COVID 19 has caused everything to be in turmoil, and it seemed that recyclables were not going to be separated any more

Contributed By:Dorothy Nevils maslivend@sbcglobal.net

When you hear the term “convenience,” what comes to mind? Do you feel a little “happy beat” in your chest? Does a smile sorta “play at your lips,” kinda like a humming bird flitting (or flirting) around a flower that smells, oh, so sweet? Do your eyelids close to“half-mast” as you breathe out a long… almost soundless… “Thank you” for a promise made… a promise kept?

If you’re anything like me (and right about now, you’re probably thinking, “I’m glad I’m not”) your face loses a bit of the “happy” it held a few minutes earlier if the next thing you realize is… a promise broken.

We’re kinda like little kids when it comes to broken promises. You remember, I’m sure, when your mother, your dad, or somebody else you trusted, promised something… and you waited expectantly for what seemed like forever… and it didn’t come…A promise, just as Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell sang several years ago, “Ain’t Nothin’ Like the Real Thing!” You can’t even touch a promise! It’s like it sits out somewhere in space, out of arm’s reach, but close enough for you to remember… to get a glimpse of… to almost be!

Well, I’ve been all “bent out of shape” for a while now… because of a promise… and not just any promise, but a “broken” promise. You see, for years, I (and some others who are serious about our planet) have separated recyclables from the rest of the “trash,” and, unlike many who just “dump it all together,” the recycle bin has always won, leaving the trash can almost empty, week after week.

However, COVID 19 has caused everything to be in turmoil, and it seemed that recyclables were not going to be separated any more. “That’s all we need… an excuse to make it OK to just dump everything together!”

See, promises lead straight to expectations. They are not threats. They bring, as a popular song says, anticipation… a bit of excitement… something to wait for… You know it’s gonna come, so you just “wait it out.”

What makes a child, for instance, want to do everything it’s told not to do the weeks leading up to Christmas… or right before his (or her)—birthday? Why do those who’ve passed the “sweet lil’ kiddie age” slack up on the “perfect behavior… manners… just who you wanted from day one?” It’s all about promises. Expectations. Fulfillment. Because of your behavior, you can expect—and receive—a certain response!

To tell the truth, many of us have shown little or no respect for this planet. That’s true, too, for many of the people who follow us. Many, seemingly, are only concerned about “today” …and self—not a very “family-oriented” behavior. To be brutally honest, our behavior doesn’t even suggest we care a whole bunch about our children! Does it not occur to us that what we do, and/or refuse to do, impacts our children… our grandchildren…those whom we “supposedly” love so dearly… but not enough to change our ways?

I have done explanations, talks, demonstrations, etc., about Caring for the Earth. People have listened, some for a few minutes. Some have asked questions. Some have gone their way. They don’t have time to find the little triangle on the box, or can, or bottle…or to look for numbers 1-5, all meaning it’s recyclable.

Even at my own church, some have refused to take the subject seriously, continuing to carry their groceries in plastic bags, some even double-bagged, ensuring that wildlife will continue to die because, due to the accumulating debris—our debris—they cannot breathe!

Maybe we have the right to kill ourselves, though I’m not sure we do… but do we have the right to engage in an activity, a practice, that kills others? Find out how your habits impact the health of the planet… and the lives of humans… wildlife... and respond like an adult.

If what I’ve written above hits close to home, here’s my challenge to you: Get past the convenient “out of sight, out of mind” – the habits of toddlers, who cover their eyes and sing, “You can’t see me! You can’t see me!” Then change your habits! Stop throwing everything “away,” that magical place “grown” kids believe in…and make our world a better, cleaner, and safer place…for all of us!

Story Posted:06/29/2020