As I write this, I’m sitting on the plane headed back from Vancouver to Toronto. I missed Niko and Eliz. My sister and mom landed in Toronto a few hours ago from Turkey. My pregnant sister. I’m so excited for my sister to bring my nephew into this world. Can't wait to be an uncle.
"Men cut down forests and kill animals so they can eat." - Seneca
I just finished watching the documentary Before The Flood. Right before watching the documentary I was reading an essay. Seneca's letter to his mom after he was exiled. He discusses how his mom should not feel sad for him because he has all that he needs. He then goes onto discuss how 'wretched men', as Seneca calls them, need extravagant things to be happy. Money, expensive robes, extravagant feasts. One portion that really resonated with me is when he wrote, "Men cut down forests and kill animals so they can eat." This was written by Seneca the Younger. It was written during the time he was alive. Seneca was alive 5 B.c. to 65 AD. It’s 2000 years later.
2000!
So what does that mean? I was reading about Seneca and then I finished watching Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary. Nearly 2000 years after Seneca's work was written. If you haven’t seen the documentary it discusses climate change. How rapidly the worlds heat is rising. It discusses how we all have a part to play. How we can make choses to leave the world in a better place than we found it.
Now I think about my nephew. I think about my own kids that I hope to have one day. Are they going to snowboard when they're older? What about my grandchildren, will they ever see snow? That’s a very real question we need to ask ourselves. We continue to turn a blind eye. I tell some of my closest friends to watch documentaries about the effects of our choices on the planet. Simple things such as what we eat and I am ridiculed. Granted, we ridicule each other about everything but on this subject I wish we could all agree.
I don’t eat meat. I understand wholeheartedly that you need to be the change you want to see in the world. I can’t ask someone else to stop eating hamburgers if I eat it. I can’t be a hypocrite. Beef agriculture is ruining our planet. It is the reason we cut down so many trees. It is bad for our planet. It is bad for us. I’ve never heard a doctor tell anyone that is feeling ill to eat more beef. Many sicknesses are caused by eating beef and we continue to do it. It’s bad for us. It’s bad for our planet.
Are we so stuck in our ways that we can’t make this simple change? I’ve been vegetarian now for 7-8 months. I have more energy than I’ve ever had. After dinner I don’t feel like going on the couch for the rest of the night. In fact I feel incredibly alert.
My nephew may never get a chance see a coral reef.
I was going to discuss my trip to Vancouver and how it went but after reading the quote Seneca wrote and watching the documentary it all seems so futile. Climate change is the reason the world is falling apart. There are ways to fix it and we need to help by doing our part. I can only do what I can control. It is the same for us all. I can’t say I’m perfect but I am continually trying to get better. Eating more vegetables has helped me get better. How? More energy, clearer mind, healthier body, amongst other things.
Maybe this is what I needed to do to be able to have the courage to start an online store. Maybe I needed to do this so I had the energy to be able to read books without falling asleep after 10 minutes. I’ve been making many realizations about myself and about the world. Industries are ruining our planet. Industries are ruining our bodies, our minds.
I visit establishments that offer soda for cheaper than water. How is that possible? This drink that has so much sugar that if you were to ingest the amount of sugar in it without anything else you would vomit uncontrollably for hours. Yet it's cheaper than water?
That’s the world we live in. Not a lot of things make sense when you really start to think about it. I want to leave this world in a better place than I found it. I want my kids to experience things. Be one with nature. If I learned one thing from Seneca it’s that life is limited. Time is fleeting. I don’t want to wait to do the things I want. I want to see the world. Before it’s ruined.I’m a hopeful person. An optimist. However, I read that it doesn’t matter if you’re a pessimist and think there is no solution or you are an optimist and hope everything is going to be okay. Unless someone takes action then there is no difference.
So, I’ve been taking action lately. I've been going to the gym in the morning. Writing in a journal afterwards, just for 5 minutes. Reading before I have to start work. Meditating. It’s a struggle everyday. Everyday you have to tell yourself you can do this. You can take action. Then it’s a struggle to actually do it. It is much easier to sit on the couch. Eat a burger. Watch sports all night. Then go to sleep at 12 and wake up at just in time to get to work.
I used to do this. I thought I was happy. “I work from home so I can sleep in until 8:45”. That’s great but what I was I doing with my time?I wasn’t doing anything worth telling my kids about. Then I would be upset when I didn’t lose weight. I would be angry when I looked in the mirror or the scale. I would be frustrated with myself for not starting a business of my own. I would be annoyed that potential prospects weren’t taking my calls or signing on to Bazinga.
Was I really doing the work? Was I being smart with my time? Hindsight is 20/20. Simple answer is no. I was not doing the right things.It’s great to realize this now. Age 25.I’ve always told everyone that I’m an environmentalist. Now more than ever actually. Simply by not eating meat I am playing a part. I can do more and I will. I was mad to see a tax on gas at the beginning of this year but now I’m proud of the Canadian government once again. For another reason. They did it for our world. Carbon tax is needed. Just like tax on cigarettes.
I’ve wanted a Tesla ever since I saw the first model of the car. I’m not a car person whatsoever but I love technology. Elon Musk is a genius. If he can do it, why can’t I? That's where my mind is with a lot of things nowadays.First though, I need to finish my product packaging. One step at a time.