Eat Well, Be Well, Live Well

Maybe you celebrated Earth Day 2012 by putting some plants in the ground or picking up trash around your neighborhood. Perhaps you pledged to use less or recycle more. It could be the day passed you by and you didn’t give it a second thought as you were racing about doing the types of things most of us do on weekends–picking up supplies at your local home improvement store, entertaining the kids, etc.

I didn’t do much… I walked to a park I normally would have driven to. I planted six plants in my garden. I prepared all my meals at home, and used lettuce grown in my own garden for lunch. I also made a pledge to myself (and now to those of you who read this) to consume less. But perhaps more importantly, I took a few moments simply to reflect on the Earth.

What many people forget, or simply forget to acknowledge, is that the Earth sustains us. We don’t own it. We don’t run it. You can’t even say we manage it–or if you argue we do, you can’t argue we’re doing a sorry job.

The Earth has been entrusted to us, and provided we realize the role we play and the impact we can have–both positive and negative, we can enable this amazing party to continue for generations to come.

So whether or not you did anything to celebrate the Earth today, stop now or take a minute tomorrow and just think about how unpredictable and beautiful and wondrous this planet is, and how you–even as one small, seemingly insignificant person, can have an impact.

In case you’d like a few ideas, please see “25 Ways to Live Greener.”