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Yesterday's news prompted today's action. Over the years, I have trained myself into a way of thinking that is always curious about the next step...the way toward better. I know that perfection isn't a possibility for me, but there is usually room for better.
As I read that article, a mental list was forming of things I need to think through with this new insight. Most of the items on the list are used with the intention of reducing waste, but the realizations that:
I prioritized skipping plastic with each of these purchases, but was bound by what was on offer in the marketplace. I ended up making compromises based on what I knew at the time. Now I'm thinking a little bit differently about how plastic is evidently ending up in our bodies. Obviously, I want to decrease what I can.
A few of the things I'm thinking through today:
New knowledge presents us with opportunities to create new inflection points + to embrace shifting priorities with creativity and curiosity. I see opportunities for increased wellness here, and so can other members of the caring, thinking, voting, consuming society...and so can manufacturers + policy makers. How exciting!
There are simple reasons to get moving, but if anyone needs some motivation, here's what I find true:
Let's keep trying.
I love you all,
Jane
As I read that article, a mental list was forming of things I need to think through with this new insight. Most of the items on the list are used with the intention of reducing waste, but the realizations that:
- plastic breaks down with time + use
- opening a plastic lid can sprinkle microplastics into our food
- using furniture made of plastic fibers makes microplastics we inhale
I prioritized skipping plastic with each of these purchases, but was bound by what was on offer in the marketplace. I ended up making compromises based on what I knew at the time. Now I'm thinking a little bit differently about how plastic is evidently ending up in our bodies. Obviously, I want to decrease what I can.
A few of the things I'm thinking through today:
- plastic sippy lids I like to use for smoothies :: I bought our sippy lids as a way to avoid single use plastic cups + straws when the plastic version was the only one on the market. There are now stainless steel lids. I just hadn't totally seen the need to move on from ours until now.
- tea bags. While I prefer loose tea, I sometimes end up with gifted tea bags. I'm going through everything to double check for plastic tea bags.
- lunch containers. I've long tried to find wide, squat jars for our lunches, but our glass containers with their plastic lids were the compromise I made when that didn't happen.
- the water bottle I've been using most lately. Again, this bottle was a compromise. It's size makes it easier to track my hydration. It is glass with a silicone sleeve, and I planned to trade the silicone straw for a glass straw. I decided to make this one exception for silicone, but now it feels like a dubious allowance.
- our couches + ottoman. Durability + style influence longevity. I bought these with slipcovering in mind. Just more motivation to begin.
- a renewed commitment to skip grocery packaging. The pandemic required some changes (as did some diet + life shifts). There is now room for reassessment.
- spatula. I just did the dishes + had totally forgotten about my mostly plastic spatula. Time for a wooden one.
- making waste. Simply discarding these things makes more waste. If I think they are bad for my people + the planet, then donating them will be bad for other people + the planet. They might help others reduce their use of single use plastics, however. This feels tricky.
- creative use. Rather than transferring the ill effects of plastic teabags (if I'd found any) to others, they could be cut open + the tea could be used to dye a stained shirt.
- replacements. Do I need to replace things, or can I shift habits instead. For example, I use my sippy lids mostly to avoid my smoothies coming unstuck from the bottom of my cup + ending up on my shirt. Considering how I feel about the silicone gasket on the stainless steel version, I could just make my smoothies a bit more watery.
New knowledge presents us with opportunities to create new inflection points + to embrace shifting priorities with creativity and curiosity. I see opportunities for increased wellness here, and so can other members of the caring, thinking, voting, consuming society...and so can manufacturers + policy makers. How exciting!
There are simple reasons to get moving, but if anyone needs some motivation, here's what I find true:
- Taking action keeps me from becoming blind to the problem. The everyday nature of drinks coming in plastic cups + groceries coming in plastic bags can lull us into complicity. Tuning in + shifting my habits wakes me up to seeing things that I've stopped seeing. This is a practice...a constant reawakening!
- Taking action keeps me from hopelessness. Hope feels better than despair.
- The best motivation for me is love. I can't keep microplastics out of the people I love, out of all of us, out of our waterways or air or land. They are already in us. I can try to reduce the amount of microplastics my choices add.
- With imagination, better is almost always possible.
Let's keep trying.
I love you all,
Jane
