An anecdote from a day that made me feel uprooted, you could say 😏

Today I walked through a part of a forest near my house, that I have been to so many times, too many to count.🌳

But today there was a big part just, …missing.

There were hundreds of trees cut down.

The path was completely destroyed by the chunky tires of the machines, with roots and mud strewn across the area.

And I could’t help but starting to cry.

It was an awful feeling and my first thought was to call the mayor’s office and demand to know what was going on.

I was mad at the workers and immediately wanted to set off to find someone in charge to ask why this was happening.

I kind of went through emotions similar to the stages of grief you could say😏

Then I thought that maybe it was necessary because there were bark beetles in the trees (which are beetles that “attack” trees, lay eggs in them and spread, which is why you have to cut down the trees that are affected to stop them from spreading.

Or that the trees had died due to too little rain and they were going to plant new ones.

I didn’t know.

But no matter the reason, that awful feeling that I had, when seeing this destruction, was gut wrenching.

Those huge, monstrous machines, plowing down everything in their patch.

And within hours, a forest that has been growing for hundreds of years, was gone.

It really opened my eyed once again to that power that people have, to destroy the environment, so quickly.

How uncontrollable and scary that is. And that it is happening everywhere.

What is it like for people who see much bigger damage done and who live in or near areas that are really badly affected and practically unlivable?

It’s easy to look away and tune out this reality if it doesn’t affect us.

It’s easier to see a picture of miles of burnt out land that used to be the amazon, cover your mouth with your hand, think: “how awful!”, and then swipe to the next picture, instead of thinking about what we can do in our own neighborhoods and change our ways for the better.

Because that takes time and work and it means thinking about and being confronted with those uncomfortable topics.

I know, that we cannot feel for every bad thing that happens around the world and try to fix it.

You cannot live like that.

But the fact is, we have the power to change things, to help heal this planet and to live our everyday lives in a way that spare our planet.

Remember, every tree that is cut down is one less tree on YOUR earth.

YOU are affected by every power plant that leaks or explodes on this planet.

You breathe this air and drink that water.

Air does not stop at borders.

We ARE part of nature. We ARE nature.

Destroying our environment means destroying ourselves.

This may sound harsh but it is written with love, with compassion, hope.

For all of us.

With love.