Are you programmed to receive?

It suddenly struck me tonight that I needed to post something TODAY! On Earth Day 2014! So here goes…

Only last week I was questioning whether one-time or annual events intended to raise environmental awareness — Earth Day, Lights Out Hour and other well-meaning initiatives — really matter. Many argue that such events merely preach to the converted, while allowing less evolved souls to cleanse their conscience through relatively meaningless acts. But I’ve decided that these events do matter, and here’s why…

For those of us whose receptors are tuned into such things, events like Earth Day are reminders of what we already know — and opportunities to grow. We understand our own hypocrisy, but at least we are on the path toward consciousness. And we care enough to feel that we need to do more. We understand that for all the fear-mongering on both sides of the environmental debate, there is one truth when it comes to the state of our planet. And while we may not know exactly what that truth is, we would rather err on the side of caution. So while far too many people — especially those in power — are defending the status quo by nitpicking about the details, many of us are quietly (or in some cases not so quietly) trying to look inward. Trying to be the change.

The truth is that if you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you aren’t ready to listen. It’s not that I have all the answers — not even close. In many ways I feel stuck with regard to my own environmental footprint. Stuck between how I’m living and how I want to be living. Stuck trying to change while knowing that change is hard, and that resistance to change — in the form of societal pressure, financial pressure, legislation and other roadblocks — is rampant.

As I write my first novel, a message that both of my editors have been sending to me — to trust the reader’s ability to fill in blanks — is finally getting through. I realize now that, until very recently, I wasn’t ready to receive that message. We are all, in some way, programmed to hear what we want to hear. Reprogramming — change — is hard. But it’s up to each of us to push through the roadblocks, question our assumptions, stop justifying our bad habits, and do what we know in our hearts to be necessary. Whether in writing or life, the message is the same. We need to open — and I mean really open — our receptors, and be willing to hear what we need (not want) to hear. Only then can we take the steps required to reprogram the habits that stop us — and our planet — from living to our full potential.