By Rev. Jocelyn Emerson & FP Member Randy Nicholas
In this Earth Day blog series, Pastor Jocelyn offers a meditation, followed by a response by a member of our Creation Justice Ministry.
In the popular Marvel movie “Avenger’s: Age of Ultron,” Tony Stark (Iron Man), Captain America, and Thor are debriefing after defeating Ultron. Thor tells them he must go in search of the Infinity Stones and heads outside to summon the Bifrost Bridge to pick him up. As The Bifrost takes him away, it leaves an intricate mark on the ground — a huge circle that destroys the lawn beneath it. Tony Stark turns to Captain America and says, jokingly: “That man has no regard for lawn maintenance…I’m going to miss him though…”
What Size Footprint Do You Leave?
This conversation between Tony Stark and Captain America makes me laugh. Yet, it brings forth in my heart the question: What size footprint do I leave? In the eco-justice circle of thought and dialogue, we hear this question often: How can you reduce your footprint? There is tremendous encouragement to lessen it as much as possible.
Those lists of how you can lessen your footprint can feel overwhelming. When I look at my own life, I already do the easy things: recycle everything I can, have a chemical free house, buy organic and fair trade foods, use more ecological light bulbs, etc.
I also already do many of the moderate tasks: I carry my own bags, rarely use plastic bags, lessen the use of plastic in my life, walk to destinations that are close enough instead of driving, etc. These require me to be more conscious. They are not always habits., and many of them require more of my time and awareness.
Then there is the list that seems like it will require a lot of effort. It is the “expert level” of lessening my footprint., which requires commitment and resources to accomplish: zero-waste, alternative power like solar and wind, hybrid cars, eco-homes, etc.
I get the importance of reducing our eco footprints. As the human race has grown, we have dominated the planet, maybe even overwhelmed Her. In urban and suburban areas it can be challenging to find open space, let alone green space. Cities are allowing developers to create housing where there were once parks. Forests are being encroached upon. Wildlife habitats are disappearing as humans require more and more space.
We do need to reduce eco footprints in order to allow all the other beings on this planet to continue to have homes, to continue to thrive.
Reducing My Footprint in Taos
When I took a nine-month sabbatical in Taos, I decided to see how much I could lessen my footprint. Since I was on sabbatical, working on my hoped-for spirituality and healing business, I decided that I had the time to see how close I could get to zero waste living.
I will admit it took a great deal of my attention and time. I had to make conscious choices about what I bought at the grocery store: could I recycle that container?
I could no longer buy anything that was sold in Styrofoam containers. I found that the local health food store had a butcher, and I could buy my meat wrapped in paper (recyclable). I had to begin to bring with me my own “take-home” containers when I went to restaurants, just in case they contained Styrofoam.
I joined the local Taos co-op and learned all about buying bulk food. Investing in glass containers meant making choices about how I spent my money. I had to sacrifice other areas to afford the glass.
I started a compost pile on the land where I was staying and cared for it regularly. I learned that, because I backed up to the desert wilderness, the animals were quite happy to feast on that pile. That felt good! I was not wasting food, I was feeding the wildlife.
By the time I left, I had my trash down to one tiny bag a month. This experiment taught me how my choices affect this planet. How I choose to use my time and energy is one of the foundations of stewardship of creation. The greatest impact we have on our immediate environment is how we choose to use our time and resources to care for our property, land, water, etc.
Lessening my carbon footprint required commitment. There were days when I was exhausted and the “I don’t care” feeling arose in my body and spirit. It was asking me: how committed am I to this experiment, to this lesson in stewardship? Each time it arose in me, I had to deepen and strengthen my level of commitment.
Currently, I’m not able to be anywhere as close to zero waste as I was in Taos. Because of this experience, my heart yearns for me to be in living situations where I can step back into the experiment again. Although this experience required focus, commitment, energy, shifting in how I do things, giving up habits, etc; it deepened my connection to Mother Earth! I desire to bring that discipline back into my life.
What Spirit Asks of Us
All that Spirit asks of us is that we become conscious of how we live on Mother Earth, on God’s creation. Spirit invites us to contemplate ways to be more aligned, more in partnership with the web-of-life so that we feel Her presence in all that we do.
Reflection questions:
- What is the size of your footprint?
- How can you lessen it, even a tiny bit?
- What habits would you need to change?
- How do you use your resources to protect and care for the environment?
Prayer
We call on your mercy and your grace, O God, to carry us into a new communion with the created order. Pour your compassion and your forgiveness over us. Give us a vision of healing and togetherness for your entire world. We know that, with Christ as our helper, we can restore justice and balance and live in harmony with all that you have made.
Response by Randy Nicholas, Member of Creation Justice Ministry
“Our footprint” has become such a catchphrase as to become cliché, so it’s worth a bit of reflection to freshen it up a bit.
Yes, a footprint can be literal, like when hiking or camping in nature. “Footprint” can also be evidenced in the amount of pollution that can be traced to our actions, such as cooking or heating with gas. Indeed, footprint can be embedded in virtually everything we call “living a normal life,” such as the clothes we wear, the form and substance of the food we eat, and how we entertain ourselves.
In this sense, footprint can be seen as a form of “human privilege” – all those things we call normal, and which make life as a human livable and comfortable. Human privilege can be seen even in the book of Genesis where the author speaks about people being granted dominion over creation, with the power to name all creatures and to use and consume resources not just for our survival, but for our comfort and enjoyment. We hear stories of natives of “America” being aghast at the wastefulness of the invading European pioneers, even as they themselves led a combination of living off the land as well as living within the ecosystem. We have been educated to view nature’s resources as owed to us because we are human.
Footprint, then, can be seen as a mindset firmly embedded in the notion of a normal life. It is an expression of the privilege we humans have assumed for ourselves as a species apart from all other creation.
What is there to do with privilege? With a footprint? First, becoming present and aware of it as “the air we breathe” in living can give us access to the unseen grip it has on us. Second, there are only two things that can happen to privilege – it can grow (by more hoarding and greed), or it can lessen (by being shared with non-human beings and the earth).
The sharing or dismantling of privilege can happen through even the smallest actions aimed at reducing footprint. And reducing our carbon footprint can be the result of daily or even minute-by-minute choices we make that transcend the normal flow of life. According to Socrates, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Examining human privilege and footprint is a truly fundamental way to examine the life we live.
