Today, my main post is over at the Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op and is titled Cognitive Dissonance.
It is a rethink and rewrite of a story that I posted last year when I was experiencing a minor eco burnout! My head certainly wasn’t in the right place, and all I could see around me was doom and gloom with no-one doing anything about it. I believe it is a far better post because of my experience.
I am glad to say that I am well past that stage of my journey, and have come to believe that there is hope in all situations, if we choose to search for it. I would rather spread a message of hope and happiness than one of despair and suffering. Our future is what we want to make it, and we can change the world for the better and protect the environment for all creatures, great and small.
Gav
Very true!! We are only responsible for what we get…
Gavin,
Have you thought about joining a green group, that lobbies the government? Perhaps you will feel like you are achieving more than working at a “grass roots” level? The grass roots stuff is important, but only really makes a difference if everone is doing it… and the only way to get everyone to do it is to make the government enforce it…
I used to work in one of these such groups and they are always looking for people passionate about the cause… it is hard, tiring work, but you have the potential to do much more that way!
Just a thought for you 😀
@ subu.ps
Yes we are responsible for our own actions! Nice to hear from you again.
@ Anon.
Not only did I join a green group, I founded one! I must have written about the Melton Sustainable Living Group about 100 times on this blog, of which I am the current President. We lobby the local, state and federal governments all the time about various environmental issues. It is not hard work and is very rewarding!
Gav
I obviously haven’t read enough of your blog to know about your green group! I will have to check it out….
Helping to change legislation is very satisfying, but I found it got hard and tiring when you work on projects for such a long time to have them shelved for political reasons… or having to work with other green groups (who I personally believe give green groups a bad name because of the way they behave) who screw things up for everyone…
Where I was working there was a new breed of “greenies” coming through who are intelligent and exeptionally well educated (many of us have several university degrees and successful careers outside of that) who are changing things using their “smarts” rather than stunts, which I find very promising!
I think we all go through that period of feeling helpless and hopeless when it comes to trying to green our lives. It’s especially troublesome when those closest to us don’t seem to hear the *need* to do it all *NOW*, because we’re running out of time!! *grin*
But I agree with you. It’s so much more satisfying, and for me, helpful, to be less doom and gloom and more about providing advice on ways to achieve that which others will tell us is unachieveable. Three years ago people scoffed when I said I was getting chickens or when we talked about tapping our maple trees for syrup or any number of the things we’ve done to make our lives more sustainable. There are a lot fewer people laughing now :).