There truly cannot be anything more honest and more pure than nature. The patterns on leaves can't lie to you, a butterfly can't really corrupt your mind. Which is why it boggles the mind to think about all of the people who don't give a second thought to what they're doing when a fast food bag is thrown out of the car, or a pile of paper is tossed away instead of being recycled, or even when that ant pile is scattered in the park.
Why do we care so much for our pet dog that we feed him food off of our own tables, or spend thousands of dollars a year on his care, yet we disregard that our purchase of certain goods is causing the devastation and death of wolves and bears and beavers and pretty much any animal that pops up in your head right now. You argue that humans are not directly responsible for this mess, that we need these goods to survive, but let's be honest. We need food, clothing, and shelter. We need a purpose of some sort. We need love. We don't need so much of the excess in our lives. And you may argue that in order for an economy to function, there must be consumerism. But is an economy based on waste and rapid consumption of nonrenewable fuels worth supporting? And will my personal avowal to waste less money on material goods and instead travel or cook well or donate to charities destroy our economy? Not really. In fact, consumerism grows every year, but the economy gets grounded in more debt every year. Preserving the environment doesn't doom any person to failure, but it dooms so many of those plants and animals that would definitely still be around if not for people wanting to get bigger and better and richer and control more and more of the earth.
Instead, environmentalism would improve air quality (not even talking about global warming, but just the purity of the oxygen you breathe every second), improve the appearance of cities and countryside alike (yeah, that road trip might actually be kind of pretty), and how can you claim that the appearance of wild animals thriving isn't absolutely thrilling? Maybe I'm an idealist, maybe I don't have all the facts, but just watching the waste grow, and seeing how it is directly harming the earth and really not doing much to even improve the status of so many people who are dying from lack of basic necessities is quite depressing.
We all care about how the earth was made, but do we ever think about how the world is going to look at the end? Don't you think that the final judgment, whatever it may include, will include looking at the world and seeing whether humanity made it a better place, a beautiful place, or an ugly, dirty place? There's nothing that proves the character of a man or woman better than the place they live in; you'd never date someone living in filth and waste. Yet, look at the world. It is possible to use the earth and mine its resources and clear some land without making it look ugly. Ugly is bad. Ugly is undesirable. Ugly is even evil.
Forget your stupid gas-sucking car. Forget your double cheeseburger fix. Forget your super 'fun' hunting trip. Remember that everything you have comes from the dirt. And try to give back a little bit. You don't have to only buy organic produce or check the labels on every shirt to make sure it wasn't made in a factory run by child workers. But please, realize what you throw away. Do you really need a bag for that one item? Go bird-watching, or take a hike. Fall in love with nature again, as you loved nature when you played with those rolly-pollys bugs in kindergarten or watched a cocoon form in second grade science. Tell me why the earth has to be subjected to human negligence.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year's Resolutions! 2012
So I controlled my egocentrism enough to avoid blogging like, at all, this past semester. Giving those college kids a good impression of myself wink wink. But a new year is here, and it must be greeted with some introspection. Also, I need to learn how to write again before classes start next week...
There's something strangely relieving about getting to the end of each year. It means that somehow, by the grace of God or your chosen school of thought on fate/religion/etc., we survived another year without being killed by economic failure, terrorists, car accidents, wild bears, family members, cancer, obesity, lightning, or falling while putting up Christmas lights. Perhaps that's why I enjoy making New Years' resolutions, to add more things to the list of 'what I survived.' Because, whenever you do anything out of the ordinary, be it sky-diving or taking another route to work, you could die. (fyi...Whenever you do anything in the ordinary, you could die too!) Last year, I kept a few of my resolutions, most importantly fooling lots of people into thinking I'm a natural redhead and attempting vegetarianism halfheartedly till July, when I ate my last hamburger and swore off meat until the industry resurrected its humanity. Let's hope that this year encounters the same [relative] success.
So, drink a toast to survival while ridiculing my goals for the upcoming year! And, take it with a few grains of salt...
