Let's talk performance...

I'm guessing we all want to perform well in life: in our jobs, in school, in the sports we play, how we handle situations, health wise, as parents, as students, as veterinarians, athletes, astronauts,...

But in order to do that, your body has to be able to source off of the natural environment it’s connected to.

Nature.

We need clean air, fresh food and drink that is grown and sourced naturally and as nature intended.

Because that water that has chemicals in it, or produce that is grown in an unnatural speed and sprayed with an array of pesticides and herbicides, will not contribute but rather harm our health and well being is pretty much common sense if you ask me.

But it still seems that a lot of people are unfazed, unbothered or just uneducated about these topics.

Scientists, climate activists, environmental organizations have long warned and informed about the dangers and consequences of human interference with the natural way of things.

Nowadays taking a reusable bag to go grocery shopping or shopping second hand and avoiding plastic bottles at the least are pretty common practices.

But is it enough? Are all of those people who care and who are trying to make a difference enough? Because it seems that a lot of politicians and governmental bodies are mostly still talking about creating new jobs, enhancing the economy, funding projects and supporting causes that have absolutely nothing to do with environmental justice.

Which I still don’t get because, correct me if I’m wrong – but I was under the impression that we cannot survive without the nature that is our planets only structure and way to exist.

But they do throw us “tree huggers and eco-warriors” little bits and scraps, don’t they? Enforcing some minor rules and regulations like having to pay for plastic bags at a grocery store to try and calm down the “unhappy hippies”.

Where preserving and saving the planet that we all live on, should be our collective goal and interest.

Most of the western world and people with access to schools and internet and a good standard of life have the tools and the knowledge to stand up for our home. Yet a lot don’t even do the smallest, easiest things.

Why is that?

I think it is a kind of awareness that somehow has to enter your brain first.

You see a documentary about the environmental crisis, you hear a great speech, you see a devastating picture of a sea mammal caught in plastic waste.

And suddenly, there is an awareness, that you can’t shake and you don’t go back.

Then, you become the person that walks through a clothing store with zero interest or desire in buying a single thing, because what you see is smoking factories and landfills lined with newly produced clothing.

You become the person that eats a huge salad of fresh produce and suddenly looks down onto the plate and thinks: What if this is not available anymore when I am grown up? What if fields and soil are so polluted that eating anything will make you sick or cause long-term health issues.

You become the person that swims in a lake on a summer day and suddenly realizes that this might not be possible anymore if something doesn’t radically change and bodies of water were to be poisoned by falling rain that is filled with pollutants and chemicals in the air.

Now, I know that this is really heavy and also negative stuff. I want to give you a quick breather here. Feel free to take a quick pause and think about all of this.

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I haven’t always thought this way. When I was little and I put strawberries in the cart in the store and my mum said: “Stella, please put that back, this is more plastic than strawberries.” I didn’t understand it and was annoyed by it.

But time went on, I grew older and got “the awareness” I was talking about earlier.

You might be reading this knowing all of it, being the person who recycles, composts, shops second hand and takes part in their community’s monthly neighborhood cleanup.

You might be rolling your eyes at this text or may have stopped reading half way through, being bored by just another call to action and the never ending news and information about “environmental humbug”.

Or you might be interested and seeing things in a new way.

Whatever it is, please just visualize what our planet could look like and what we could achieve if there were a collective awareness and set goals in favor of our beautiful planet.

Because that is one thing that concerns us all.

Thank you for sticking around, I know that this was long and a little all over the place and didn’t touch on performance so much after the first part, but there will be a second part of this to come, focusing on what nature does for our bodies and how it enhances our lives.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts on this important topic.

XX🌳