I mentioned yesterday that I had been reading a book called No Impact Man. There are a lot of concepts that ring true with me in this book (and some I take with a grain of salt).
One quote from the book as follows really summed up my feelings on trying to be a good neighbor, a good steward of the earth, a good parent, a good-whatever-else:
"I went into this project wondering if I could make a difference. But the question isn't whether or not I make a difference. The question is whether I want to be the type of person who tries. We can all make a difference. We all have the responsibility to make a difference. You might think the responsibility part is oppressive, but I began this experiment, in part, as an expression of my victimhood and powerlessness. To understand that I can make a difference is so freeing."
The project he refers to is a year-long experiment to make no impact (carbon footprint) on the earth while living in the middle of New York City. Some components were eating locally, buying items without packaging, walking everywhere, and turning out the electricity and using solar power.
I used to think things were all or nothing and I found that I was discouraged at my perceived "failures."
I forgot my reusable bags and had to use two paper bags to carry home my groceries. Guess I should just give up on being a good steward of the earth because I stink at it anyway. No, how about remembering all the times I did bring my bags and focusing on that instead?
I eventually bought two area rugs brand new. Guess I should just quit The Compact now. No, I made a thoughtful purchase of a quality product which will now hopefully enable me to use certain rooms that were just too cold before.
We all have the ability to make a difference and we all have the ability to "fail" at making a difference. Will we focus on the attempts or the failures?
To paraphrase a quote on parenting: "There are no ways to be a perfect Compactor but many ways to be a good one."
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