Satisfaction

Prad left for his cousin’s Indian wedding reception in DC. I miss him already. The good part is I have the house all to myself, and I get to clean up our fridge. Green Guru is on this ‘no waste’ kick. Our fridge is full of moldy stuff, that he refuses to throw away. Just now, I threw, hard as a rock half eaten steak, grilled corn from last weekend, super wilted salad leftovers, and Styrofoam cup with week old Indian carryout. I can’t describe the satisfaction.

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The Power of Confession

I have started noticing an interesting phenomenon. Many of my friends who read my blog, are telling me they think of me now, and of the things I write before they act. And they report making small changes in their daily life, as a result. They remember to take their green bags to Whole Foods. They think twice before declaring something dirty laundry. They stop, before clicking on the Order button. They think of me, and my ramblings, and they start thinking, and acting differently. They are even becoming greener than I am.

My main interest in writing the blog was to understand how personal psychology can affect an average person like me, in relationship to making, or rather not making, the lifestyle changes that are necessary to solve the climate crisis. Hence, the goal was not to change myself necessarily, at least in the short term, or anybody else for that matter. That so much positive action has resulted, speaks to the power of confession, and of being real.

Yesterday was especially busy, and the green bags were last in my mind. The bags stayed on the door knob, and I had an interesting chat about that with the lady bagger at Whole Foods. Apparently, I am not alone. Thousands of people every day, also forget.

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“Paper or Plastic”

What will it take for me to remember to bring the reusable bags to Whole Foods? That one is a real hard one. On my way back from Foothill, I decided to swing by Whole Foods to do some last minute grocery shopping, just to be efficient. Of course, the bags were not in the car. While waiting in line at the checkout counter, the magazine cover dares me with its headline, “In 93 years, half of the earth species will be instinct”. Now I feel really guilty. The clerk seems oblivious to my internal battle. And the bagger does not realize the effect of his “Paper or plastic”, on my already fragile mental state. To assuage my guilt, I instruct him to please use only one plastic bag. I will carry the eggs and the loaf of bread. I quickly scan the crowd , secretly hoping to find other sinners like me, without the glorious green bags in hand.

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