Facie’s Ramblings

"And what matters at the end of the day is the small things. It’s not the trivial things that so often consume us in our daily lives. It’s how we treat each other and love one another." -President Obama, speaking to a crowd of supporters in Fort Myers, Florida, today Some days I get so weary about what goes on the world. Today is one of those days. I could write about gun control, mental illness, violence in the media, the over-present media in general, or how society has gone to hell in a hand basket. But I instead want to think about being compassionate, doing the right thing, and treating others as you want to be treated. I try to do those very things. Sometimes I fail, even though I so want to succeed. But as I often tell students the day after they have treated me less than kindly, every day is a new day. Here's to tomorrow.

Or something like that. Over the past few years, I have gotten a lot more environmentally friendly. But I am afraid the more I try to do to help better the environment, the more I end up hurting it, or wasting, at least in some other way. Example 1: I use reusable bags every time I shop. (I make an exception for my Kohl's visits, as I use those bags to line my bedroom garbage can.) The problem is, the bags get dirty and germy, so I sometimes spray them with a disinfectant spray. But isn't that just harming the environment too? Example 2: Years ago, before I lived in a place that recycled, I threw things in the garbage as soon as I finished them. End of story (for me, anyway). But now I rinse jars, jugs, and cans because I don't think you are "supposed" to leave food particles, remnants of PB, etc., on them. And that, of course, means using water unnecessarily. Maybe I don't need to do this, though? That said, I have made some recent changes that seem t...