180: The Difference Between Me and Nearly Everyone I Know Acting on the Environment
Imagine someone said too much stress and proposed giving someone with stress shoulder rubs or body massages. I bet a lot of people would say, “I’m stressed. I could use a shoulder rub.” If they were ready to give the shoulder massage then and there, they wouldn’t say, “You know who should really get them: the government or big corporations.”
Yet suggest acting on their environmental values and they’ll say their doing something wouldn’t make a difference. They’ll say go to government or big corporations first.
My difference is that I’ve learned that acting on environmental values is like a massage, but for your soul, after assaulting it for your whole life by living against your values, twisting yourself up inside trying to convince yourself that the jet fuel you paid for that’s coming out the back of the plane doesn’t really have anything to do with you.
There’s nothing special about me giving greater access or ability to enjoy nature.
I just had yet another meal where a past guest recommended I meet a friend where for a couple dollars, we both ate to our fill with enough for two or three more meals left, almost no packaging (she brought chard with rubber bands), we both repeatedly commented on how delicious the food was, it was convenient, quick, and led to greater conversation.
Avoiding food packaging once felt like a challenge. Now food packaging seems disgusting. Avoiding food packaging is like avoiding stepping in dog poop. Living a processed life handed to you by organizations motivated by profit and growth is the opposite of a massage.