience of trucks picking up those items at
your door step wasn’t available at the time. However, the city expected all
citizens to participate and no one thought that was intrusive or inappropriate.
Everyone felt it was their duty.
So let’s take another look at
how we can make the same commitment to our planet. Each of us, individually,
might not have a great impact in this undertaking, but as with all matters, a
collective effort can move mountains — literally.
Here are a few facts about recycling
that might be of interest you: The average person uses 650 pounds of paper each
year, 2.5 million plastic bottles are used every hour in this country, about
80% of what Americans throw away is recyclable, and our recycling rate is only
28%. I think, like with everything in life, education is the key. Do you spend
your time researching environmental issues and how to solve problems? Probably
not — but starting right here and now in your household, and teaching your children
the importance of living with compassion and concern for our planet is a must.
Each and every one of us counts, each and every one of us can make a
difference.
From a metaphysical/mental
perspective, taking care of our Mother Earth has great importance. Our
carelessness reflects the uncaring attitude about everything but ourselves.
Having said that, and knowing our thoughts and actions are causative and
responsible for everything that befalls us every day of our lives, we must
change our habits and mind models about life itself.
Life is a gift. It is to be
cherished and nurtured. We’re here to learn and grow and find our way back to
the Light. As our journey includes the all-inclusiveness of Love and responsibility
to help and uplift our fellow kindred spirits, it makes sense to start with the
smaller things first. How will you be able to live according to the Laws of the
Universe if you can’t live according to earthly Laws?
Our capacity to love does not
stop at people —- it includes all living creatures, plant life and Nature
itself; and if you and every one else creates a little piece of heaven — just
imagine! The world would be heaven itself!
Ulrike can be reached at
modernthoughttheories@gmail.com Visit: modernthoughttheories.com or
www.facebook.com/modernthoughttheories