You might have seen this on my Insta-story but I got it from @shaymitchell and I just really love this. I'm thinking of taking parts of it as a mantra to keep reminding myself from over consuming. I especially like to think of passing my treasures to others, which is where I am in consumption journey right now. I've gotten rid of almost all the junks, and now everything I own has some sort of meaning or sentiment behind it (or is at least some sort of monetary value). So that means less trips to Goodwill to donate and more of being able to sell my stuff (either online or at Crossroads). Anyway I'm also going to start doing an informal closet inventory every month to keep track of what's coming in, what's going out and what I want to add. Hopefully this extra layer of thought will help me be more mindful when it comes to my clothes.
That quote above also reminds me of a line from a podcast I listened to recently that I loved (I recorded a clip on my insta-story): "Our lives is what we pay attention to and you're only going to remember what you pay attention to. And so every time you're making a decision in the moment on what to pay attention to, you're making a broader decision about how you're spending your life [so do you want to be spending it on Instagram?]." Anyway I liked that podcast so much I went ahead and bought her book and it's my first summer reading assignment to myself. I'm sharing excerpt of the book on my insta-story so if you're interested head over there. And yes the irony is not lost on my that I'm encouraging you to use Instagram to help quit using Instagram (and other addictive apps) on your phone. But in the end, your phone and Insta are just tools that can do more good than harm if you are mindful of your usage.
Also, did you see Tina Fey's interview with Letterman on his Netflix special "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction?" My favorite part was when she was describing how having diversity (in this case women) in the room is where we all need to start. She was describing how SNL chooses the scripts for the faux-commercials they run, and how the men in the room initially rejected a "Classic Kotex" commercial because they didn't think it was funny when in actuality it was very funny. And it wasn't because they were being sexist on purpose, but to them it genuinely wasn't that interesting. That script was only accepted because Tina fought for it, but without representation (if another woman wasn't in the room) it would've been rejected. Anyway this was a terrible retelling of it but go watch it if you haven't. This is just another reminder to me that we need to have all kinds of people from all walks of life in the room if we want to keep getting better at what we're trying to achieve. I sometimes think it's mind-boggling that humanity as a whole has been limping along and functioning at a tiny fraction of human capability (mostly male capabilities, and white capabilities in the the western world) because we exclude so many minorities from having a voice/the ability to make a difference. But I finally think the internet is leveling the field a bit and we're starting to make progress.
And in the world of plastic, it's finally everywhere and it's the beginning of the end folks. Indonesia is trying to reduce their plastic use with religion (Go Islam! I wonder if there are any Christian passages religious Americans could use to promote sustainability), while some of us Americans are trying to reduce plastic by making it "uncool" (which is comparatively weaker motivation IMHO).