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This postcard came to me from my auto repair shop.
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The irony was not lost on me.
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,
I'd say it's time for an oil change
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in more ways than one.
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My prayers these days are full up
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with thoughts of wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico,
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and folks in Saint Bernard County in New Orleans,
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who courageously survived their first disaster
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only to now face
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the gunky disgusting thick presence of
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oil in their pristine waters
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and protected shores.
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What can I do?
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How can I lessen my own dependence on oil?
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Because it has to start with me.
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The solution has to include me.
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This much I know....
Hey, we were posting at the same time!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same as you, I just donated a little money today(thanks to you, lo and Angela), but beyond that, there has to be more we can do. I have no answers yet, I already drive very little and only started driving 10 years ago, and did you know that not eating meat uses less oil? I am happy to say that I have not had meat since I was 13. But I know there has to be more...
xoxo
I agree with you both, there has to be more, yet donating and praying is all we can do. I suppose a part of our frustration is guilt that it is them and not us, yet we wouldn't want it to be us.
ReplyDeletethe part I like about your reminder is
TIME FOR A CHANGE, which I am working towards as i emerge from a lengthy and heavy 6 month depression. lotsa love to you and let's all concentrate on our 'oils' this week girls!
Kj, so lovely to read this post and your love for the people and wild life. It is an awful thing to have happened. While you are all dealing with the mess and upset. Some brits are moaning about money. Pooh to that! Life and love is way more important!
ReplyDeleteLoads of love to you all!
Julie
The moans are from the media here. They are keeping us manipulated and away from the new developments.
ReplyDeleteI almost can't bear to think about it, but I do think we all have to take individual responsibility in whatever ways we can.
ReplyDeleteI love that card, kj. :) It is time for an oil change. Mother Earth sure needs our help, that much has become very clear. I know I could do oodles more here, in my own home. That is what I am concentrating on first. I have been composting, and recycling like crazy (thank goodness the county I live in picks it all up at the curb). I have FINALLY trained myself to take my canvas bags to the grocery store (that only took 5 years! Sheesh.). I have put a butterfly/bee garden out back, and I am so happy to see the honeybees there. I like Annie's suggestion of eating less meat. I might have trouble with the carnivores I live with, but I will try that. ;) xox! Pam
ReplyDeleteI posted about the Gulf Disaster a few months back....and left names and contact numbers....voices need to be heard enmasse.... plus, we all need to do our bit as well.
ReplyDeleteSan Francicso, for all its' excentricities, has been a recycle leader in the States for years. We all do composting and have for a while.. but still, it is important to think about what each one of us can do individually, in our respective countries (as this effects the World)... we are in crisis...and if the youngsters growing up now are to have nature in their lives....we must begin to act. As a race, we have abused Mother Nature and the Earth... it is time to respect our World - as we respect ourselves.
Sorry for the "sermon" - but this is near and dear to my heart.
Love,
♥ Robin ♥
annie, i like knowing about eating meat. i eat very little to begin with, and this is an incentive to reduce meat even more (except for thanksgiving--yum!)good for you for the donation. lori made it easy for me to donate too.
ReplyDeletejoss, ah it's nice to hear from you. i think not just donating and praying: for me i want to cut down my own dependence on oil. i am looking for and very opening to knowing how to do that.
julie, ah, BP is a british company. at first i didn't understand who was complaining and why. this is a worldwide problem: our EARTH. i hope we are all smarter and more conscious than we've been. some things can't be undone. xoxo
cs, yes, i think that too. i hope our collective consciousness has been shaken. i really hope that, because then we will start to act differently.
pam, HAHAHA! i've started to do everything you've said. except too often i forget those damn grocery bags. but i'm trying. i just planted bee balm for the first time. i'm following YOU, pam!!! tell me anytime what else to do and i'll do it! xoxo
robin, amen. you are so right. i can't look at the birds and sea inhabitants any more. my heart breaks. this is absolutely NOT the time to feel helpless. i would head for the gulf for a week or two if i could figure out how to help. and i want to do my part right here in my home and community.
