Smart-Alecky Therapeutics

I went for a walk today and it was wonderful! I took this photo while on my walk. The landscape is brown and dry except for random wildflowers and I can’t resist taking pics of them. Bright spots in a sea of muted dry meadow grass. So lovely!

I don’t want to jinx myself, but I believe I’m in the clear now. I’ve felt energetic all week, it’s like a heavy film has been washed away and the sparkle has returned. Bye-bye post-viral funk and good riddance!

Last night I was emptying the vacuum debris into the dumpster and noticed a little rack on the ground being discarded. When people move out they often leave items next to the dumpsters that others may possibly be able to use. There is so much stuff that gets thrown out.

I love to recycle/upcycle/reuse because there’s already too much stuff in circulation, overconsumption, and waste. That’s one of the reasons why I love thrift stores and Habitat ReStores. I brought the rack back upstairs to our apt, cleaned it off, and put my art supplies and books on it, so it’s like a little storage shelf, nice to have my stuff up off the floor and organized.

I’ve been noticing ads for hygiene and cleaning supplies that avoid the use of plastic packaging, I’m so glad to see that because I’ve been concerned about all of the plastic we use that may not actually be recycled. I read news articles and then I try and reform my behavior accordingly.

I’ve minimized my chocolate consumption because I read about the child labor involved with harvesting. I also decreased my asparagus consumption because of its higher carbon footprint. I try to buy local produce and products too. I plan on getting an electric car when we need to replace the one we have now.

Now I will see about purchasing hygiene and cleaning supplies that don’t rely on plastic packaging. I feel bad about all of the toothbrushes we’ve used over the years that are piled up in a landfill. I’ll do some research on toothbrushes that are more eco friendly too. It will feel good when I’ve decreased the plastic we use. I no longer trust that it’s being recycled.

When I switched jobs I looked for ones that were closest in proximity so I wouldn’t have far to drive. The last job I had, I walked to. Loved that. Now I hope to work from home, so no driving for work. The places we shop are within 5 miles. I believe every little bit we can do to save the environment adds up over time.

I heard some fireworks go off a little while ago and was horrified because it’s bone dry out, there’s been a drought, why would anyone be messing with fireworks? I was on edge a few minutes imagining how to proceed if we needed to evacuate. I rehearsed in my mind which items to grab first and how much time would we have? That’s why I haven’t unpacked and reorganized photos and sentimental items because as they are they can be easily and quickly grabbed and thrown in the car.

So far I’ve never had to evacuate from anywhere I’ve lived, knock on wood. I’m not optimistic that I’ll continue to have such good fortune though with the way things are going environmentally. I’m hoping drastic measures will be implemented to help avoid worsening environmental disasters, but I’m not too optimistic on that front either.

When I was Skyping with our kids this week I apologized to them saying that when they were conceived I didn’t expect that they’d be living through the “apocalypse” and we laughed about it. Though it’s really not funny, sometimes gallows humor is therapeutic. I said that there’s not much I can do about it now, ha and though I care and wish things were different, there’s not much I can do about it, so I do what I can and let go of the rest. Then we talked about politics and trying to reach common ground, listen to, respect, and understand each other as much as we can.

Then they said something about, now Desiderata is gonna be playing in the background, I asked, what was that? They said they’re more plugged in than I and the conversation quickly veered to another topic. I was curious though and later I googled it and had a good laugh. I think they were being sarcastic again. We get a little bit smart assy lol. That can be therapeutic too, lmao.