Self Imposed Insanity

Humans are curious creatures, are we not?  We want big and impressive! Then we want small and simple. I live in a tiny house right now. But I used to live in a 2,600 s.f. home. I loved both. But neither would have worked in reverse. We change and along with it, our needs and desires and then the world around us. Yet, we often struggle to fully embrace change. The mind likes predictability and familiar! 

So much of what we know we should do, we struggle to actually do. Like get enough quality sleep. Or eat whole foods closer to their original state, rather than overly processed with additional chemicals to preserve them. Things in moderation, including coffee, alcohol, sweets etc. We know those things are not the best for us, and yet we almost crave them and tend to over indulge. Our grocery stores are filled to the brim with them! 

We know that producing plastic items that never fully breakdown, over time pile up, add to pollution and leak toxins into our already overly toxic environment. If it is true that each of us consumes a credit card size of plastic each WEEK - why do we keep approving new plastic manufacturing plants?

Perhaps we are asleep at the wheel. We prefer blissful ignorance. We just want things to stay the same. Until we don’t. Or can’t. We think we don’t have time to be aware and make better choices or change, we rely on quick, simple, easy and justify it because we are very busy. And yet our lives are filling up with problems that need our time, attention and often more of our money. Not exactly blissful. An abundance of cancers, chronic diseases, physical limitations on our actives due to our ill-health. We have polluted soils and water and we KNOW how & why! And yet here we are, looking for ways to allow producers and industries to continue business as usual, looking for “solutions” that help them continue profiting a few at the expense of many. Some plastic is useful, yes. But we are swimming in it. Quite literally! Have you swam in an ocean or been to a beach lately? Watch your step! Broken plastic pieces are sharp. 

We have identified a wide number of things that cause cancer, including and maybe primarily, stress. Instead of going to the source, the reason for the stress for example, and alleviating that, we spend tons of resources to “fight” cancer. It is like allowing someone to poke us in the eye (or worse, poke ourselves) and wonder why our eyes are red, blurry, hurt and we can’t see well. Rather than look to the source, the poke itself, we spend time and money researching and trying new eye drops, stronger glasses etc. 

We are killing off our bees with pesticides created to increase crop yields. Bees are a necessity for the pollination of those same crops! Without them we wont have crops! We are fracking and polluting our water. We already know of alternate cleaner energy solutions. We need water more than energy! And our crops need clean water. Even we are made of 75% water - so is Mother Earth. We understand the cycle of water and yet apparently we are ok with polluting it and thus ourselves. 

In which ways are you supporting the current state of insanity? What things do you already know and yet don’t follow through on? What do you want to change for yourself? Do you want to eat foods grown closer to home, closer to how nature grew it? Do you want to slow down enough to rest well each night? How about living in a enjoyably clean and tidy space free of excess stuff and clutter? Do you want to spend more time with those you love and/or doing things that bring you joy? Do you want to stop buying things in container that stick around on this planet longer than you will? Do you wish to experience more balanced between “doing” and “being” human?

There is an energy and emotional reason for much of what we do or don’t do. Maybe subconsciously we don’t feel worthy enough. Sometimes we hide behind our illness, weight or ignorance. We may feel powerless to impact our world, feeling like we can’t possibly matter that much or worse, assume the victim role. So we continue along the same path, continue to buy and consume what isn’t good for us (media too!). 

So what can you do? Start by writing down an intention. What is one thing you can change today? Find that thing and do it (or don’t do it if that fits) again tomorrow. And the next day. Stick with it for a month and then assess your life - still ok with the change? Once that becomes normal and feels good, then look for something else to try, give up, or otherwise be of benefit to yourself and/or Mother Earth.  Gradual steps will be more likely successful than big changes all at once. Although that can work too for some!

When we change, our world changes. It can’t be any other way. You have choices. What world do you want to live in tomorrow? Shift your thoughts and actions and see what happens to bring about that desired world. Big house or Tiny; both are good. At the right times. My needs changed so I shifted and the world around me shifted to accommodate.
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Please share your intention(s) or experience in the comments below. I’d love to hear about it!