back-on-track (confessions)

I don't know about you, but often I get totally excited about something... live with the reality of it for awhile... and then completely forget whatever it was I was excited about and move on to the next thing.

My dear friend Katy jokes that two months to me is like a year... meaning, two months is an unspeakably long amount of time!

Anyways, this is all going somewhere, I promise.

I've allowed myself to be completely immersed in wedding, moving, housewife(ing) etc, that I've let a few things slip... some are really important in general, and some are just really important to me, and it's time to get all these things BACK ON TRACK!

I have a credit card bill weighing over my head... as well as a few phone bills.  I HATE THIS!  This is just general stuff that needs to get done, but with the cost of wedding, moving, honeymoon, it's been put on the back burner until things "go back to normal."  I say enough with that and call today "normal."

The other day I was throwing out some lettuce that had gone bad, and my friend said, "you should throw that in the compost and rinse out the container to recycle it"... and... I was too lazy to do it :S

This next one is embarassing...

I ate mac and cheese .... 4 times last week.

So... here's to getting back on track of my bills, taking care of the environment when I can, and eating healthier.

It hit me the other day that if we want anything other than the status quo for our lives and our families lives, we have to live differently than the status quo. (duh... but nevertheless an epiphany)

1.9 million people 20 years of age and older were diagnosed with diabetes in the US in 2010 alone.
59% of Canadians over the age of twenty are overweight or obese.
26% of children in Canada ages 2-17 are classified as overweight or obese (this has tripled in the last 25 years)
In 2005 the average daily household TV watching time in the US was just over 8 hours per family, Canada was sitting at just over 3 hours per household.

It struck me that in order to not become a statistic, we really have to live differently than what the average lifestyle is.  If we don't want diabetes, we have to change our diet.  If we don't want to be obese, we have to change our lifestyles, if we don't want our families to be watching 3-8 hours of TV a day we have to limit our screen time.

I know this all seems very worldly and not entirely connected to my faith, but I think it is all very connected.  When there are disease epidemics in Africa, it's considered missions work to go and help them, and to tell them about Jesus, and yet, there's massive disease epidemics going on right here in North America, they're just accepted diseases (diabetes, obesity, etc.)  it's not okay to just watch a continent get lazy, and unhealthy.  We may not be dying of starvation, but we're killing ourselves slowly in the other direction.

Also, we're CALLED to be stewards of the Earth, not to use up one third of the resources and peg the pollution to other weaker economies.  It's horrible.

Our bodies are to be temples, and we're supposed to be the managers of the planet we live on.  We're running one corrupt corporation if we're being held responsible for how the earth is used.  The rich get fatter, and the poor get poorer.

This sounds preachy.  I'm sorry.  It is incredibly easy to just forget about this though, and fall into just living with our disposable lifestyle.  It's not just easy, it's encouraged, we watch TV, we go on the internet, we shop (shopping and watching TV are the most common pastimes in North America) and we're told to throw away what we have, and buy new.  It's sort of like brain-washing, and it's hard to stand up and walk in the other direction...

BUT...

It is possible.

I used to think that with enough caring, and keeping, that the earth could be saved, but I now understand that that planet is a dying planet, and that it will eventually perish.  It's not up to us to SAVE the planet, but to respect it and to do the best we can... similarly with our bodies, our earthly bodies are mortal, we will die, but it shouldn't stop us for doing the best we can while we're here.  Our bodies and the planet are a gift, really precious ones.

Anyways, here's to new beginnings and small steps.

(here's 3 small steps I'm going to take to get back on track)
1. stop buying paper towel
2. eat more veggies (buying organic when I can)
3. not spending more than I have

Baby steps.

Here's to a more thoughtful way of living.
Peace.

P.S
If you want more inspiration to be kinder to yourself and to the planet while we're here, google the Cache Creek landfill, it's where the greater Vancouver areas garbage is shipped.  Out of sight out of mind... in sight, in mind.