Our Earth, Our Heart

We all inhabit this Earth together, all of us. Our Earth is the heart of humanity, of life as we know it. Without the Earth, the lifeblood that supports humanity, all life, to survive ceases to be. People's reluctance to safeguard our Earth would be more of a surprise if people weren't so reluctant to care for their own hearts and bodies until they suffer a catastrophic scare.

We treat both our bodies and our planet as if they owe us instead of acknowledging the role they play in our existence. Treatment of our bodies and our Earth are so intertwined that when we mistreat one we harm the other. When we treat one well, treating the other better follows naturally, at least to some degree.

When I started really looking into how to be healthy, I kept coming back to the same things. Eat well, put fewer toxins in and on my body, and use fewer chemicals in my life. It took me a little longer to acknowledge those same things are necessary to keep the Earth vibrant and productive.

I stumbled into living sustainably by accident. I'd never even considered that anything I did damaged the Earth. I was just one little person. Growing up on a farm, I was taught to respect the Earth for all it provided, at least in theory. In practice, we used fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides that increased our yield but damaged the Earth and likely our health.

I started my journey to make my body healthier first. I wanted to look better and feel better. Exercise alone wasn't getting me there. So I started researching eating better. I incorporated many things into my life as my budget allowed, but money spoke louder than health in those days. I could save a lot of money by buying processed foods instead of fresh produce that didn't last as long, so when money was tight I did. Our trips to the doctor increased year by year. Doctors kept telling me that was just part of getting older. I was twenty-five the first time a doctor said that to me! What the... Sighs! I wasn't quite ready to accept that our diet affect our health so much.

Eventually, my ongoing studies lead me to eat more sustainably and ethically grown food. It seemed like each step I took helped a little but the most effective thing I ever did for my health was adopt a whole food, plant-based diet. I found nutritionfacts.org particularly helpful on my journey to eating a healthier diet. Imagine how excited I was to discover a whole food, plant-based diet was also healthier for the Earth. See more on that journey on my blog, Vegan Cooking with TLC.

I also searched for a solution to my sensitivity to cleaning to cleaning products. Cleaning my home resulted in debilitating headaches, stomachaches, nausea, and a general fatigue I couldn't shake. I thought this was just the way life was, but I started procrastinating cleaning more and more often. Then I injured my shoulder and couldn't clean. The cleaning service I hired didn't clean silver. I needed a way to clean our five pieces of silver without needing to polish it.

I went to the bookstore and searched for a cleaning book with a solution (today I'd just Google it). In the stack of books I was looking through was a book, Clean House, Clean Planet by Karen Logan. As I looked for the page on cleaning silver, I kept getting distracted by other sections in the book. Within minutes, the ideas and facts intrigued me. The descriptions of the effects of the chemicals used in cleaning products described my reactions to cleaning completely. I couldn't believe it. This wasn't all in my head. Someone else knew about it, too. The chemicals in the cleaning products I used were toxic! I essentially poisoned myself every time I cleaned my home.

The effects on the planet barely penetrated my thoughts even though she discussed them at length. I wanted to feel better. I still didn't quite see how my actions affected the Earth, but I saw the potential to clean without getting sick and save money in the process.

I tried out the recipes and they worked as well as, sometimes even better than, the commercial products I'd been using.

Seeing how nontoxic cleaning products lead to improvements in my health lead me to start looking at other products I used. I started reading about the toxins in every day products like soap, shampoo, and other self-care products. I eventually read Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano and was aghast at how often I was slathering myself with toxins! So I started searching for alternatives. In the process I discovered there were some products I used out of habit or because that's what I'd been taught to do. When I stopped using them, I discovered I didn't need them at all. Others I found alternatives that worked better. And, again, this process of choosing healthier alternatives for me lead to me choosing healthier alternatives for the Earth.

This lead me to think about the toxins in the clothing I wore against my skin. I slowly started to seek out better solutions for what I wore trying to balance buying less toxic materials against cost. I struggled a bit with clothing and shoes. I like pretty clothes. I like to put together interesting outfits. I particularly like fun shoes. But, I've worked at it. I've learned to buy less and wear things longer. I've learned to seek out more sustainable materials and practices.

Every step in my journey to treat the planet better started for selfish reasons that lead me to see a bigger picture.

Every move I took to make myself healthier also improved the Earth's health even if only marginally. I love that taking care of myself and my family better also works toward making the Earth healthier. If we don't take care of our bodies, our health suffers. If we don't take care of our Earth, the Earth's ability to take care of us suffers. We must make the right choices to help our Earth remain healthy if we wish for it to continue to pump the lifeblood of resources we both need and enjoy.