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Eco-Uplift Articles
This Year Truly
Celebrate Earth Day
By Amy Phillips-Gary
It's that time of year... Television ads and programs spotlight products
that are "green" and eco-friendly. Events to plant community
gardens, pick up litter, and
clean stream or river banks are organized and volunteers recruited.
It's Earth Day!
Earth Day was officially declared as April 22nd here in the U.S. in
1970. It was conceived as a day to inspire awareness and appreciation
for the Earth's environment. This isn't a holiday that people usually
take off time from work or gather for picnics to honor.
It is nonetheless significant and quite worthy of attention.
But before you pick up a shovel, trash bag or garden hoe, I'd like to
invite you explore your intentions and motivations about our Earth and
the environment of which we are all a part.
It is difficult to pick up a newspaper, magazine or watch the tv news
without being told that our planet is in crisis. Whether it's carbon
emissions, our dependency on
fossil fuels or climate change and global warming, the talk is almost
always how dire the environmental outlook is for our home, the Earth.
I am certainly not advocating that we all put on blinders or deny the
reality that's being shown in the news. I believe that we all can take
action on behalf of ourselves and the Earth.
The action I encourage, however, needs to inspired and rooted in a sense
of hopefulness and positivity-- not fear or guilt.
Don't just put a smiley face on it all!
A recent episode of the television show "The Simpsons," showed the
character Lisa turning to mind-numbing prescription drugs to cope with
her deep depression about the frightening prospects for her town's
future.
In the episode of this satirical animated comedy, Lisa begins to see
every person and thing in her life as only smiley faces. Due to the
prescription drugs, where before Lisa saw people littering, dumping
toxic waste or even being violent to one another, now she only sees
garish bright yellow smiley faces.
Of course, it is not inspired, or inspiring, to walk around in a stupor
as caricatured on "The Simpsons."
At the same time, to approach Earth Day-- or any other environmental
action-- fueled by fear, guilt, anger or a sense of self-righteousness
is just as potentially
ineffective and even detrimental.
Many environmentally-oriented slogans today make an appeal to people to
"save" or "protect" the Earth. These requests are often aimed at
expanding awareness, teaching a new behavior, or gathering volunteers
for a particular action.
The call for "saving" and "protecting" the Earth is usually followed up
with statistics and facts about how many rainforest trees have been cut
down, mountaintops
removed or strip mined, or how long it takes for plastic bags to break
down in a landfill.
There is certainly nothing wrong with letting people know about these
things
going on, but.....
I invite us all to pause and think about the predominant mood or
energy we're cultivating and acting from right now.
What's your energy, attitude and belief about the Earth and
our environment?
What are the beliefs you hold about this Earth we live on? Do you tend
to view it as polluted, in decline and threatened? Or do you believe
that this is an amazing,
abundant and sustainable place to live and thrive?
It makes all the difference!
Have you ever taken an action when you mostly felt afraid or worried
about whatever it is you were doing? Several years ago, my husband and I
purchased a used car. We were both in graduate school at the time and
had a young baby.
Money felt tight to us and our financial future quite uncertain but we
needed a car.
As we test drove and then considered buying a used Ford Taurus, I know
that my dominant feelings were fear and an attitude of lack.
The car seemed adequate, not great, and I felt like we "had" to go with
this particular car because it seemed to me that we wouldn't find
something better.
Despite the hesitations we both had and in the face of our feelings of
financial not enough-ness, we went ahead and purchased the car.
We kept that car for several years and found it to be a total money pit.
After ending up putting far more money into it in repairs and
maintenance than we'd originally paid, our lesson was learned:
Never take action when your energies are fearful, negative and
dominated by lack.
Expectations, attitudes and beliefs are quite powerful as this example
demonstrates. And this phenomenon tends to hold true in other areas of
life-- including our relationship with the environment.
If you would like to participate in an Earth Day activity or become more
active environmentally, I invite you to first take a look at your energy
and beliefs.
If you find that your motivations are mainly fear or even guilt, then
I'd advise you to shift your energy before taking any action.
Act from an inspired place.
What inspires you about this glorious Earth? Do you love the way that
the streams in your city or town glimmer so beautifully in the sun? Do
you feel refreshed and renewed when you walk in a park with towering
trees?
Perhaps you enjoy eating homegrown vegetables or fruit and feel
healthier knowing that your food is organically and/or locally grown.
Take the time to touch in with what makes you feel alive and excited
about your environment. From that energy and with those vibrations
moving through you, choose your inspired action.
Notice how different it feels to plant a tree, till a community garden
or even pick up trash by a stream when your thoughts and attitude are
focused on uplifting and
hopefulness.
Pay attention to how much more mutually enriching it feels to "go green"
from this possibly new place.
Truly celebrate this Earth Day. We are all interconnected with
one another and with our Earth. As we inwardly and energetically thrive,
expand and continually renew, so does our home.
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Amy Phillips-Gary is a freelance writer, homeschool mom and personal
growth adventurer.
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Susie and Otto Collins are Relationship Coaches and
authors of 4 books on relationships and personal growth. To get their
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