Years ago, I had the privilege of hearing Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Arun give a talk at a conference. He spoke about non-violence and the environment, and one story really hit home and triggered a new awareness such that the lens through which I viewed the world would never be the same.

At the time I would have told you that I was definitely a non-violent person. I was a yogi and a meditator and a vegetarian. I was more non-violent than most people I knew. Yet he opened up my eyes to how I was still committing violent acts each and every day. I immediately changed my behavior.

Here is his story about ‘The Little Pencil’

“We have to remember, when we talk about violence, it’s not just the physical violence that we see around us. There is much more to it than just physical violence. And grandfather made me aware of this one day when I was coming back from school.

I was about 13 years old at the time, quite an irresponsible 13-year-old. Walking home absentmindedly I looked at the pencil. It was about 3 inches long, and I said, “I deserve a better pencil.” This is too small for me to use. And I was so confident that grandfather would give me a new pencil that without a second thought, I threw that pencil away.

That evening when I went and asked grandfather for a new pencil, instead of giving me one he subjected me to a lot of questions. He wanted to know what happened to the pencil I had in the morning, how did it become small, where did I throw it away, and on and on and on.

And I couldn’t understand why he was making such a fuss over a little pencil until he told me to go out and look for it. I said, “You must be joking! You don’t expect me to go out and look for a pencil in the dark?”

He said, “Oh yes I do, and here’s a flashlight.” And he sent me out with the flashlight to look for this pencil and I must have spent two or three hours searching for it.

And when I finally found it and brought it to him he said, “Now I want you to sit here and learn two very important lessons… The first lesson is that even in the making of a simple thing like a pencil we use a lot of the world’s natural resources and when we throw them away we are throwing away the world’s natural resources and that is violence against nature.

Lesson number two is that because in an affluent country we can afford to buy all these things in bulk, we over-consume the resources of the world. And because we over-consume them, we are depriving people elsewhere of these resources and they have to live in poverty. And that is violence against humanity.”

And that was the first time I realized all of these little things that we do every day. I mean just think about it… how many useful things we throw away every day because we have such a lot of it. How much food we throw away every day. How many good clothes we throw away because we have new ones. All of this, every time we throw away something and waste something, is violence.”

Such a simple message but so insightful!

Every decision we make, big and little, has consequences that ripple out far and wide. We help to shape the world we live in by how we show up each day and what we care about.

• Not being willing to walk back out to my car to get the reusable shopping bag? A violence
• Buying plastic water bottles when I could easily filter water at home? A violence
• Using disposable K-cups that send plastic waste into the environment when we have many other alternatives to make coffee? A violence

Once my eyes and heart were open, I saw how easily I could turn these violences into kindnesses. I think we can all agree that we want less violence in the world, but what are we truly doing to help? And are we actually contributing to the violence in certain ways?

There are so many ways to give the gift of kindness and it is actually fun to do so, if you have the intention of being in service to a peaceful world. Maybe we can’t solve the crisis in the middle east today, but we can do our part where we are. And it all adds up. The ways to be kind are endless, but here are

4 simple, everyday things you can do to be kind to the earth:

1. 🌎 Say ‘NO” to straws…BEFORE they get to your table. Because of health codes, a straw will often have to be thrown out once it gets to your table (even if it has a wrapper on it and is unused!). Plastic straws NEVER biodegrade and they are particularly harmful to the marine environment where whales are found dead with many pounds of plastic clogging the stomach, and turtles are dying with plastic straws obstructing their airways.If you love straws, it is easy to buy a glass or a bamboo one and reuse it. The next time you sit down at a restaurant or order a smoothie, remember to say ‘NO straw’ right up front.You might get a quizzical look, but that is a great opportunity to have a conversation about why you don’t want a straw. You just committed a huge kindness to the earth at likely no cost to you.See, this is easy! Next up:
2. . 🌎 Purchase your produce naked 😉 You don’t need to put your fruits and veggies in a plastic bag at the grocery store. Just throw those onions, lemons, limes, heads of lettuce, potatoes, and avocados in your cart as-is. You will wash them once you get home anyway.For the little things where you do need a separate container (pretty much the only thing in this category for me is loose mushrooms), bring a separate bag from home. That extra bag you put the potatoes in is a violence to the earth. It takes petroleum to make it and ship it and, as with all plastic, it will never fully biodegrade.Enjoy your naked vegetables and the gift you just gave to the planet!
3. 🌎 Say NO to plastic knives and forks  I know they are convenient, especially when having large gatherings, but inconvenience is no excuse for committing violence.So what can you do? You have lots of options! You can do what my friend Kathleen did. Kathleen is a super-conscious minimalist and environmental warrior. She had a dinner party (plant-based, of course) and asked everyone to bring their own knife and fork. We were all happy to comply! It was creative, quirky, consciousness at its best.

   I keep a real fork and spoon in my car and even travel with them so I never have to use a disposable one.

   4. 🌎 Say bye-bye to balloons

   Sorry to be a party-pooper, but balloons are absolutely terrible for wildlife and the environment. I decided to spare you the photos of owls dangling from trees by balloon string, and emaciated beings starved to death because a balloon string strangled their intestines.Even a tiny piece of a balloon can kill a sea turtle. This appears to be an easy one as no one needs a balloon. Can we all agree: No more balloons? Great!

   We are all in this together

   How you do anything is how you do everything. Be the peace you want to see in the world today. No act of kindness to the earth is too small. Let everyday be earth day as you take a stand for peace. I’d love to hear how you are showing up in the world and being the kindness that you want to see.

   Inspire us in the comments below. And thanks for all that you do everyday!
   

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🌎 We are the ones we’ve been waiting for 🌎

Kindly,

Erin

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