We start with a fundamental truth that we can too easily forget: our bodies come from particles of animal and plant life that once belonged to other plants or animals and so on backwards through time to the dawn of life on earth. Years from now bits of who we are today will form part of an infinite variety of living things. In essence the same material is simply being recycled through nature in different ways over time. So that on the most basic physical level we are one with our planet.
The challenge for humanity is for our consciousness to embrace this truth and act as part of nature rather than as separate from it. In our book We Are One: A Manifesto for Humanity, we have articulated this approach:
“We embrace our oneness with nature with reverence and respect for all life.”
It is consciously framed as a broad principle rather than a narrow prescriptive dogma to give space for people to work with it according to their own circumstances and life experience. So there are many ways to understand and apply it.
This is one of them.
Megan: A Personal Experience
When I was about 11, we learnt at school how humans were impacting the planet. We researched themes of renewable energy, reducing emissions, recycling etc. This made me conscious of my impact on my local and global environment and increasingly aware of the various ways in which humans were damaging it.
The wellbeing of the environment was always on my mind. I thought I was “doing my bit” until about ten years later I stumbled across a documentary. I was at a friend’s house, we had ordered a takeaway, not sure what to watch, I casually mentioned a documentary which I had seen pop up a few times on social media. By the end of it, I had decided I was going vegan. During my childhood every meal had animal products, and my dad’s income relied on country sports or pest control. Veganism was quite the opposite of what I knew.
But it felt right. Something clicked that evening, as if my mind said, “Well of course veganism makes sense”. Watching the documentary, I felt like it was the answer to all the ethical points I felt strongly about: pollution, water usage, animal wellbeing, poverty, deforestation etc…
I went vegan almost instantly. For six months I was a vegan who occasionally gave in, until at lunch with friends in a restaurant in France the options were meat, meat and more meat, with one fish option. I ordered the fish. I looked down at my plate and felt a wave of guilt and sadness. I did not want to eat it, but then I felt like the fish had died for nothing if I did not. That was the last time I knowingly ate an animal.
Taking Action
I tried various types of veganism, mindful of making the “best” choices. I tried only cooking with seasonal food, going raw, “eating the rainbow”, not eating processed food, a juice diet. None of them lasted, though veganism remained.
Because of veganism, I was conscious of where my food came from. Did I want my food covered in plastic? No, so I then would only buy food in non-plastic packaging. But glass was worse for the environment than plastic, as transporting it uses more fuel. Then, should I be supporting local business like the health food shop rather than large supermarkets? But they didn’t have all the fresh produce I needed, so that meant another trip to the local greengrocer.
Oh but wait, the supermarket sells organic, not everything is organic at the greengrocer. Oh, and if I am to get the right nutrition, I need to be eating all different fruit and vegetables, so maybe I can’t always be organic? The list of what I needed to consider about groceries seemed to grow and grow; seasonal produce, air miles, cleaning products and so on.
So, that is every Saturday planned. A health food shop, greengrocer, two refill shops and a supermarket. Oh, and where I live there is no recycling facility, so I take the recycling to my parents and put it in their recycling bins. There are unsightly piles of recycling building up in my flat, but what else can I do? I need new clothes, my jeans have holes in. But supporting fast fashion is surely the wrong choice? But I am plus sized, and it is so much easier to find clothes my size in well-known fast fashion brands. I look online. Buying from small businesses is completely out of my affordability.
Every corner of my life was taken over: travel, social activities, work. I was constantly trying to work out what the best option would be. It never felt like I could make the right choice.
Becoming Overwhelmed
Eco anxiety was taking over. No matter what I did it would never be enough. I was trying to reach an unobtainable perfectionism. But I was always doing it wrong. My life was spent thinking about how to reduce my impact on our planet. My social life was suffering, and though I would tell myself it wasn’t that much more expensive, I was finding it increasingly costly. Something needed to give.
I just could not do it anymore, all joy had been sapped away, I began to resent all my “eco-friendly” choices. Apart from veganism itself, I chucked the rest of it. Two things then happened. First, the guilt, not from not doing enough, but doing “nothing”. Then came the relief. My quality of life improved.
I went to the supermarket, made choices purely by what I wanted. My flat stopped being some sort of recycling centre, I got my space back. The little things took some of the pressure off.
I am not promoting that we all give up, but I suggest taking a step back before it becomes too much. It is OK to not be doing everything, it is OK to make mindful choices, it is OK to have balance, it is OK to make choices that give you a better quality of life.
The environment remains an important factor in my lifestyle decisions, but it does not consume me. I have been on a journey, an evolution. I believe my journey will continue and I will keep on evolving. My wellbeing improves. Other areas of my life heal. I no longer strive for perfectionism. The decisions I make today may differ from those in the future, but that is OK, that is growth. What served me before was appropriate then, a stepping stone that took me forward to where I am now.
By Simenon Honoré and Megan Hollamby
Any views expressed are not necessarily those of Spirit of the Rainbow as a whole
Discover more about oneness with We Are One: A Manifesto for Humanity.
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