My mamma taught me to be frugal, to pinch pennies, to hate waste. My biblical daddy taught me I was a spoiled brat if I "wasted my talents". My grandma Tilley raised me up on Poor Richard's Almanac's addages, which she quoted as conversation in our shared bedroom:
- A stich in time saves nine.
- A penny saved is a penny earned.
- Waste not, want not.
- A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
I have not always been the best steward of their teachings. I have been impacted by the "gimme, gimme" entitlement generation. But I have been equally impacted by them and more so as I grow older and realize my connections to the community. The community of man is only as good as the people in it.
Plus, I firmly believe that if I want my prayers answered, I MUST PLUG INTO THE COSMIC FLOW. One of the cosmic forces going is RECYCLING. Every week John and I haul a huge refuse can to the road filled with onion skins, potato peels, fat trimmings, and way, way, way more tin cans, glass bottles, junk mail, and milk cartons than we care to imagine. We can't comprehend how we generate so much trash. We really can't.
This week, after Maxie won his Excellent titles and I decided to relax for a few months, I began to focus on my own life, clearing out clutter, tying up loose ends. It didn't take long for me to see that I can no longer store all the beautifully tapered glass wine bottles, those Heinz Chili Sauce bottles I've been saving to make salt and pepper shakers, those cleverly fluted Maple Syrup bottles I could potentially one day use for potions. I had to get rid of them, so I began clearing them out -- tossed them into the trash can, where they sat for a day.
To my incredible surprise, this worked on my conscience until I could not stand it any more. All that good glass. All that engineering and design talent, thrown away. There must be some further use to put it to besides a landfill. I became restless. My social consciousness was aroused again.
This morning John and I talked it over and, being the dear that he is, he volunteered to contact the City Parish Recycling people, and they said we could either pick up a wheeled refuse can especially designated for recycling, or wait 4-6 weeks for one to be delivered.) He drove right over. Reading the instruction sheet, we were amazed to discover that over half of what we've been throwing away can be recycled, and we're no longer required to divide things out into glass/paper/metal to participate. It can all go in one can, which is picked up on Mondays same as our other trash cans.
I used to recycle, when I had my school. I had purchased a PVC stand with three bins you line with 3 plastic garbage bags, one for glass, one for paper, and one for metal. They were a "station" in my classroom. I thought it was neat teaching children to identify various materials, and we made periodic field trips to bring each bag to the different pick-up points, even collecting a few pennies for the cans. But practically speaking, that is too darn much work. Nobody has time for that. That's why, when I closed down my school and there was no longer any "educational value" in it, I quit recycling. And the years went by.
Until yesterday. If I want the Goddess to smile down upon me and gratify my desires, whatever they are, I MUST do good deeds! I must participate in the cycle of life. What goes around comes around. I FIRMLY BELIEVE IN THAT. I can never be fully blessed until I become a blessing to others.
So now I am recycling -- happily building my and my doggie's "competition karma" and many other good things besides, with every bottle, can, plastic container rinsed out and tossed into the bin. I already feel the momentum building for 2011 to be a big WIN.
Upwards and onward!
