Happy Earth Day!
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Happy Earth Day!
To celebrate, I am doing posts all week on the subject of our planet, Mother Earth, and related topics.
To start off with, I wanted to share about my son and post some images from his recent venture on Mother Earth.
As a mother it is always a pleasure to watch your kids grow, change and make their way in the world. All three of mine are going through major changes in their life right now.
My son got a great job right out of college working in a cubicle in DC. He loved the job and it was a great position and he got a few promotions, but it just wasn’t him…as in he is so not corporate America.
He longed for something else. We chatted together a lot about this. He has a lot of my ‘free-spiritedness’. He wanted out of the cubicle…he wanted to go do some exploring before the days of a mortgage, wife and kids occurred.
I watched as he started manifesting the perfect situation. The ability to keep the same job, still get paid well, receive benefits and be able to be free at the same time.
He loved the movie Into The Wild. It inspired him. It wasn’t that he needed to run away, it was the spirit of not being encumbered by the typical…well, I’ll use the same label again…corporate America.
He wanted to be able to travel, to go visit and live in places that he was drawn to.
From a cubicle in DC to snowboarding in Northern California
As a parent, you hope your kids get to be and do more than you did. I didn’t seem to have options when I was entering the adult world. I wasn’t encouraged to go for my dreams or even explore what they might be.
It gives me such joy to watch mine go for their dreams. All three are really focused on their dreams vs. just getting a job.
For my son, his new path is more than just getting to go see places he had not yet seen. It was about connecting with his deeper self, it was about seeing life without the blinders of possessions and being/doing what is considered “successful” by American standards.
This Earth Day is especially important as we are having to take a closer look at how we are living our life in regards to our environment and the economy.
Greed, excess and irresponsibility has created what we are experiencing now.
I don’t believe the Earth can or will be destroyed. Life is eternal and the Universe will not allow itself to be destroyed. But, we as inhabitants can destroy what we have come to know as our way of living. We can destroy ourselves.
I recall back in the 80’s while my kids were very young, a boss called me an Earth Momma one day. Everyone who heard him laughed at me and at that time it was an uncomfortable label, even though I truly believed in being thrifty and living as naturally as possible.
Today, I would be proud of that label.
Our planet is amazing. Life is amazing. We have the power within ourselves to create whatever life we want.
I am very proud of my son, of all my kids as they are not afraid to venture into their own “wild” They aren’t afraid to shake off the labels and expectations of the former generation. But, they do have to live and deal with what the former generation created. I’m glad I was somewhat of an earth momma…that they learned a few things about living with respect towards our planet and its inhabitants as well as living more naturally and full of gratitude.
What is your into the wild? What changes would you like to make? What are your uncultivated dreams? What has Mother Earth given you?
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April 23rd, 2008 at 4:50 pm
What a great post!
I just wanted to add a few thoughts to this awesome subject…
I am 23, and I’ve noticed a bit of a trend in a lot of my friends. My generation is unfolding into a much different situation than those in the past. In a lot of metropolitan areas, people have become content with waking up at 6 am, getting ready for work, getting in their automobiles and sitting in traffic for an hour. Work for 8.5 hours in the office, sit in traffic again, eat dinner, and go to sleep. Maybe you get a solid weeks worth of vacation in a year, where you visit your favorite beach or family in a different state.
I was kind of falling into the same lifestyle, but I was really struggling to find fulfillment. I just could not physically, emotionally, and morally deal with 2 hours of traffic a day. So I negotiated a situation that would allow me to work out of the office, and travel around while still contributing to my company. I could be wrong, but I think this is going to happen more and more often from here on out. People are traveling more than ever now. Consumers are consuming beautiful landscapes off the beaten path, as opposed to resorts in Jamaica. It’s a very exciting time for me, to see people’s ambitions expanding more and more each day.
As my Maaaa said, Into the Wild was a very inspiring movie for me. I can say the same for many of my friends. We all look forward to exploring much of what this world have to offer. I don’t plan on having a solid career with one company for the rest of my life. I think it’s important to experience different things, meet different people, and take in the seven different mixes of fresh air that the continents have to offer.
Yes I may struggle monetarily, but I’d rather have an empty pocket than an empty spirit. Plus, can you really appreciate things if you have everything that you want?
Praise jesus!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Ash–This is a beautiful post! You should pitch it to some magazines…more people need to follow this spirit, and you could be just the inspiration they are looking for…just a thought. Thanks, Lauren
mental p mama’s last blog post..Words of Wisdom Wednesday