I recently traveled, 6000 miles, landed on a small island in the middle of nowhere, during a pandemic, wearing a mask. I then loaded a borrowed truck, with undesirables and proceeded to dump said undesirables onto the small island for shall I say safe keeping for the next several centuries times ten.
I am not proud of this. I have contributed to climate change, spent hard earned coin in the process, consumed questionable nutrients many of which came with their own undesirable packaging and at the end of the day, did not carry out what I carried in. My carbon footprint is questionable and undesirable.
I long for balance and harmony. I long to take in and use only what I need and to give back those resources afforded to me during my life pursuit of curiosity, joy, love, happiness and great coffee.
I paused for a moment while writing this post. I gazed out a window covered in condensation, my own breath, deposited on the interior of the glass, while I slept in a box heated by natural gas. My carbon footprint still growing larger, even as I sleep.
As I looked through the window, I saw a squirrel, happily balanced and tromping on top of a vinyl fence (made of carbon). The little creature was up, awake and alive, having slept in a bed of leaves (made of carbon).
She (yes a female, see the link at the end of this story) probably did not have coffee or toast, but most likely sipped morning dew which had gathered on vegetation during the night, before proceeding to wander out and look for newly fallen nuts or ones buried from the day before.
I thought- I knew-
The squirrel is in fact in complete harmony with nature. It finds refuge in a tree, uses its leaves for shelter, eats its seeds, and employs the safe height of the tree to survey a day of adventure ahead.
What does the squirrel do for the tree?
The tree is clearly the bread winner here, converting sunlight to food and oxygen, providing home and shelter for the little squirrel and not asking for anything in return, while fully planted in one spot for the entirety of its life.
The squirrel does in fact do something for the tree and without knowledge, plants the seeds which will then grow into another tree. All the while, I continue to consume resources and create waste which is neither in harmony with nature, nor necessarily essential for anyone else, but myself. Maybe I should have voted for the incumbent after all-
I must really work toward a life of living like the squirrels-
❤
One last interesting note … Most squirrels that we see are females.
In All Our Years ™ 
seriously introspective and reflective. Don’t be too hard on yourself. We humans after all, are not perfect creatures and are products of our early years environmental, social and familial constructs. You have done better than most, and you CARE—- that is the most important part. You care, you read, you study and you act. You are aware, which is more than many others. Chin up, move forward. And btw, those squirrels work awfully hard to do what they have to — and it’s instinctive. We have further to go in our evolution but taking cues from the lower animals, I think, is key. Love you❤️👍
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