What do you value?
Your family, friends, pets, house, car, job?
What about the pens you use, the hair ties in your hair, the clothing you wear, or the food that you eat?
Whether consciously or subconsciously, we ascribe value to literally EVERYTHING.
The value we place on any given thing determines how well we care for it.
Sometimes that value is placed based on how much we paid for it.
Did you use a pen today? How much did you spend on it? How likely are you to lose it and without a thought reach for another?
What about your hair tie? Ever dropped one in the dirt or puddle in a parking lot and deem it not worth grabbing because it came in a large pack and you have another two on your wrist?
What about your disposable or reusable mask? If it breaks or becomes misplaced do you think twice about it or just grab another?
Walk through any large parking lot and chances are you will see at least one broken pen, hair tie, and mask.
(If you’re lucky you might even find a penny!)
Pause for a moment and imagine the time, energy, and material resources to create that dispensable item.
(For a fantastic resource about the creation, life, and post-life of everyday stuff check out Annie Leonard’s book The Story of Stuff)
If left untouched in the parking lot, what happens to that broken pen, hair tie, and mask?
If picked up and disposed of in the trash can, what will happen to it in the land fill in the next five, ten, fifty, one hundred, one thousand years?
Many items made today are 1. Not made to last (planned obsoleteness) and 2. Created for a linear economy (meaning, it is useless once it is broken or empty. Compared to a circular economy where everything made can be continually recycled or composted when its original purpose has been served. There is no end of life for stuff, just continuing in another form).
We cannot change the system overnight. We cannot magically change capitalist minds to create sustainable products within a sustainable economy.
However, there are small daily acts that can have an impact on our lives and the lives of those around us. We can choose to be responsible in how we value and care for the things we have and choose to buy. If you only have one hair tie, you will take care of it and be intentional to not lose it. I have not bought new hair ties in years. Partly due to my stubborn cheapskate self that doesn’t wanna buy more, but also because I am that person who finds one on the trails, takes it home, washes it, and uses it. In the past six months alone I have found five hair ties and two teleties. I will never use up the hair ties that I find.
It is nearly impossible to live trash free in our society today.
But we can still be responsible with the trash we create.
Valuing the world we live in and the creatures who are influenced by our actions includes valuing what we have and what does not belong to use. The glory of nature cannot be owned. Disposing of trash in a parking lot or in the woods demonstrates the value placed on creatures who may come in contact with the trash in a harmful way.
We’ve all seen the pictures and videos of sea creatures with plastic trapped in their body, but land animals suffer the same fate too. And it’s our responsibility to care for the creatures our actions impact.
Small sustainable choices, such as acting responsible with the things you have or no longer want, can have a domino effect in your life.
If you value and responsibly care for a pen or a hair tie, how much more value will you place on the relationships in your life and care for your community?
The more you value, the more you will maintain. Be it pens, hair ties, masks, animals, or people.
So what are you valuing and what do you need to value more?
Until next time,
A.F.
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