Conscious Stewardship of Our Environment

by Gregory Toole

There are so many ways we can positively impact our environment today. Many of our day-to-day activities have embedded in them the potential to have major, lasting impact on our environment.

Let’s take some examples. Most of us participate as consumers nearly every day of our lives. We buy products online, at local markets, in coffee shops, and through a vast array of merchants. A little conscious awareness can go a long way in these purchases.

Many years ago when I owned a house in the San Francisco Bay Area, I was tending to my yard and garden, and like many people I was using an herbicide to clear weeds. It was an activity I engaged in without much thought. The product was sold in great quantities at the big box home and garden store, so in my mind it had credibility.

Shortly thereafter, I was sitting back, admiring the garden and all the birds and insects it was attracting, and just how alive it all felt. Suddenly, my awareness returned to the herbicide I had used, and now I thought of all those birds and bees ingesting it. That was a very distressing thought as my mind wandered, seeing this poisonous herbicide spread throughout the ecosystem.

That was the end of my use of herbicides. I decided if I didn’t like the weeds, a little extra effort to pull them was a small price for protecting the ecosystem that is the lifeline for not only humans, but all life.

A subject getting much attention in the news and on social media today is laws being considered that either require or do not require labeling of foods with GMOs (genetically modified organisms). One possibility is to support food companies that are self-reporting that their products do not contain GMOs.

Personally, I choose to buy products from companies that self-choose to report, whether required by law or not. This puts the focus on the relationships I have with those from whom I buy food.

Buying organic food products is another opportunity for conscious impact. First, there is the positive impact on our bodies by not ingesting poisonous pesticides. Then there is the bigger picture of keeping these poisonous agents out of the overall ecosystem that sustains life on the planet.

Eating out at restaurants is another opportunity to be conscious. Does the restaurant serve hormone-free meat? Is the produce they use organic? Just asking the proprietor these questions lets them know it’s important to us, another conscious impact.

To me, it really comes down to whether our choices in life reflect our values, and whether we are aware of the impact of our choices. Guilt about our choices doesn’t serve much purpose, but awareness and choices in alignment with our values serve a great purpose in improving our environment.

Whether you share my values or not around environmentalism, the most important takeaway I offer is the opportunity we have, through expanded awareness, to align our day-to-day choices with our values, thus expanding our impact on the world around us.

What is one change you could make this week to align your choices with your values? Are you willing to make that change? Let’s go for it. We are powerful beyond measure. We only need to remember that. Aligning our choices with our values is yet another way we can demonstrate that awesome divine power within us.