Abundance, scarcity, and the environment

How do we abundantly think of something that is legitimately and objectively, well, scarce?

A toughie, right?

Because I want to maintain an abundant mindset while still being mindful of our planet's resources and conditions without getting caught up in the fear of scarcity. And I'd like others to do that as well.

So how do I cultivate an abundant mindset about something while being mindful that there's not an endless supply of clean water, of landfill, food, of clean air, etc?

Well...first of all, I remind myself that the planet is actually FULL of abundance. Earth will continue on...even if we humans make it such an inhospitable place for us to live that we have to evolve into some other species or die out entirely.

So earth is full of abundance.

And then I remind myself that the issue is being responsible and mindful of resources, so I mindfully use what I need and encourage others to do the same, making sure I do so from a place of love for the planet, love for humans, and love for other animals...rather than a sense of fear or scarcity. Taking action based on fear just doesn't work for me, whether it's me acting or someone else. I need act from a place of love and inspiration, rather than duty or obligation. Otherwise my inspiration to act just doesn't last longer than it takes for my fear or anger to die away.

Know what I mean?

So my environmental awareness and actions (and social justice too, but that'll be a different post) come from a place of love. And that's because fear and scarcity simply aren't sustainable! So how could I build a practice and a life of eco-sustainability based on feelings and a mindset that isn't itself sustainable? I can't.

Love for the planet and everything on or in it makes me recycle, makes me reuse things, makes me think about how much I drive and try to carpool, and buying local or organic. It makes me look at the farm bill and whether we're oversubsidizing soy and corn (which we are) and contact my senator or rep to improve it so we subsidize healthy foods rather than genetically-modified or processed foods, or contact them about fracking, or whatever else needs to be handled at a municipal, state, or federal level. It makes me let it mellow if it's yellow, it makes me think about how much meat I eat and try to eat less. It makes me pick up someone else's trash on a beach or on a hiking trail so that some bird doesn't get caught in a plastic bag or a kid doesn't step on a shard of glass. It makes me buy recycled paper. And it made me have numerous conversations with County Waste when I moved out of Brooklyn to upstate NY so I could understand their recycling program. (Which, at the time, was much vaster than NYC's. Yay NYC for finally recycling plastics 1-7, instead of only 1 and 2!) And, of course, more.

It's easy to get infuriated and angry when people don't act in a way that is in alignment with our values. And in this context, when I see people exploiting the environment for gain--whether it's clear-cutting old growth forests, fracking, dumping chemicals into bodies of water so companies don't have to pay to clean it up--yes, it's INFURIATING!

Like I said, my fury doesn't do anything positive for me OR for my environmentalism. It spikes my blood pressure and it actually makes me feel hopeless, like there's nothing that can be done because things are soooo bad that they're irreparable so I might as well give up.

Eek! My anger and fury actually trigger my own scarcity mentality and my own hopelessness. Which is not how I want to live, and doesn't help me do what I want to and need to do, which is...make the world a better, cleaner, and sustainable place.

So I gotta stay in love and abundance and act from that place when I think of the environment or any other social change I desire. And that's what I do, and that's what I hope others do too.

Happy recycling!