Many little things falling into place and yet i continue to lack clarity...Change is a funny thing. Becoming a mom... life changing. Babies are an immediate life changer, like moving to the moon - life will never be the same, but in a good way! I find the more self-directed changes harder to achieve. Even with lots of information and logical reasoning, making a change for yourself is hard. The realities of the damages done to our planet are heartbreaking. It's hard to ignore the issue of climate change. I have been doing a lot of thinking about what my part is in all of this and how I can change. I thought, first - start small. I try my best to remember my reusable shopping bags. Does it always happen, no. Being a tired mom of a toddler means I have to find what few brain cells I have to remember to bring those dang bags when I sporadically find a moment to grocery shop. This very minimal change made me start thinking about the bigger picture, about my own life. This idea of a good life that I've been sold, is this the life I want? Is this the life I want for my kid? I definitely followed all the rules up to this point (be a good student, go to university, get married, buy a house, have a kid) and now I'm rethinking all of it. And it's opened my eyes to newer possibilities that address the really big picture of climate change in a new way for me. Realization #1 - The Little Things MatterThere are a lot of people on this planet, creating a lot of unnecessary waste that is now impacting the planet in ways we didn't understand. So, will getting rid of straws save the planet? No. Will it help to reduce the amount of trash we continue to create that is negatively impacting our environment? Yup. I've decided that those little changes, while not revolutionary or seemingly globally impactful, do give me some sense of control. If I have little to no control over what is happening, than I should choose to control what I can knowing it is the right thing to do. This past year I've been working on changing habits...
Realization #2 - The "Dream" is Not actually that goodThere are so many things in my life that I do without even thinking about them. There are lots of things I do that I thought were the right thing to do and now I am really not sure they were. There were many things I just didn't even bother to concern myself with, like how the hell did we get here? I read The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells. Spoiler alert for people who are not environmental activists or scientist; the planet is fucked (excuse my cussing). How did we get here? Through mindlessly being impressed by the latest and greatest whatever that is the least expensive and most disposable - also known as privilege and ignorance. Now I know. And I'm frustrated. How much have the decision makers known? And for how long? Now I want big change. Unfortunately, it's the kind of change that I'm not sure I can realistically afford because the powers that be have made what is affordable and acceptable, affordable and acceptable for a reason. And those reasons are clearly not because they are the healthy, sustainable and equitable options that will better our lives. Why do we live the way we live? Why do we ignore the potential of sustainable technologies? I would love to fit my house with a composting toilet, solar panels and turn every inch of my property into pollinating garden with chickens- but it's either not allowed or too expensive. I would love to be less dependent on the hamster wheel, but there are so many things staked against me. So what am I doing? 1) getting active and 2) really thinking about how I am spending my money and my time. If we want change, it is going to have to come from strong political will. So, I got involved. I am the president of my ridings constituency association. We work to find the best candidate and support their campaign to get elected. I also joined an advisory committee with my municipality. As a committee we advise our council on important research and propose ideas that can ultimately change town bylaws and policies. Right now our committee is investigating the function and possibilities of declaring a climate emergency. We're also conducting research to create a proposed plan for a waste reduction strategy. As for my time and money, I am really working on thinking through the mundane details of my life. Get up, get dressed, have breakfast, clean up, drive my kid to childcare, go to work, pick up my kid, go home, playtime, make dinner, bath time, bed time, clean up, do more work, go to bed... repeat. Really? That's it? That's all I can afford on this hamster wheel? How could growing my food and working for myself within walking distance of my home change how I spend my time? How could participating in a circular or trade-based economy change who and what I have access to? Why are there so many things to buy? What do we really need? What will tomorrow Bring?I find myself on a journey of awareness. Like this blog, each day I think through my experiences and come to the conclusion that I have more thinking to do. So for now, I remain in the moment despite it all. We're going on a family vacation that I will enjoy every minute with my beautiful family. There will always be a good fight and I am really enjoying making the most of it all!
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March 2020
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