Tag: climate change

I woke up angry today…#BLM

On By RunningMuffinsIn Healthy Living, Just Mindfulness, My Search for Happiness, New Adventures, OliviaLeave a comment

Like the rest of the world, I feel angry. So much pent up rage.

Blinding and white hot rage that brings tears to my eyes.

I watched the murder of George Floyd several times and each time, I look for any sign, any sign at all, for any compassion, for any humanity at all from the police officers.

How did we get here? How can we treat each other with such contempt?

I read somewhere that we are now dealing with two viruses–COVID and systemic racism. One major difference is that one needs more than a vaccine…

It has been weeks since the world erupted, with continuing protests all over the world. Yet, I wonder how did we get here and how do we make amends?

Peter and I had a somber dinner conversation about how Olivia’s generation is faced with so many challenges like climate change, systemic racism, an older generation that is blind to all the problems their selfishness has caused, where governments are more concerned about the stock market than the lives of their citizens. The list is long…

Every man for himself. This is how we got here. Pure unadulterated selfishness and unquenchable thirst for more…more money, more cars, more houses, just more. We got lost and along the way, we forgot to take care of each other. We forgot that we need to help each other to move forward, to make a better world for everyone.

Yet, perhaps it is not too late…

There was a Black Lives Matter protest yesterday down by the water and Olivia asked if we should go. With COVID, I emphatically said no. How can we help the cause if we get sick? We have been supporting local black businesses but somehow it is not enough. Not quite enough.

This question still plagues me…what do we need to do to make amends?

I don’t know. Do you?

What I do know is that we are at a crossroad. Like Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken”, we need to take the road less travelled by. We need to look inside ourselves and make a commitment that if we want a better world, we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and make a change (like Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”). And the next time, I will no longer look away when I see something wrong happening as most of us do. No more. I will no longer be complacent.

It is time for change. Our generation failed. Yet, as an optimist, I don’t believe it is too late. We still have time. We need to change this world for the better…for Olivia…for all our children’s future. We need to start NOW.

#BlackLivesMatter.

Love always.

Debbie

Advertisement

Making a difference…

On By RunningMuffinsIn Mindful at Home1 Comment

My daughter came home from dinner over at a friend’s house and the first thing she said was “We had moose steak for dinner.”

Oh…quite exotic, I must say.

Then she said that Julia (the middle child of the family) created quite a discussion over dinner by saying “Dad, you had kill a moose for dinner.. how could you?”.

“Dad” hunts deer, moose, and goes fishing in the northern most parts of Canada once or twice a year…takes the kill to the butcher who magically transforms it to steaks, ground meat, filets, etc. to be consumed throughout the year.

…Julia’s dad, being the smart aleck we knew him to be…said “Well, we spared a cow’s life  by eating this moose.”

Julia is only 11 but my daughter says Julia has decided to go vegetarian when she is older. She says “animal lives matter”…

But, right now, she has to eat moose steak for dinner.

My daughter concludes “Julia is passionate about animals but I believe we have to think bigger…we have to take care of the planet we live in. What good is saving animals if we kill Planet Earth?”

Fighting words indeed.

My daughter then went on a rant of her own about how Man has completely destroyed the environment and showed me a Youtube video of a rapper named Prince EA. In his Youtube Video “Man vs Earth” he shows us what we have done to Mother Nature including global warming and deforestation of the Amazon.  Check it out…it is quite compelling.

My daughter has resolved that minimizing our carbon footprint is a good way to start. So, in the coming weeks, we are making sure recyclable items are recycled in the blue bin, compostable items go into the compost heap in the backyard or in the green bin, minimize the use of plastics including bringing our own bags when grocery shopping,  and maybe plant a tree in the backyard.

I am so proud and extremely happy to see her passionately support a worthy cause. Actually, it is a similar feeling when I see in the news about our future generation supporting causes to end poverty, women’s rights, access to clean water, etc.

“You are going be quite an activist when you are older…” I said smiling.

“I would need lots of money to make a difference though…” she said sadly.

“…no, no, NO!!”, I silently screamed.

Has this world really gone to hell that money is necessary for things to happen? To make a difference?

That is actually quite distressing if you really think about it….that only the rich can make a difference? Could you imagine a world full of Donald Trumps who turns a blind eye to global warming or thinks climate change is a myth?

…by the way, I never really understood why Donald Trump is considered a “billionaire” when he has declared “corporate bankruptcy” four times (the fact that The Donald deliberately distinguishes that from “personal bankruptcy” is really ridiculous….it is eerily reminiscent of Bill Clinton’s infamous “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky..”)……Right.

Anyway, I digress.

At any rate, I refuse to believe that to make a difference in this world that we really NEED money. It would be helpful, but it’s not necessary, or is it??

I think that if all of us reduce our own carbon footprint (for even just a little), it will make a big difference over time.  Recycling more, using less plastic, and mindfully thinking about our impact to our community are all…..FREE.

I think we just need a little jumpstart of the “hidden activists” within all of us.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Debbie.