Article 15: One Family: Loving the Earth with Loved Ones
by
Sapna Rao
Seeker, Niece, Prthvi Mitra
The word “Family” is powerful. To me, it is rooted in compassion, sacrifice, and inclusivity.
Vedanta teaches us to keep expanding our definition of “Family”; that in fact the whole world is one family. Surely, this must include our Mother Earth Herself.
Over the past month, I had the chance to spend quality time with family in Bharat. During this visit, I was particularly inspired by how much of the lifestyle in India can naturally center around loving the Earth as family:
- Access to seasonal and low food-miles vegetables at local farmers markets
- Focus on fresh foods, with minimal reliance on packaged or processed foods. One day, we enjoyed fresh fruit juices, served in the fruits themselves! (I did eat the guava-cup afterwards 😊)
- Sustainable dairy practices; my family procures milk from a cow that is cared for near where they live. Pictured below, they also bring her dung home to nourish their garden.
Notably, it was a special time to connect with my aunt, who shares my love for sustainability and has dedicated herself to serving the Earth in different ways. At a community level, she has spearheaded efforts to restore a local lake; with aim to reverse the damage that humans throwing landfill waste has had and to reintroduce biodiversity in terms of the plants and birds by the lake. I was particularly interested to learn that she has garnered interest from many in the local community to participate in the restoration efforts – the same community that perhaps once did not care that their neighborhood lake was being filled with trash would now show up on a Saturday morning for a clean up or birdwatching meet up.
At an individual household level, she has made several adaptations to lifestyle across food habits, living chemical and plastic-free. Many of the lifestyle habits she has committed herself to – like refusing single-use cups – have inspired me to make similar changes.
I was most curious to learn about how she has brought her immediate family on her journey as an environmentalist. Some of us may relate to the situation of starting to make changes to love the Earth ourselves, but being unsure how we can bring our loved ones along with us. In this month’s Prthvi Sevasanga, I am excited to introduce you all to my aunt as we have a candid conversation on household level changes we can try to implement, and navigating sharing our love for the Earth with loved ones.
Action to Implement
Post your reflections & observations in the comments section below ⬇️
🌱 April 2023: 💝 Gather your loved ones and plant native trees and native perennials!. 🌳 Track progress and share pictures with the Community to reach the goal of 1000 trees by Arbor Day! (April 28th).
Past Months Action to Implement
🌱 March 2023: (1) Plant seeds to start a kitchen garden indoor or outdoor. (2) share pictures in the comment section below.
🌱 February 2023: Research a local environmental group and attend their upcoming meeting
🌱 January 2023: 🌍 Create your personal practices for the 6 fundamental virtues
🌱 December 2022: ✅Do the following:
- Simplify one closet or one drawer in your home every week. Remove items that have not been used in the last 1 year.
- Dispose of unneeded items in a responsible way.
🌱 November 2022: ✅Make a list of the gifts you usually give during the holidays.
🌱 October 2022: This month, add 1 or 2 regional plants from the Xerces Pollinator Conservation website to your landscape!
🌱 September 2022: This month, review the Green Building list & commit to 1 simple and 1 challenging item to implement in your community/center.
🌱 August 2022: This month, read the Prthvi Seva Guide & commit to at least one practice to make your center/community more sustainable.
🌱 July 2022: This month, take a closer look at your travel impacts:
🔢 Estimate the carbon emissions of your mode of travel, lodging, food, and purchases
🙋🏻♀️ Commit to making one change to reduce your carbon footprint
🌱 June 2022: This month, take a closer look and identify your food waste as:
🍌 food prep scraps
🍽️ plate waste (unfinished food)
🤦🏻♀️spoiled or unwanted foo
🌱 May 2022: Implement the following actions.
- Reduce food Packaging.
- Learn about local and seasonal foods.
- Support a local grower & shop at Farmer’s Markets.
🌱 April 2022: Sahasra Vrksha Sankalpa – As a CommUnity, bring your heart and hands to the ground to plant 1000 trees together. Track and share here.
🌱 March 2022: Contribute to the health of our planet and the health of beings by doing the following:
Each day take inventory of what goes in the trash.
Identify the most common item.
Find an alternative that eliminates this waste.
🌱 February 2022: Implement the following and encourage others to follow:
- Unplug chargers when not in use
- Use the ‘Energy Saver’ mode on phones & laptops
- Use cold water for laundry & line dry
🌱 January 2022: Identify 3 actions you do that help the environment and 3 actions that harm it
