I Can Do Better

I’ve got a large family. Nine children to be exact. When I look at them, I feel the connection. They are flesh of my flesh. Their bodies were formed inside of mine. If that’s not a connection, I’m not sure what is.

When I’m in nature I feel a connection, too. Yet, I’ve been taught to be wary of it. To not connect, but to subdue. This has seemed strange to me because it is obvious that I am highly connected to the outside world. My body is mainly made of water. My breath is made possible by plants. I eat from the fruit of the earth. And once I die, my body will nourish organisms in the soil.

Everything on the earth is connected. And life and the earth are not two separate things…they are meshed together and are one.

I have thoughts made possible by a brain, unlike some life on our planet. But should that cause me to make selfish decisions in regards to nature? I don’t think so.

This is something I have struggled with lately. I desire to love the earth, and to do the right thing by it. And yet this can feel so hard in the consumeristic culture I live in.

Would I like to buy something? Just hop in the car. Not too far in the past I was lamenting the lack of shopping options in our county. Sigh.

I know I can do better.

I think this world is filled with the presence of God. It is everywhere, and in everything. Who can hide from it?

It is the forests which are chopped down for human gain. It is the air which is pumped with pollution.

This week we bought a car that is significantly smaller than our large van and is much more eco-friendly. We are kind of smushed inside, but it is a step in the right direction.

I plan to drive said car as minimally as possible. It’s a good thing I like to stay home and dislike driving.

I’m toying with the idea of letting our yard go wild and free this year. Thinking about it gingerly. But I definitely will need a good plan to do so. There are so many non-native plants here and I would hate for them to take over.

I became a donor to the Audubon Society this week.

I’m trying.

These are little, but important steps. Hopefully they will add up to make a difference in the way I treat the world.