I’m feeling some joyous synchronicity because the day after I publish my first post and commit to writing daily, it’s Earth Day! And if there’s one thing I do love to bang on about it’s this beautiful planet of ours. We live in a wonderous place which provides everything we need, if only we let it. But in typical human fashion we’re abusing this relationship and taking a lot more than we give, ie we are screwing up the joint.
But why should we care? Because we have to. We don’t get another chance folks, this is it! Economic rationalization, ignorance and apathy won’t save us when entire nations are wiped out due to climate change. The latest resource-sucking electronic gadget won’t be much use to you if you can’t afford to eat due to world-wide food shortages. That’s the hard-line. But it’s not all doom and gloom. It’s also about looking around and realizing just how lucky we are to be here, in this beautiful place. Open your window, go for a walk, Google ‘nature’. To get you inspired, I’m going to post a few photos of my latest home on the planet: the NSW South Coast. When deciding to embark on a journey of healing and wholeness, location was important. Because I was starting over again (again!), I had the option to go anywhere (we didn’t exactly have the bank balance to go anywhere, but we’ve never let that stand in the way before!). We chose this area for several reasons. We have been fortunate enough to live in many beautiful locations throughout the world, and coastal areas have always felt most like home to us. Immediately prior to moving here we were living ‘out west’ in Australia, surrounded by beautiful bush, mountains, valleys, and sunsets that reach forever. It was gorgeous, but it wasn’t ‘our place’. I believe everyone has a ‘soul home’, the place that makes you feel most alive, that makes your heart sing. This is it for us. The climate here is also the most conducive to my health: not too hot, not too cold; not too humid, not too dry; clean fresh sea air; peaceful and quiet; unpolluted, and still close enough to capital cities to visit doctors and get a taste of city life and ‘culture’ (though our desire to take these visits is almost non-existent these days). It was also a location where we really could practice being locovores, thinking globally and acting locally. This region is full of gorgeous fresh food of all varieties. So here is my new home:
Now I’m forced to restrain myself, because if I started on about eco-friendly and sustainable topics this blog post would still be being written in three years time, and I’d be getting awfully hungry and tired (and smelly!). So I need to break it down. Today is Earth Day, a day to admire the earth, look around in wonder, and commit to doing everything we can to preserve our home before we lose it forever. An important part of this blog for me is examining ways to do that. Being healthy, happy and whole isn’t possible unless I’m caring for the Earth – how can I expect it to nourish me if I don’t nourish it? So I’m starting a weekly series tomorrow called Little Steps. I know that ‘saving the earth’ can be overwhelming and anxiety-fuelling. Got to admit, climate change has kept me awake some nights. It’s easy to feel powerless when you see oil spills and nuclear meltdowns on tv, and feel like you’re wasting your time throwing an old piece of newspaper in the recycling bin. But it really does make a difference. The old mantra, “Think globally, act locally” is sage advice. On a global scale we can feel powerless, but if everyone does what they can in their little patch, all those healthier little patches add together to make a healthier world. There are things we can’t change, but that’s why it’s so important to change what we can. So Little Steps will look at the little things we can all do to make a difference. Some you may already know, some may be new to you, and some you may have forgotten.
I’ve been committed to living an eco-friendly sustainable lifestyle since I was a small child, but I have some catching up to do. Despite my passion, I’ve been in situations where it hasn’t been possible for me to step as lightly on the earth as I’ve wanted to. Due to my work, I toured Australia for two years driving and living in a caravan, and I also spent a year touring internationally, flying and living in hotels. Apart from the obvious enormous non-renewable fuel usage right there, many of my other lifestyle choices were out of my hands. I had limited choice in what I ate, and no control over where my food was sourced from. I often had no access to recycling, and know that a lot of my waste ended up in waterways or landfills. I lived in places where water and electricity were wasted, and had to drink bottled water. This ate at my conscience every.single.day. I did what I could, where I could, but let’s be honest, I put my ethics to the side to live an adventurous life. That was my choice then, but today is a new day, and I have some catching up to do when it comes to practicing what I preach. So, if you’ve also got some catching up to do, want to learn some more ways to help your planet, or have oodles of knowledge to contribute, please make sure you join me every Tuesday for Little Steps.
Now go, step outside, breathe, and get some grass under your ass!
UPDATE: After I published this post, my husband and I went for a five minute ride to our local beach where we were blessed to watch a pod of dolphins playing close to the shore as the sun set. An Earth Day gift from the Earth to us! I did take photos but unfortunately they’re too grainy to put on the blog.
All images by me. All material copyright Raw Once More 2013
