What Does it Mean to be Green?

Green living does not mean that you must live under certain strict guidelines in order to define yourself as a person who lives an earth-conscious life. It simply means that you try on a daily basis to live consciously with the earth in mind. It does not mean that you beat yourself up when you forget to recycle something or you use a paper napkin at a restaurant or you forget to turn your bedroom light off when you leave the room. If we all did that, we would be putting too much pressure on ourselves. Of course, those things are important, but we are human. We will forget from time to time. The point of greener living is to try to be mindful of our choices and try to incorporate new habits that reduce waste, reuse items we would normally throw away, and recycle materials instead of putting them in the trash--on a regular basis.

Guilt does nothing but cause worry lines and make us feel bad. What is important is to stay on task, keeping
our goals clear in our minds. We should never try to be perfect. All that is required to call yourself an earth-conscious individual or family is that you are actively doing things on a daily basis that could fall into the category of green living. And when you can, you add new habits and continue to build on that ideal at your own pace. The degree to which you live your life as green is not important. The important thing is to choose to live green as much as you can.

Green living does not mean that we are judgmental towards others who are not as green as we are. Many times people learn from our example, not our prodding, judging, or critical comments. Talk about your greener living ideas and strategies and the rewards you get from it, but try not to judge someone who has not yet been able, for whatever reason, to incorporate all of that into their lives. When we judge someone harshly or criticize them, making them feel small or insignificant or wrong, we create division when what we want to do is create harmony and togetherness. We are all in this together.
©Michelle A. Potter