Environment

Walking through the neighborhood, I see trees, green grass, a neighborhood park and lake. The community is making the effort to work with the existing natural environment while developing a neighborhood. People continue to litter and faithful neighbors clean it up. Although there is a good deal of thoughtlessness and abuse of the environment, I am optimistic about the future and the young people who are making a difference. As statistician Nic Marks says in the Happy Planet Index video, that if we invest in our relationships, get outside and walk, and give to others, we can make a happy planet. With all of the apocalyptic movies and news, it is refreshing to notice all the good we are doing, and then do more of it. Live in joy rather than fear, look around you, and share your blessings.

I'm so impressed with the way my family respects nature and the environment. We walk, recycle, and take care of the environment as much as possible. My daughters inspire me when they reuse and recycle. They both use cloth diapers and avoid disposable plates and napkins most of the time. I remember a time when realized I could afford the convenience of paper plates, plastic bags for everything, and disposable utensils. I did away with the annoying dish washing and laundering napkins and dish towels. We had paper and plastic! Then came the realization that there wouldn't be room for all of the garbage if we just kept throwing everything away.

Now we try to make a difference by learning to reuse and recycle. Habits are difficult to change, but when the heart if there, good things happen.

20 minutes walking