The Dichotomies of Going Green

There are literally hundreds of ways to go “green” in your daily life. In fact, if one were to Google “green tips”, they would surely be bombarded with hundreds upon thousands upon millions, of web pages, each with their own set of cherished “Top 10’s”. By no means is that a bad thing, however; in fact, it’s quite the contrary. As we'll soon see, these represent parts of a whole – dichotomies that may be imagined.

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The Body

A good starting place to discuss the multitude of these tips can be what many of us focus on the most: our bodies. How does going green factor into this? Well, in a number of ways: first, we can discuss diet. There are many things you can do, from sorting out your macronutrients to eating organically and shopping at your local farmers market. By doing so, you decrease the demand of foods shipped from across the nation, you support local growers who use less chemicals, and you get the best, healthiest product for your body.

Additionally, though, there is exercise (a topic of great discussion among healthy-living enthusiasts). Here, too, the idea of “green” can be factored in. For example, rather than taking the car to work, try a combination of biking and public transportation. This way, you benefit your body, you save money on gas, and you support your local community by ridesharing.

The Mind

Going green can also be cross-sectioned into the field of the mind. Here, the connection to sustainability, organic living, and community development is found in the notion of awareness. Essentially, the more we open our mind – be it to green technology, unique approaches to community development, or even levels of gratitude – the better we understand the dynamics of our world.

Earth may be humans’ eternal womb; in other words, we will be living and growing here for long time, if not indefinitely. Because of this, the better we understand our spot in the universal, the better stewards we can be to our home. Truly, a mind is  terrible thing to waste, and just like the muscles in our body, it must constantly be exercised to the best performance.

The Soul

Like the mind, the more we develop our souls, the better they become. Additionally, like the body, the soul is ever growing, and, in some respects, will grow without our permission as we cannot take back our experiences. The idea of ‘green’ comes into play with the soul in a number of ways, too: first, with the soul we find love and memory, allowing us to create a very special type of sustainability. We are able to carry cultural values amongst a people for generations through writings, story telling, and tradition.

Secondly, the soul allows us to explore various gateways in the mind, creating a sense of empathy for others, and creating a sense of curiosity in foreign traditions, which may even seem taboo. This helps develop our mind further, but in a much more philosophical way. In a sense, our soul becomes well-rounded after being exposed to new ideas, new people, and new customs.

The Society

Branched off from individual enlightenment is social enlightenment. Here, individuals’ knowledge become a collective pool of information. On the social level, we can share ideas, beliefs, fears, and hopes. This, like in our own minds, cultivates a better sense of community and stewardship. For example, if one person suggests energy efficient tips at work, another may implement some of those tips at home, which may cause their children to do so in the future, which may change another’s point of view down the line – and so on and so forth. This further applies to energy conservation, water conservation, implementation of green energy policy, and education (as well as many other social developments).

The belief here is that collective knowledge is better than individual knowledge because it has the ability to reach out and grab the best ideas. Wiki’s, for example, show the power of collectivity (as well as some of the weaknesses). Nevertheless, powerful and positive effects stem from humans coming together in society; we inform each other about changes in our world, and we present solutions to better aid our fellow human.

Feeling the Green

That said, whenever you see the word “green” in a title, try to think about it within the big picture. Those millions of web pages all hold a special spot within the idea, allowing each to use the broad, expansive title of “green”. So while it may seem to be overwhelming, what we are really seeing are pieces to the same puzzle. Whether that puzzle can be realized in a whole (Pin Itas this article attempted to do) is unknown.

Then again, that’s the beauty of the whole notion. There are always new ideas, new spins on old ideas, and old ideas that are still worthwhile. It very well may be impossible to try to grapple the entire notion of “green”. Nevertheless, many of us do so on a local level every day. We recycle, we take the bus, or maybe we just make sure that the faucet isn’t running while we brush our teeth.

Whatever it may be, it is powerful. Even if it seems small (as a single person can feel at times), it is a part of something much larger (like every person is).

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