We take care of what matters to us…

…so why not the planet?

Plenty of people spend hours every week mowing their lawns.  Others spend hours every week washing and vacuuming their vehicle.  Still others spend hours every week on their appearance.  Why?  Because through their lens on the world, those things are important – and we humans are pretty good at taking care of things when they matter to us.

So why are we such poor caretakers of our planet?  Probably because, in a world where most of our time is spent indoors, food is perceived to come from a supermarket and water is perceived to come from a tap, most of us have lost our connection with the natural world and don’t care enough about it – even though we depend upon it for every breath, sip and bite.

So maybe we could benefit from a reset in our thinking.  For example:

• What if we perceived a river as our well or swimming pool?  I’m guessing we would take great care to not dump sewage, plastic and other pollutants into it.
• What if we saw the atmosphere as our enclosed garage or, even better, the air in our home?  I’m guessing we’d very soon be turning off our engines and adopting non-polluting ways to get around.
• What if we saw a roadside as our front yard?  I’m guessing we wouldn’t litter.
• What if we valued all trees as we value that one in our backyard that provides summer shade, bird habitat and an anchor for the hammock?  I’m guessing we’d take a stronger stance against deforestation.
• What if we perceived the planet as an airplane?  I’m guessing we’d be much less afraid to talk about the issue of population growth.

So… how best to trigger that reset?  Why not:

• Go for a walk in the park or, even better, the woods.  Ponder the beauty around you, and imagine how it would feel to lose it.
• Grab a canoe or kayak, and paddle to a secluded place.  Breathe deeply.  See, hear, smell, feel.
• Hop on a bike and explore a trail
• Sit in your backyard with no electronic device, and just look, listen and reflect
• Read a good book; just Google ‘books about connecting with nature’ for many wonderful suggestions.  If you’re up for a good challenge to conventional economic thinking, I’ll suggest The End of Growth.
• Take the David Suzuki Foundation’s One Nature Challenge: spend 30 minutes a day in nature for 30 days to kickstart a new, permanent habit

It’s clear we have the financial and technological means to solve our climate crisis and most of our other environmental challenges.  We just need a reset, so that we care enough to act (as we do for our lawns, vehicles and appearances).