IT'S NOT THAT PEOPLE DON'T CARE.

I understand not everyone is amazed by our natural world each and every day like I am, I understand that not everyone feels a kind of buzzing energy while being in nature like I do, and I understand not everyone experiences their true happiness while being outside like I do. Maybe your thing is playing sport, maybe what makes you feel alive is sky diving or makeup artistry, and that is wonderful! It takes all kinds of people with all kinds of loves to keep our world moving and in harmony.

However, I do feel each and every one of us still needs to have a level of respect for our Earth and what it provides for mankind.

I don’t ask that we all live in some sort of tree-hugging bubble, we are all different and we also need to be realistic. But the sad truth is, mankind has become so accustomed to this destructive pattern of take, take, take with not enough give. And we just cannot sustain this system.

And while by all means I am not a completely perfectly organic, plastic-free, nature warrior-like unicorn, but I feel I am now living more aligned with the Earth. Every purchase I make, every choice I make, I understand has an impact, and it can be either a positive or a negative for our world, and I strive for the positive kind. And each day I am learning.

I have had many encounters with people who are seen as very intelligent, influential figures in the business world, people who others look upon for guidance, for advice, for mentorship. Extremely educated, even well travelled, but the concept of considering the environment and its fate is ridiculous to them. It is so far down their ladder of priorities they, without hesitating, will say things like "but the environment seriously doesn’t affect me" and "I really don’t care, I have more important things to focus on".

This absolutely shocked me and confused me at the time, and it still does now. I replay these interactions over and over in my head, and it just doesn't make sense. I think, how can someone be so "educated" yet so incredibly naïve or so oblivious or so disconnected? It feels kind of scary that some cannot see beyond what provides immediate monetary or personal benefits, so clouded by what society has deemed as success.

And then there is this modern mentality of glorifying 'busy' as a means of justifying a person’s success or self worth. And sadly this go, go, go way of life creates a barrier to tapping into our true happiness, and stops us from questioning what it is that really makes us feel alive. And in turn we move further and further away from our connection to this ‘calling’ and from our connection to nature.

Is anyone too busy or too important to respect and appreciate others and respect and appreciate the Earth we have been gifted as home?

Some are just lazy and some so consumed by the happenings of inside their own bubble that they just don't see beyond it. The tools are already there to live in harmony with nature, we aren't inventing a new way of life, we are simply going back and reconnecting with our roots of an earlier time. 

From speaking to those around me though, it has become clearer that it's not always that people don't care about the environment, it's not that people don't care that the decisions they make each day do in fact contribute to its fate, it's just that many don't have the knowledge, the awareness, the drive or the tools to make change.

Everyone is on their own path, and are at different stages on this path, experiencing different experiences with different reactions – and this needs to be respected.

Something that may seem so obvious to me may have never even crossed the mind of someone else.

I used to be so focused on recycling paper that I hadn't even considered plastic and its indestructible qualities (there's no such thing as 'away' with plastic!) or the freaking amazing reuse and recycle qualities of glass that we need to embrace (glass can be recycled infinitely without ever losing its quality!).

While this knowledge has completely changed my way of life and is such an obvious concept to me now, I needed to remember so many people haven't made these discoveries yet. Instead of viewing this as others' naivety or ignorance, maybe we should be viewing it as knowledge of and respect for Earth that is simply untapped.

Education, like most things in life, is key.