(via flickr user TallCJ)
Dearest SuperForest,
A couple days ago, SuperForester Jackson asked me if I would write more “journal style” posts on this site. My initial thought was “Why? Comparatively, my life is pretty normal”. I thought about this a while later and I realized that there were two things that were wrong with this thought. First, my life isn’t “normal”. And the reason why this is so is because of the second reason: normal doesn’t exist.
That’s right, SuperForest, especially when speaking of our fellow human beings, there is no such thing as normal. I remember much of my childhood was spent thinking “normal” is a good thing and “abnormal” is a bad thing. Much of my adult life has been embracing and appreciating good ol’ abnormal. But now, I realize that the two concepts of “normal” and “abnormal” mean absolutely nothing. There is only “me”, “you”, and “us”; and trying to categorize our unique groups into major categories, subcategories, stereotypes, racial classes, and as either normal or abnormal is a waste of energy.
You are unique.
You are special.
You are beautiful.
And you have so much to offer.
It’s a pretty wild concept, no? How many times a day do you acknowledge your awesomeness? How often do you recognize the incredible potency and energy within yourself? For me, the answer was rarely. Perhaps this was because of a sense of “humbleness” or “shyness”. I’ve never had a problem acknowledging the good in others but never really gave much thought to finding it within myself. And as the years roll on, doubts and insecurities can build up and all of a sudden, you find yourself unworthy of writing “journal style” blog posts! Crazy! I know! : )
Shortly after all of this, I received an email update reminding me Blog Action Day was today and as I began to scour the web as far as things to do and ways of taking action, I remembered Jackson’s “Awesome Blog Saves the World” series. In it, the main character finds out that the “environment” is yourself and all you have to do to save the environment is “change the word in your head to mean something that you actually can change: yourself”. When it comes to global issues such as poverty, climate change, or the water shortage, it is really easy to get overwhelmed. In looking for content for my “Blog Action Day” post, I found tons of information on what is causing climate change, daunting facts and figures, and scary future projections. Like many other bloggers out there today, I could’ve shared some of this information or some of these websites with you but I know a lot of you already know about the issue of climate change and therefore, I wanted to do something different. Then it hit me, as the enlightened girl learned in “Awesome Blog Saves the World“, the first step in combating any of these issues is indeed to start with yourself, but before you can take action and “do your part” and concentrate on yourself, you must begin by believing you can make a difference. If you want to save the world, the first thing you have to do is accept the fact that you can save it. Accept that you are extraordinary (because you are) and that you will make a difference. Transmit this energy into the cosmos and you will be amazed at what comes back at you.
So, to battle climate change on this Blog Action Day 2009, I ask you to do one simple thing: Celebrate whatever it is that makes you special, that makes you unique, and enforce those qualities. Bang on your drum, sing out loud, and dance like nobody is watching.
Any person out there who has had a significant impact on this planet started out by a simple act of faith and full belief that whatever they were doing was going to work. For us, that act starts today. And once you believe you can make a difference, the rest is easy: make that change happen.
Let’s do this thing!
With love,
Carla
(This post is a part of “Blog Action Day 2009“)
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