Comments on The Green Phone Booth: Following My Heart

Bobbi: Beautifully put - "Locavore is about more t...

2009-03-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Bobbi: Beautifully put - "Locavore is about more than the food." You are so right.

EcoBurban: I do hope that these will be kids who grow up to make the world a better place and I agree with you. It is only natural, now, to focus on the close to home.

Imagine all the little lives you are changing by f...

2009-03-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

Imagine all the little lives you are changing by focusing closer to home. In better economic times these children will be the ones who go on to change the world!!

We are doing the same, focusing our efforts closer to home. The schools, local food bank, our neighborhood and the little league. I think this focus is natural and right for this time!

You've tapped into something that I've been notici...

2009-03-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

You've tapped into something that I've been noticing too. We've got to go back to the beginning and build up our local communities. You can only hug one person at a time. Conversations can't be skimmed like a blog post. Blog comments from across the country and around the world are exciting but those virtual people can't pick up your kids if you've got an emergency. Don't go to the guilt. Locavore is about more than the food.

Daphne: Good point. I often look at it as withdr...

2009-03-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Daphne: Good point. I often look at it as withdrawing but in truth, I'm working on the same things, just in a much smaller circle.

Sassypackrat: Yay! Thanks for the support. It is true that, when we have the funds and the room to breathe, we still give to the greater good. The rest of the time, we concentrate on our local community.

Daisy: I love that analogy. Thank you!

Green Rez: It is. I give so much more because it is my own community. I work harder, think more, donate more, and so on. I can see and touch these folks, these problems and that really spurs me forward.

Margaret: It's funny. Before I wrote this post - and read all of your lovely comments - I felt like a failure. You are right though. In many ways, I've achieved what I set out to. Built a community, working to change my own community. It might not help those girls in Africa . . . yet but I am getting the ball rolling here.

Theresa: What a wonderful comment. As I wrote with Margaret, your comment reeled me in and made me realize that I am on the right path, albeit a more narrow, one lane road instead of an eight lane highway. Isn't re-localization what many of us have been working toward? Thank you!

Abbie: The move to freeze teachers' salaries or lay them off (we just had pink friday because they were handing out pink slips) is scary to all. To those, like you, who depend on the pay checks. To those, like me, who depend on your hard work and effort. I'm working as hard as I can here and I suspect there are parents in CT working hard to make sure you and those like you get paid what you deserve for all that you give!

Donna: Thank you, Donna, you alum you. Great point. Ripples do extend and, without a doubt, I'm throwing many stones into this water.

But even if I can just justify my son's school ...

2009-03-14T20:36:00.000-07:00
But even if I can just justify my son's school as a "green charity", is it right that we, the global rich, spend our resources on ourselves? That I focus not on the girls learning in the wilds of Africa but on the children in my own community, on my own son?

You ask some really great questions and I feel like I can really relate since your son's district is my district. ;) I think that ideally we do it all -- care at home and also care abroad. But in the real world there are times and seasons for things. Right now, you are needed to help at your son's school, but while you're doing that, the decisions you've made on how you live will rub off on the other parents you work with. As a result of your example, some of them might decide to go greener. As they do, some might find they care about the girls in Africa. You don't know where the ripples will go.

Thanks for the post. In these economic times, we'...

2009-03-14T19:41:00.000-07:00
Thanks for the post. In these economic times, we're just trying to put money in the savings account so we can pay our property taxes twice a year.

Now there's a bill in our state that proposes freezing teacher's salaries for up to 3 years. I understand that our state needs to save money, but teachers are people and residents and tax payers, too. I've always thought that it's unfair we get paid on a scale instead of based on the actual quality of our work, but now this bill threatens to go against contracts. It's scary to us, since we are counting on my pay increase (I make MUCH less than a teacher at the top of the scale). Tough economic times have hit everyone.

I think what has happened to you is what must happ...

2009-03-14T16:27:00.000-07:00
I think what has happened to you is what must happen to the whole world. We have become over-globalized and must become re-localized: real communities again, not just abstract ones. I'm glad you are well on your way :)

I don't think you have it wrong. My firm belief is...

2009-03-14T15:23:00.000-07:00
I don't think you have it wrong. My firm belief is that we should start in our own back garden. The more that do this the more these back gardens will join together and soon you have a community buzzing.

Once that happens I believe that change can happen on a larger scale

Margaret

Great post, GB. Isn't it amazing how a sense of co...

2009-03-14T12:12:00.000-07:00
Great post, GB. Isn't it amazing how a sense of community inspires us?

And I love Daisy's comment. And I think she's right that we have to take care of ourselves first.

When a plane is de-pressurizing, parents are instr...

2009-03-14T11:18:00.000-07:00
When a plane is de-pressurizing, parents are instructed to put on their own oxygen masks first.
When people are sick, the caregivers need to care for themselves in order to be useful to others.
It's perfectly acceptable to act locally while thinking globally. Educating your own child is a great step toward building a sustainable world, one child at a time.

In these sad economic times I think it's natural t...

2009-03-14T07:11:00.000-07:00
In these sad economic times I think it's natural to focus inward. Your child is the most important project of your life and anything that concerns him/her is bound to be a priority. You do what you can when you can. I'm sure as this whole crisis eases and money flows again you will spread out and tackle the big green things you did before. I for one applaud you for thinking and doing in your community. Can you image how much could get done if everyone did that? You haven't lost this follower.

I think the small local things are just as importa...

2009-03-14T04:11:00.000-07:00
I think the small local things are just as important as the global sweeping causes. Many people don't think about the environment. They don't recycle. They don't try to reduce their footprints. They need people around them to convince them by doing it. The more people they see trying to change the world, the more they think about it themselves. I'm not saying we should ignore the rest of the world, but we also need to change the hearts and minds of those around us.