Do Overs

It is no surprise to anyone that I am a tree hugger. I say it loud and proud. I love trees, animals, big open skies, oceans, fields, mountains. Mother Nature and I are on a first name basis. So I really hate to see people defacing the things I love. Cigarette butts, fast food wrappers, styrofoam cups all leave ugly scars on our landscape.

Another thing I cannot abide is the fact that recycling is made so easy, yet people still throw things away. I see folks all the time tossing bottles and cans in the trash, while the recycling bin sits just a few feet away. Are they being lazy or stupid or both?

Anyhow, this blog is about me, not about them. And recycling is what I do.

Paper, cardboard, bottles and cans all make their way into the recycling bin at our house. We started a compost heap in the back yard for kitchen scraps and yard waste. And we've discovered that if we put broken items for garbage pick-up on the tree lawn the night before, many times they will be gone before the collection occurs. There are lots of people out there who have discovered recycling can be profitable. Including the charities who collect old clothing and household goods. They either sell the items or recycle them to make money for their organizations.

Some of my favorite haunts are rummage sales and garage sales. I've gotten a lot of cool stuff second hand. You find things there you won't find in the stores (or on TV). Then we have EBay and Half Price Books, which area very dangerous places for us. As book lovers, we also frequent book sales. Conversely, we donate a lot of books.

The object of the game is to send as little as possible to the city dump.

Then there is spiritual recycling. I believe in some form of reincarnation. I'm not sure of the actual mechanics, but I'm pretty sure I've been here a bunch of times before. I once went to be hypnotized and experience past life regression so I could explore this topic. Not all of what I experienced felt right, but enough of it did to shed light on my life and why I feel the way I do about certain things. I've also gone to a psychic who gave me a rundown on my past lives. Much of what she said resonated, too. Reincarnation makes a lot of sense to me. Who can possibly get it all right the first time? Or even the fiftheenth?

Will I come back as a cat? Maybe. I like cats. But I suspect I'll just come back as another flawed human being, embracing the earth that I love and, as always,  seeking peace, love and the perfect chocolate.