Earth Day Every Day + Lots of Kindness

In an earlier writing life, I penned an eco-column called EarthWays that offered simple how-to’s. You know, like switching to safer cleansers, avoiding the perils of pesticides, and living a greener life. Thousands of parents, retirees, teachers and others wrote in asking how to protect their health and the planet.

Fast forward and we have even more eco-products, eco-energy, eco-cars and eco-travel. Green info is everywhere. But so are islands of plastic in our ocean, dramatic species extinction, extremes of drought and floods, and heartbreaking fires.

This planetary peril both causes and exacerbates human suffering, from the horrific covid-19 pandemic to global violence. On top of all this, we’re one-two punched by an American political divide that constantly invades our minds.

Who doesn’t want to hide, cringe, escape, argue or ignore?

But, instead, what if we just stopped for a moment? What if we stepped back into our own stillness? Our place of love? Of gratitude? 

There are a ton of studies linking our emotions to our actions (when we’re angry, we’re more likely to take it out on others; when we’re fearful, we tend to judge others, when we’re happy, we’re often nicer, or at least more tolerant.)

But rather than cite research, I’ll recommend Peace Pilgrim, who walked across the U.S. for 28 years, reaching thousands of people, one step at a time. When she first started, her mission was world peace. She soon changed that to inner peace. She realized the first could never happen without the second. 

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live in peace with others,” she said. Her wisdom continues to inspire people all over the world and you can find her free Steps to Inner Peace at www.peacepilgirm.org. 

As a start, we can practice more kindness. So, as we welcome our 52nd annual Earth Day on April 22, 2021, let’s embrace the trademark slogan, Earth Day, Every Day, but let’s add Kindness. Even the tiniest acts of niceness help create inner peace, and that’s our real ticket to a better world!

What are some of your tips for sharing kindness toward each other and the earth? I’d love to hear!