Dear Cash,

Cash this is your Godfather. Sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better. Sometimes all we see in front of us is doubt, despair, and wrong doings. Sometimes we don’t believe that we can do anything about the problems at hand. But this is when we need to keep fighting for what we believe in no matter what. This is the time that separates the good from the great. Don’t be discouraged for your courage is what will make the world heal itself.

Growing up and living in one of the biggest cities in the world, I wake up everyday to get more and more of a glimpse into the broken systems that are ensuring the planet’s eventual collapse. Seeing people buy more stuff they don’t need and throw away even more, thinking it just goes to this magical place and vanishes, is alarming. I see this problem to be one of excessive waste. That’s all we do in this country, consume. When will we realize that when the oceans are empty, the air is filled with pollution, and all the animals and plants are in major decline, that we can’t eat money, or breathe money, that profit for material wealth is so trivial to what we are doing to the world around us.

I’m constantly trying to be a better person at this. I’m not perfect and I do enjoy the “common” things this life can provide. In my personal life, I don’t use paper products besides the necessity. If I buy something I do my best to reuse the bag it came in or the container itself, especially for glass jars. As a healthy nut that weighs food it works perfect cause you know exactly how much each container holds already. When I’m out and about, I take that extra 2 mins to look around to see if there’s a recyclable receptor. I try to use the big city to my advantage in getting around without my car. There’s so much that can be attained within a 10 min walk, which would probably take longer if I drove just by looking for parking.

Time. First of all to have a very full, jam packed life makes it harder to spend attention on matters. Also because this is such the way of life in a big city, convenience and access to quicker ways of attaining goods and services is also the backdrop. Most of the time these conveniences are at the cost of the environment in some shape way or form. It’s simply a barrier when so much around you is not for the things you seem to care about too.

I’m going to search out the ways it can be done. What I’ve found is there are others out there, and they are out there making a big impact. I can start small and give financially to support such movements, and learn how to slowly integrate it into my life. I can also keep the hope alive and the knowledge of the true nature of things by communicating to others. Gracefully getting the word out there will pay in dividends.

I plan to reduce my carbon footprint drastically, and support other companies with my business that do the same thing.

We can all do better by realizing that as an individual we can make a difference one person at a time. If in one day we all walked to the store instead of drove, or we all threw away one less thing, or if we all made sure we used cleaner and efficient energy sources, that’s how we can create growth and rebirth to this struggling situation. It all starts with that one small act, or the conversation to try. We can just focus on progress instead of giving up because we can’t be perfect.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.~ Edmund Burke