Mike Sauers
A new year is upon us and we are presented with a dizzying array of choices. Many of these choices will affect us, our families, our communities and our planet. The following are suggestions based on my 71 years of life. They are not prioritized as each is important but they are connected. I’m going to provide a basic premise. You will need to do some research.
Choose a plant based diet. While no diet is perfect, a plant based diet surpasses all others. With minor planning and minimal supplementation a plant based diet provides delicious and nutritious food. It is very healthy for you and the planet. The health benefits are well documented. Also well documented is that a plant based diet, preferably organic, uses far less water, energy, land and other resources. It produces far less greenhouse gas emissions. It stops the savage brutality of factory farming. It would return some agricultural land back to wild habitat thus slowing/stopping wildlife extinction. There is more. Research it.
Read! Read voraciously! Embrace diverse topics. Step outside your comfort zone. Knowledge is what informs and empowers us to create internal and community dialogue. A well read civil society is what we all should aspire to.
Vote! You cannot sit out voting. Even if you find the choices to be awful or worse you can write in your name. Informed voters have juice and everybody needs to be one. Political animals get very nervous when voter turnout is high and choices are expanded.
Put down your phone! Turn off your computer! Unplug the TV! Talk to your family. Talk to people. Go to the Post Office. Go the bank. Go to a town meeting. Go to a funeral. Go to the town park, grocery store, flea market, etc. Forget the influencers, pundits and provocateurs. Converse with your community. You will be both pleasantly surprised and horrified.
Get yourself healthy! Start taking care of yourself. No one else can do it for you. When you don’t feel well or you can’t move about many things become unavailable. Nutritious food, fresh air, clean water, sunlight, movement, sleep and purpose are the basic ingredients of health. Most are free. Get out there. Be patient with yourself. Take the kids. Take the dog.
Practice environmental living. Start with a plant based diet. Buy organic from local farmers. Recycle all that you can. Bring your own bags to the market. Reject disposable products, over packaged products and non-recyclable packaging. Read labels and reject products harmful to the environment. Lobby manufacturers. Compost food waste. Plant your backyard for wildlife. Plant a garden. Wow!
Establish a relationship with your elected officials. Start local and go right to the top. Talk to them, call them, write to them, etc. Most of these people avoid personal contact with their constituents unless you are, in their minds, a big, important entity (votes/money). You have got to let them know how you feel. Otherwise they just listen to the big, important entities. Being quiet is not an option. Involve your kids in this.
Get out of debt. Easier said than done but you must try. It is a drag on your financial well-being. Get rid of your credit cards. Keep just one. Condense your bills. Budget yourself. Support the concept of a living wage. Maybe, if appropriate, take a part-time job but don’t ruin family time.
Get perspective. Compile a personal and family history. Share it with your family. We all need to know where we came from. It helps us determine where we are going.
Demand an end to corporate welfare, tax avoiders and tax cheats. Our elected officials give away enormous amounts of taxpayer money to corporations that don’t need it. That money should be spent to make communities better places to live and raise families. Tax avoiders and cheats should be prosecuted, fined and punished.
Seek spirituality in a way that is appropriate to you. We are all part of a larger story.
Obviously there is more but the above is a start. Good luck!