I just spent the weekend clearing out the home of a friend of a client. The friend has dementia and was transferred to a memory care facility and barely has the money to pay for it because swindlers got to his savings. A single gentleman with friends but no partner allowed for a situation where he was targeted by local opportunists. My client and I went to his house for a second yard sale because the “estate seller” wasn’t able to get everything sold. Why? Because this one gentleman had so much!!
We all need to think about what we have and what we need. Times have changed. We cannot keep buying with reckless abandon. We have gone from 3 billion humans in 1960 to 8 billion in 60 years!!!!!!
There is enough circulating around the planet that we could stop manufacturing altogether and still have enough for everyone.
I just walked to my mailbox and opened it to find a catalogue from Balsam Hill. I have never heard of this company and most definitely did not sign up for their catalogue. I don’t receive any catalogues because they are not recyclable. Yes, read that again: Catalogues are not recyclable. They have toxic print chemicals and glossy finishes that make them ineligible for recycling. So where to they end up? The garbage – the EARTH. So catalogues literally poison the earth, not to mention rip out living trees in order to produce them in the first place.
To me, anyone sending out catalogues at this point is in denial about their participation in climate change. They are part of the problem.
But don’t let me stop there. The products in the Balsam Hill catalogue are more…landfill!! They make fake Christmas trees and ornaments. Their products are basically fanciful garbage. My blood is seriously boiling about this company. And yet, it’s only one in a billion that thinks that they are providing a service while not considering the consequences.
This Christmas, when the sun is at it’s lowest from the northern side of the planet, let’s be quiet on the Solstice and be aware of our mother earth and her gifts. Express your love in deeds not things. Support artists who spend their time hand-making items. Be present with people. Mindlessly purchasing things that will end up in our earth or oceans is unnecessary and at this point, just plain lazy.
I’m betting everyone you know has everything they need. Let’s give the earth what it needs – a rest.