Getting things done

My time out has obviously been good for me. This week I had enough energy to do things that have needed doing for several months. This included a lot of sorting out, recycling, giving away and generally disposing of things no longer needed. It feels good to have done this and I also feel much lighter. There is still more to do and more decisions to make but I am half way there.

I have spent some time reflecting though, taking the time to sit by the large window and watch the activity in the garden. There are plenty of birds around and there are still some butterflies and the occasional dragonfly. There are also lots of bees around as there are still flowers in bloom although we are getting to the end of the summer season as autumn is approaching now.

Another thing I have been doing is making scrapbooks. I buy rather nice blank ones with a brown cover and brown pages inside. Very earthy! I sorted out photos, got them printed and decided which photos to go in which scrapbook. I have made scrapbooks before and they are good as memory books. I like looking back at places I have been and what I did in those places and what I saw. It makes me appreciate how much travelling I have done in the last thirty years even though I only stay in England nowadays.

The scrapbooks are also a way of recording the different butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies I have seen as many are specific to certain areas and are not widespread. For me it is also about recording the beauty of our natural world and allows me to stay grounded and strong while the outside world is crumbling down around us. Whatever happens in the future, I will have records of what it is like now in our natural world. The photo is taken in my garden where the cosmos flowers reign.

Taking action

First of all I would like to thank those who responded to my blog questions last week. It was interesting to read the various ways of looking at ‘ancestral memories or what’ and I am much happier with my interpretations now.

So today I want to write about taking action. It is fine to talk about what we should do and how to do it but actually doing it is a bit different. I know many who sit there and say ‘Well I’m alright so why do anything?’ To me this is not the right way to go. Thinking that you are OK is not enough. You have to think about others too as well as the environment which supports us.

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours at a fete in one of my nearby villages where a local group for climate change had a stand. We had a petition to sign to give to the parish council, asking that all new build homes were fitted with solar panels. We also had a petition for our borough council asking it to declare a climate emergency. There are quite a few cities and towns and some counties that have already done this. But even though the emergency has been declared you can’t stop there. Changes have to be made and we all have to make them not just sit back and let others get on with it. It is very easy to say we have a climate emergency then sit back and do nothing.

I am pleased to see that the supermarkets are starting to do their bit by getting rid of plastics and offering boxes for recycling stuff. So what can you do? Apart from doing your best with the recycling, you can spread the word to others. I recently wrote a book about changing yourself and the world around you. I have been giving these away to interested readers and told them to pass the book on when they have read it. But not everyone can or wants to write a book. I use the bus service to get to and from town so I chat in the bus queue. It is easy to bring the subject of plastics up and get people talking. It is like planting a seed then watching it grow.

So what are you doing? Not just about recycling but about other ways of living, food, clothes, and so on. I have used this photo before but if you have a garden then making it bee friendly is a good start.

Walking your talk, balance and inner knowing

I have heard these words so often over the years, ‘Walk your talk!’ So I am pleased to see so many people starting to do this. It is very easy to talk about what you can do to recycle, or to respect others, or to help to save the earth for another generation. But do you actually do anything about it?

I started to talk to others about all of this and then managed to get a group of people together to talk about what we could do but to actually do something as well. We’ve only met twice so far but ideas are plenty and actions are starting. You can’t just sit there and do nothing!

But looking at the plastics problem I have found clothes made from bamboo and some with bamboo and cotton. Both of these grow so that in itself brings another problem. If we all decided to have bamboo and cotton clothes then growing the cotton and bamboo would take over areas meant for other things to grow like food crops, trees and various plants. So there has to be a balance.

Most of us have lots of plastic items in our homes. Some plastics are never replaced and that is fine I suppose. It is the single use plastic that is the real problem, the pop bottles, the plastic bags for food and so on. Here again we need a balance.

Some thing else that cropped up this week is inner knowing. I have knowledge at times that I know has not come from something I have learned but is inside me. Where does this knowledge come from? A example came to my mind. Years ago my mother said to me ‘Don’t go in that room, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife.’ In that room people had been arguing. Today I know that it was the negative energies that could be sensed but how did my mother know this (she was born in 1916)? She also said the wind would blow the cobwebs away if I went for a walk in the wind.Cleansing the aura of course. So does this inner knowing come from our ancestors or are we born with it?