1. Go vegan for a month (or longer!): I've been a flexitarian for a year now, and a real vegetarian for a good six months (depending on whether you count Taco Bell "chicken" as breaking that or not). It began as a contest, and transformed into something much more meaningful: health, animal rights, environmentalism, protesting additives in food, etc. Please, please, if you think I'm crazy, or if you want a reason to become vegetarian, read Jonathan Safran Foer's book "Eating Animals." His other novels are quite good as well: "Everything is Illuminated" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" have both been made into movies. So, veganism is simply the next step. It will be difficult giving up milk and eggs and cheese (my cravings for brie will have to stop), but I see it as the most rewarding thing on this list, requiring extreme self-control and bearing through the criticism and ridicule of ignorant meat-eaters (take no offense, pretty please. Just because you contribute to a depraved society doesn't mean I don't love you...) It also means regulating clothes, accessories, cosmetic products, chapstick (can I afford enough vegan chapstick to last even a month?!), etc...
2. Go hiking in the woods (reminiscent of Bill Bryson!): Oh, the adventurous gene! I've never really done anything extremely risky, unless eating extreme amounts of chocolate counts. Thus, this longing to go lose myself in the wilderness for a week or two or more is uncharacteristic, but, with my strives to naturalize myself, it's a necessity to see what exactly I'd like to preserve...
3. Knit a sweater: I've picked up knitting a bit again, but haven't gone much farther than the basic knit-purl hat and scarf. But, with a bit of perseverance, and a good recipe to follow, a sweater might just be waiting under the Christmas tree for all you folks next year :P
4. Learn the clarinet again: So I got a clarinet over the summer, and have yet to do much other than look at it and remember which keys play which note. But, if I'm keeping up with this studying music thing, I need to learn something other than piano and vocal exercises. I need to be a Renaissance musician! Learn a bunch of different instruments and when I see, like, a lute at some person's house, I'll be able to say, "Oh hey, I can play that with so much badassery." And they'll be like, "Oh hey, you're a badass. Let me give you a job and lots of money and a free plane ticket to Australia." And I'll be set for life, just because I know how to play obscure instruments. But first, the clarinet...
5. Be nice: Okayy, so I get criticized for being a bit bitchy, a bit whiny from time to time...I can't help my natural wittiness, but I guess I could try to appreciate yours a bit more. Tell me to shut up when needed.
6. Give up soda: Coke, Pepsi, such easy caffeine fixes! But so bad for me :( On this pursuit of environmental awareness, pop will have to go by the wayside. Coffee and tea only from now on. And ginger ale on plane rides. The great carbonation god will have to forgive me.
7. Write something forrealz: So Nanowrimo was a failure. 750 words the first day, and I 'ran out of time' before I could get anything down on my lonely word document. Sigh. But this year, perhaps I can convince myself to write more by dreaming of instant fame and money enough to go on an African safari. I mean, who wouldn't want to pay money for and read something written by yours truly? ;)
8. Figure out whom to vote for: Yeah, voting's important. But when every candidate is a total prick, the decision to choose the best of the bad is quite difficult. Vote for major party candidate and support the corruption of the government? Or throw away a vote on a third party that has no chance of winning and rather idealist views that probz wouldn't work even if the candidate were to be elected? Well, eleven months to decide that. Or everyone could just vote for me...
9. Travel a bit: Where to? You tell me. Keep in mind my college kid budget, though, if you please. Free trips preferred.
10. Figure out my lyfe: Major? Career? Study abroad? Adventurer? Grad student? Career goals? Or career by chance? Or career at all? Pursue passions? What passions? Pursue reliable field? What field is reliable? Study more? Or have more fun? GPA, or experience? Woahh. WOAHH. Lyfe is too complicated, maybe I'll marry a rich man and sit and read and knit and own cats. Foreverrrrr.
Happy/Blessed/Illuminating New Year, my loves!!!
There's something strangely relieving about getting to the end of each year. It means that somehow, by the grace of God or your chosen school of thought on fate/religion/etc., we survived another year without being killed by economic failure, terrorists, car accidents, wild bears, family members, cancer, obesity, lightning, or falling while putting up Christmas lights. Perhaps that's why I enjoy making New Years' resolutions, to add more things to the list of 'what I survived.' Because, whenever you do anything out of the ordinary, be it sky-diving or taking another route to work, you could die. (fyi...Whenever you do anything in the ordinary, you could die too!) Last year, I kept a few of my resolutions, most importantly fooling lots of people into thinking I'm a natural redhead and attempting vegetarianism halfheartedly till July, when I ate my last hamburger and swore off meat until the industry resurrected its humanity. Let's hope that this year encounters the same [relative] success.
