In a local diner on Pelee Island hangs this rusty sign. It has definitely seen better days.
The message implies that it doesn’t take much to change; no more time than it would take for the meal you ordered to arrive at your table. “Attitude Adjustment While You Wait.”
We have this date, April 22nd, that we have allocated as Earth Day, to remind us of our planet. To look around at all the mess, the abuse, the chaos and give some time to tidying it up and taking better care.
But lets just say the planet Earth is but a reflection of ourselves. Perhaps it is attempting to help us, rather than asking us to help it. A mirror of how we treat ourselves, each other.
We feed ourselves a mass of negativity, garbage thoughts, attitudes and beliefs. We over consume heavily processed foods, sugars, salt as fuel for our bodies. All of no value but to pollute our systems. We berate ourselves into suppression and submission. We struggle and force ourselves often to be someone for others rather than who we truly are. We go to battle with the state of our health. We go to war with each other. We fear anyone who is different from what we are comfortable with. Suppose it is us that is the mess, that has been abused, is in chaos. Which would indicate we are the ones that need tidying up.
If we respected and valued ourselves more. If we embraced our truth and loved ourselves more. If we were at peace with our identities — if we embraced life and all our experiences, we’d have a richer and healthier reality for ourselves and each other. There’d be no litter, no abuse of natural resources and no going to battle and waring over anything. We’d simply be at peace with who we are and find joy in our existence.
Today is April 22nd, Earth Day. We’ll pick up some garbage, perhaps leave the car parked for a day and take a bus or walk, a gesture of respect for our surroundings.
But here’s a thought; if we just chose to adjust our attitudes and be better to ourselves and from there; be better with each other; the planet would reflect a cleaner, healthier reality. There’d be no need for an Earth Day. April 22nd could go back to being April 22nd. A shift, an adjustment in attitude may be all it takes.
An attitude we maintain and align to every day, not just one date out of three hundred and sixty-five.
Photo by; Sharon Cooke