The plant is Honesty!

Saving the planet – some random thoughts

I keep seeing adverts for doing things to save the planet. One I saw was about becoming vegetarian as that will save our planet. There are many others around as well. But it is much more complex than that. There are many things that we can all do to save our planet. It’s not just about plastic pollution either.

Here are some of the things that everyone of us, in the western world at least, can do to help:

we can look at the way we use water, washing clothes, in the toilet and shower or bath, buying bottled water to drink (why not use a filter for tap water);

we can use energy efficient light bulbs;

we can recycle things we not longer need that cannot be repaired and we can compost;

we can repair items that can be repaired, we have become a throwaway world and keep buying new items when we could repair the old ones;

we can look at the ways in which we produce food, how far we transport it and how we cook and consume it. Do we really need to import so much food from afar which costs so much in fuel and air pollution?

we can moderate our meat consumption and buy locally not just meat but other food items.

we can walk or cycle to places and leave the car at home, dry the washing outside, and use paper wisely.

These are only a few random thoughts and I am sure you will have many more but what I want to mention now is to me a very important part of saving our planet. We are all human but we are all unique and we need to learn to respect each other and to love each other unconditionally. We need to learn to work together and not be divisive. Co-operation is a good word. I know of areas where people have come together making a co-operative and buying, selling and making produce to sell. There are shops which sell preloved items which people find they no longer need. There is nothing wrong with buying used items. We also need to look at our clothes. The fashion world keeps changing ‘fashions’ every season and many feel they have to buy the latest type of clothes. Is this necessary? Keeping up with the Joneses has long gone. This also applies to gadgets. Do you really need the most up-to-date mobile phone?

There are a lot of things we can think about and if we look at what we eat, wear and use in our daily lives, maybe we can make some changes that will be of benefit to the planet. Choose wisely, our earth is precious to us and keeps us alive and also those that live on it, plants and other animals. Bear in mind also that plants too are sentient.

Caring

Caring for others, for animals and for our planet has been on my mind this week. Caring like compassion, respect and appreciation seem to be less seen than it used to be. What is happening to people that they lose these aspects of their lives? I often here the words ‘I don’t care about that, as long as I’m OK that’s fine’. But is this the right response?

OK caring for ourselves is important especially caring for our health. If we are not fit then we cannot help others, in practical ways at least. But caring for others and our planet is important. There are many vulnerable people in our world and we need to care about them. There are young children, harrassed young mothers, those who are disabled in some way and of course the elderly. At this time of the year caring about those older than us is important. As the colder weather comes along with ice and maybe snow, then it is difficult for many older people to get out. The same applies to young mothers with children. If we care enough we can offer to help in some way, do their shopping, sit and chat, babysit for an hour or take their dog for a walk. These are simple things but can make a huge difference to those on the receiving end. We hear about the elderly being lonely but young mothers can also be lonely if they have no adult company. Taking time to sit and chat over a cup of tea or coffee can be a life saver for someone.

Caring for our planet is also important. Keeping your area clean and free from litter is a good start. Trying to use less electric or electronic gadgets is also good and recycling is so important for us all. When I was young, my mother made all my clothes as well as her own. It was a skill she passed on to me and I try to make at least some of the things I wear, if not by sewing, by knitting.  These clothes last much longer than those manufactured by cheap labour in other countries. We have become a throwaway society and that is not good for people or for our planet. We need to recycle or upcycle nowadays and reuse everything we can in some way or other.

So do you care enough to do some of these things, to help others, to recycle or upcycle and reuse as much as you can? I hope you do this to show your caring for others and for our planet.

Black Friday

I was shocked to see how people fought to get a few pounds off various goods especially televisions. What is the matter with us that we need to do such things. We seem to have forgotten the difference between I want and I need. If I think I should buy something new, I always think about do I need it or not. This applies to clothes as well. We seem to live in a throwaway world and to me that is not a good thing.

I have just had a new computer built by my son as my old one was really falling apart and not working at all well. But there is no way I would have gone to a Black Friday sale, queued and fought to get one. Same with many other things. If it can be mended then that is what I do. My son has taken my old computer as he can convert it to use with the TV. Recycling is good.

What are your thoughts on the scenes of chaos on Friday? Would you join such a crowd? Before you buy items do you think about needing or wanting?