So, drink a toast to survival while ridiculing my goals for the upcoming year! And, take it with a few grains of salt...
1. Go vegan for a month (or longer!): I've been a flexitarian for a year now, and a real vegetarian for a good six months (depending on whether you count Taco Bell "chicken" as breaking that or not). It began as a contest, and transformed into something much more meaningful: health, animal rights, environmentalism, protesting additives in food, etc. Please, please, if you think I'm crazy, or if you want a reason to become vegetarian, read Jonathan Safran Foer's book "Eating Animals." His other novels are quite good as well: "Everything is Illuminated" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" have both been made into movies. So, veganism is simply the next step. It will be difficult giving up milk and eggs and cheese (my cravings for brie will have to stop), but I see it as the most rewarding thing on this list, requiring extreme self-control and bearing through the criticism and ridicule of ignorant meat-eaters (take no offense, pretty please. Just because you contribute to a depraved society doesn't mean I don't love you...) It also means regulating clothes, accessories, cosmetic products, chapstick (can I afford enough vegan chapstick to last even a month?!), etc...
2. Go hiking in the woods (reminiscent of Bill Bryson!): Oh, the adventurous gene! I've never really done anything extremely risky, unless eating extreme amounts of chocolate counts. Thus, this longing to go lose myself in the wilderness for a week or two or more is uncharacteristic, but, with my strives to naturalize myself, it's a necessity to see what exactly I'd like to preserve...
3. Knit a sweater: I've picked up knitting a bit again, but haven't gone much farther than the basic knit-purl hat and scarf. But, with a bit of perseverance, and a good recipe to follow, a sweater might just be waiting under the Christmas tree for all you folks next year :P
4. Learn the clarinet again: So I got a clarinet over the summer, and have yet to do much other than look at it and remember which keys play which note. But, if I'm keeping up with this studying music thing, I need to learn something other than piano and vocal exercises. I need to be a Renaissance musician! Learn a bunch of different instruments and when I see, like, a lute at some person's house, I'll be able to say, "Oh hey, I can play that with so much badassery." And they'll be like, "Oh hey, you're a badass. Let me give you a job and lots of money and a free plane ticket to Australia." And I'll be set for life, just because I know how to play obscure instruments. But first, the clarinet...
5. Be nice: Okayy, so I get criticized for being a bit bitchy, a bit whiny from time to time...I can't help my natural wittiness, but I guess I could try to appreciate yours a bit more. Tell me to shut up when needed.
6. Give up soda: Coke, Pepsi, such easy caffeine fixes! But so bad for me :( On this pursuit of environmental awareness, pop will have to go by the wayside. Coffee and tea only from now on. And ginger ale on plane rides. The great carbonation god will have to forgive me.
7. Write something forrealz: So Nanowrimo was a failure. 750 words the first day, and I 'ran out of time' before I could get anything down on my lonely word document. Sigh. But this year, perhaps I can convince myself to write more by dreaming of instant fame and money enough to go on an African safari. I mean, who wouldn't want to pay money for and read something written by yours truly? ;)
8. Figure out whom to vote for: Yeah, voting's important. But when every candidate is a total prick, the decision to choose the best of the bad is quite difficult. Vote for major party candidate and support the corruption of the government? Or throw away a vote on a third party that has no chance of winning and rather idealist views that probz wouldn't work even if the candidate were to be elected? Well, eleven months to decide that. Or everyone could just vote for me...
9. Travel a bit: Where to? You tell me. Keep in mind my college kid budget, though, if you please. Free trips preferred.
10. Figure out my lyfe: Major? Career? Study abroad? Adventurer? Grad student? Career goals? Or career by chance? Or career at all? Pursue passions? What passions? Pursue reliable field? What field is reliable? Study more? Or have more fun? GPA, or experience? Woahh. WOAHH. Lyfe is too complicated, maybe I'll marry a rich man and sit and read and knit and own cats. Foreverrrrr.
Happy/Blessed/Illuminating New Year, my loves!!!
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