KJ, yes...all these comments are uplifting..... we TRULY can make a difference if we all pull together and not TRY - but really DO...
ReplyDeleteIf every person who reads your blog thinks about it and begins to conserve - in all ways....and passes it on to their own bloggers...etc. etc... it can spread - and create a lot of good!
Financial donations DO help... but we need to raise our collective voices to our individual governments...and begin to live a really "green" life.... the animals and plants cannot do it on their own...looking at your "followers", we are off to a good start!
It is not too late....
Love,
♥ Robin ♥
Kj- Yes, it is amazing how much energy=oil it takes to raise the animals that people eat. And many who love animals still eat them, I do not understand this, I don't judge it, but I really think when people buy meat at the store, they forget the horrific conditions most of them are kept in and the horrible deaths they die. I think also that we must make it known to the world that we won't let the people off the hook who let this happen in the Gulf. I think ALL the people responsible for this mess should be behind bars. I know that won't happen, but it should.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I joined Robin in the sermon, but it needs to be said.
Love.
xoxo
I have to say it's not just BP, it's the entire oil industry on which we all depend for so many reasons. Home heating, gasoline for the car, plastics...yes, it's all petroleum! When I see folks at the supermarket with tons of plastic bags in their carts I have to say I'm amazed that they don't even think about it. I bring my cloth bags into every store...(Pam, keep them on the front seat until it becomes a habit! )but always, always the baggers will put things in plastic if you're not paying attention! I say "Hey, no plastic please." and they roll their eyes. What do they think we bring our own bags in for, because they're pretty to look at??
ReplyDeleteAnd as much as I rant, I know I can be doing more. I donate money when I can, and I donate art to raise money for awareness, but am I aware enough myself??
probably not :(
But as I've said before, if we all do something, incrementally we can make a difference.
In the words of Renee, Collette, Jacquie, Angelique and Sheldon...
together strong ;)
xoxoxo
Lo♥
P.S.Regarding taking bags to the store, one of our stores here in Taos, gives you chips that count as 20 cents each, for every bag you bring in and then they have cans where you can donate the chips to various local charities. It is very successful, you might want to mention this to the stores you go to and see if they might do something like this.The store saves bags. Everyone wins. xoxo
ReplyDeleterobin, ♥
ReplyDeleteannie, ♥
lo, i'm guilty of forgetting my cloth bags. thanks for the lecture and reminder. pam and i are going to do better! it's a tough one: figuring out what to do onesself but wake up calls can be good for that. ♥
annie, that is a great idea, because i think most of us really want to help and feel good when we do. ♥
Oh kj, i LOVE this. I'm so proud to be in the company of not only you but all the beautiful friends here (which i still need to get to know!).
ReplyDeletehave i already written this quote that i love?..." it is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little - do what you can".
every little bit helps, walking, carpooling, taking public transportation, riding a bike. being a locavore, planting a garden, buying previously owned, recycle, reuse, compost...there is so much more.
this is SO dear to my heart too. I love that you wrote about it. i can't even write about the wildlife/birdlife in peril.
love you,
lori
Hear hear! Just how many of us realise how much oil is used in our everyday lives - re education is necessary.x
ReplyDeleteHi Kj, I wanted to tell you that it is not strange at all. We all have angels and spirit guides to help us and we have been supressed in a way through life. I am reading at the moment that half an hour a day in prayer is enough for the heavenly realm to feed us our spiritual growth.
ReplyDeleteAll my love KJ!
Your beautiful!
Julie
it's been a while that i cannot see 90% of the pics on blogs... so i cannot see the postcard...
ReplyDeletebut really appreciate your concern and your attitude... yes everything start with 'me'...
one thing i did years ago to be less dependent on oil is that i chose not to have a car... and i walk a lot...
:)