Inspirational Insight

What do we teach our kids, and any child in our life? That they can be whatever they want when they grow up, and that the possibilities are endless. But what if the choices we're all making right now are ultimately hindering their abilities to flourish in the future? Considering the reality of human-induced climate change and tragedies like the major plastic pollution problem, ocean pollution/acidification or mass-extinctions, we can't deny that our collective actions are not helping to provide a very opportunistic lifetime for kids today. Unless, of course, we all do our part to promote more sustainable ways of living ASAP. We still have a small window of time, to come together and use our innovative minds in order to change our collectively destructive ways and clean up the messes we've made. Remember, "we do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

There's nothing wrong with thinking big, or having grand goals and dynamic dreams beyond what we think may be possible. In fact, our world needs more aspiration from everyone right now. Especially and specifically moving towards a more sustainable future. We need more people to believe in themselves and to push for positive global change on any and every level. The scales need to be tipped away from things like consumerism, greed, hate, divisiveness, and ignorance, and tipped towards ideals of conscientiousness, sustainability, inclusiveness, unity, love, and understanding. Working individually and together, it is possible to create a future where everyone's rights, no matter how simple or profound, coincide with the betterment of the entire global community and the preservation of the natural world for generations to come. Historically, groups of people working together have been one of the main and only catalysts for real, necessary change.

We must keep in mind there is strength in numbers. As much as our individual choices and actions matter, listening to and working with others is just as important. Opening our minds and our hearts, realizing we may have privilege, or we may be unfairly treated, or unfortunately judged based on something which we have no control - accepting our position and using it to an advantage is the best thing we can do. For me personally, it's privilege. I know and understand that my position as a white, middle-class, college-educated female living in a country with many freedoms gives me an advantage. So does the fact that my parents bought or inherited property and in turn so did I. The main privilege in my life, however, is that I was raised to be conscientious and aware of, not only my position of advantage in the world, but the state of the rest of the world. Sometimes it can feel like a curse, right? To be hyperaware of the conditions of people, animals and environments suffering across the globe - and feeling like I can't do enough to help - is agonizing. Understanding that as I sit here and write these words, trying to make a difference, people, animals, and the environment are oppressed, overworked and overburdened just so people like you and me can have commodities like the devises we're using now.

So what can we do? We can talk about it. Educate others (even if it makes them feel uncomfortable or get defensive), listen to others (really listen, try to understand another perspective and empathize without judgement in order to cultivate understanding and connection), and use these tools of communication and intelligence to spark action. Make the time to put in the extra effort to use the reusables, to grow our own food, to pick up trash, to find alternatives to over-processed, over-packaged convenience items, to write to companies and governmental bodies about using renewable instead of destructive, finite resources. Want less stuff. Need less stuff. Take care of stuff so it lasts longer. Make informed, conscientious decisions about the stuff we do consume. Stop using single-use plastic. Stop sucking (straws). Don't buy into society's trap of hierarchy by overconsumption and lack of consideration for life as a whole. Create relationships based on what people are like or how they treat others instead of what type of car they drive or whether or not they own a boat or the newest smartphone. Focus on how every little thought, decision and action each one of us takes individually, helps or hurts us all in the long run. Figure out what drives you and get inspired by it to make positive changes to yourself that will flow outward to others and the world.

What does a better tomorrow look like to you? And how can you begin to accomplish it? There's a role for every single person - even the naysayers and the ones with their head in the sand, forcing the rest of us to strive harder to change the current realities we know to be true. How will you make a difference? How will you be an example of positive change for future generations?