\u00a0One of the greatest life lessons I’ve learned is that change comes slowly, one tiny step at a time. This is true on a grand scale, but it is also true on a personal scale. If you want to change yourself, don’t go for the overhaul or you’re likely to crash and burn. Find one manageable thing you can do and then, when you’ve mastered it, find something else. This is a life lesson that I’ve come to accept gradually,\u00a0 one piece at a time.<\/p>\n
You know it’s a good idea to save the earth. Recycle, conserve energy, use cloth diapers, carpool….there are dozens of ways you can make a difference, but when the well-meaning environmental gurus out there pelt them at you one right after another, it feels like too much. You’d have to turn your entire life upside down and everything would be different.<\/p>\n
That’s true. If you want to do your part to help protect our Earth, then you will have to change, but slow down, take a deep breath, and relax. You don’t have to do it all right now. Just do one thing. Your “green” thing.<\/p>\n
I have selected a new “green” thing each year for the past four years, making it a sort of New Year’s Resolution. First, I changed all my light bulbs to compact fluorescents.\u00a0 Then, I switched to cloth diapers (mommies, that’s a huge one — read my blog entry on cloth, it’s not as bad as you think). Last year, we started using cloth bags (“green” bags) at the grocery store and this year, we’ve got a recycling bin. Plus, my husband is riding his bicycle to work about 3-4 times a week. Not only is he saving gas, but he’s getting in great shape!<\/p>\n
But the best thing about my yearly “green” thing is that I’m not just making these changes for me. They will filter down through the generations because my children will think of them as normal. My 4-year-old loves to put things in the “‘cycle” bin. “Mommy, can I ‘cycle this?” is a common question around here.<\/p>\n
So if you want to be environmentally conscious, don’t let it get overwhelming. Just choose one thing, master it, and move on.<\/p>\n
What’s your green thing this year?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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