The Thing About Awareness

I have a love/hate relationship with this photo. I love it because it represents a day that Ross and I hiked to the Atlantic Ocean side of Eleuthera last month and saw the spectacular beauty of Surfer's Beach, with no other humans around. I hate it because if I had taken the photo from another angle, you would be seeing all of the plastic that has washed up on the beach. And by all I mean A LOT and it went on for miles. Sure, I know that the oceans are polluted, and that plastic never breaks down, and that it's in the fish that we eat. I didn't really get it until I saw it. I can't unsee it. I'm also a little mad at myself for not photographing it, to share what's happening. But this was my vacation, I didn't want to think about it.

This was also the first time I was able to spend time, everyday, snorkeling in and around a coral reef. The beauty of it all was breathtaking, like nothing I have ever experienced. It also connected the dots for me about how the plastic pollution is killing our coral reefs. This week's newsletter is not to get all Debbie-downer on you. This is about HOW we finally become aware.

Since arriving home, I am constantly assessing the plastic in my world. The past has happened, so what actions can I take to not take the plastic shopping bag, not buy the bottle of water. Planning is the only way out until I create new habits around how I store, carry and purchase.

Plastic has made our lives extremely convenient. I was made highly aware of this years ago when I was in San Francisco and couldn't find a plastic bag in my friend's house. I couldn't even fathom how one would live without Ziploc bags. This is a hard habit to break, for sure, but now that I am aware, I am always looking for another way to not grab a Ziplock.

I did make a clean break with my plastic containers as I want to keep my food away from plastic as often as I can.  I am reusing them as drawer dividers and my husband took some to his garage to store parts in. Any that remain will be given to a friend or recycled. The replacements I found required a bit of research. I wanted glass containers that could stack inside each other and lids that were BPA free with the least moving parts. I finally decided on TrueSeal and could not be happier. The glass containers stack nicely inside of each other for storage, and I keep the lids separate in another drawer. I also decided that in addition to using the empty Ball jars as my drinking glasses, Tulid offers a silicone solution which have a whiteboard cap for labeling and can be used in the freezer too.

Creating awareness for my clients around how they are living is a huge aspect of the work I do. It a wonderful thing to I see the lightbulb moment for my clients knowing they will now be on the path of a beautiful and organized life. The new awareness about old habits or things they accepted because they were never questioned about it creates a paradigm shift, and once it's seen, it changes everything.

If you are interested in learning more about the plastic issues on this planet, the documentary Plastic Paradise: the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is available on Netflix and it is certainly eye-opening. This article was also an interesting read about how hemp can be made into almost anything, but is illegal because it looks like marijuana.

What have you become aware of that has changed the way you live?