I often wonder what it would be like to live in the perfect environmental world - a world where people were conscious enough always to say excuse me, please and thank you. A world where people were transparent and didn't try to cheat you or lie for their betterment. A world where trust was a value that was honored, not a quality easily disregarded. A world where we acted consciously to protect our air, rivers, oceans, and wildlife in order to ensure a promising future for our children.
Imagine There're No Toxins
It's hard to imagine how carefree I would feel if I didn't have to worry about toxins seeping into our skin and poisoning our bodies. If I didn't worry that the air we breathe might be damaging our lungs or whether there was lead or mercury in the water we drink. If I didn't have to worry about fish being overfished until there were none left or worry about whether everyone had access to organic and healthy foods.
It's all hard to imagine. But I can. I can envision an incomprehensibly beautiful life without this kind of daily worry.
My Perfect World
In my perfect world, the injustices of the social anxiety being created by climate change and overpopulation that is creating the fissure splitting our world apart would vanish. A need for "Food Justice" would not exist. Healthcare expenses would drop dramatically as a benefit of a healthier and cleaner diet. In my perfect world, the social anxiety surrounding the damage we are doing to our planet - an anxiety that few want to talk about - would not exist.
But it's not enough to just imagine. Steps have to be taken.
The Trillion-Dollar Question
Who can stop this rising social anxiety around climate change that is decimating our civilization? Who can change this? Who can make my vision of an environmentally perfect world real?
Is it our next President? Is it Congress? Is it Google? Do we need to call in The Terminator? Or is it you and me?
The answer is all of the above. No one person or entity alone can right all the wrongs. But together, as part of a small but growing group of Conscious Consumers (CC) like myself, positive and effective change is possible.
It's about making choices to change habits within a society that sees disposable options as convenient and a good thing and "now" as being more important than a future.
Please don't misunderstand my use of "now." I wholeheartedly believe in being present and living in the moment. But that does not preclude being conscious as to how our actions affect the future of our planet and the health and lives of our children.
How To Become A Conscious Consumer
Think twice before you buy something you don't need. When you buy something new, give away something older to someone who needs it more than you do. Stop before you eat past feeling full. It will allow more food to be given to someone who needs it. Pause before you get in the car by yourself to do just one errand. Carpool when possible. Clustering people and errands will save gas. Read labels. Support eco-friendly companies like those listed on my Greenopia website.
Every little action lightens your carbon footprint and is a step forward towards saving the world for future generations. The side benefit - at least for me - is that it feels good when I am consciously contributing to making a difference in the world.
The Not Impossible Mission
It might seem impossible to save our out of control planet. It might seem like there is no hope and we've gone too far. Or that there is nothing you can personally do to change the direction we're headed. But even in Mission Impossible, when Tom Cruise's character, Ethan Hunt chooses to accept, he alters the course of events.
Beyond Politics And Religion
Whatever your religion, your political persuasion or your spiritual practices are, consciousness is at the core of all of them as is doing good deeds and the idea of paying it forward. You may deny climate change, but you can't deny yourself and others the desire to live a life of health and wellness.
Being a Conscious Consumer is part of being a good citizen of the world. Are you ready to join me? Please visit Greenopia and sign up and join our community and start creating your own green utopia. Your commitment can help alter the course of climate change.