Before I ever became pregnant, I knew I wanted a home birth. Not so it'd be natural and better for the baby, but because I was freaked out about hospitals! But as I talked with my midwife and then my chiropractor, I became more and more aware of how unnatural our world has become! As my baby began to make her presence known, desire surged in me to bring her into an environment as close to the way God intended it as possible.
At first my focus was on our family only, such as no artificially fragranced air fresheners and as much organic, non-processed food as we could afford. But after a short chat with my mid-wife, she encouraged me to look beyond our family to the entire globe, at things like plastic and its many negative facets. So I began to do my research.
I ordered a recycle can since our neighborhood doesn't offer that. I also put my daughter (and now my son as well) into cloth diapers since disposables are the main "contribution" to our landfills. I made a pledge not to shop at Wal-mart and in the last two years, I have broken that pledge only once. I switched my business to be a "green business," using non-toxic and environmentally friendly supplies.
But most important of all, I learned about plastic and all of its evils. I will save the details of plastic for another entry, but suffice it to say that decreasing the amount of plastic we use has been hardest of all, and yet most satisfying of all. Plastic is most often traced back to middle-eastern oil. And the countless lives lost over that oil is horrendous. While less clear-cut and traceable than "blood diamonds," it is the same concept. And that is motivation enough to decrease plastic use as much as possible!
God gave us this earth and told us to take care of it--one of his few commands. Now that I am aware of how the wealthy--myself included--are using the earth for personal gain--at the loss of those with less spending power, I want to make better choices. I don't want to live selfishly and ignorantly anymore.
