Living On Purpose

As I ponder on the meaning of living on purpose, I wonder how to bring up the issue of landfills and recycling. I’ve been wondering for some time now. I like to think that if you’re aware of the choice you’re making when you throw something away, you’re living on purpose. If something is in your hands, and you walk over to the trash can and watch it leave your fingers and land in the trash, it’s like affirming,

“I am sending you to the landfill because that’s the best place for you.”

Or perhaps it’s like stating,

“I’m sending you to the landfill because I’m too lazy to investigate whether there is somewhere better for you.”

Around me in my little neighborhood, only three or four houses put out recycling bins. That’s because the city where I live forces you to pay extra to get recycling pickup. But still, I see little interest in reducing the trash going to landfills from many people, even the ones I “preach recycle” to. As a citizen of the world, however, I believe that all of us have personal responsibility for the things that pass through our hands. And I just found a man who believes this way, too. He’s embarked on a year long experiment in waste reduction by sending all his trash to his own basement instead of the landfill.

Here is a little of what Sustainable Dave has learned:

“But I think the most enlightening aspect of this challenge is discovering how hard it was to change a basic habit. Try training yourself to never throw anything away and you’ll see what I mean. Having said that, now that I have gotten used to it, I don’t even think of heading for the garbage can anymore. It’s actually become a part of my routine. And that got me to thinking.

The “solutions” that we all read about daily are all out there, yet many find it hard to change. For some, it’s a matter of not knowing where to start. For others, it’s a question of information. And for many more of us, it’s a tendency to give up due to how overwhelming it all can be.”

Changing habits is very difficult, indeed. It really is all about re-training yourself. Whether you are re-training your brain to think about what you really do want instead of what you don’t want, or re-training yourself to actually screw on the toothpaste cap (or even just flip the lid closed), or re-training yourself to become a more sustainable citizen of the world, change takes practice and persistence.

Practice and persistence lead to purpose!

365 Days of Trash by Sustainable Dave

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