Course Corrections 2

In an article in Ode Magazine, Amy Domini, wrote about something that really made me think, and feel guilty. Writing about garbage and trash disposal and Julia Hill’s question: where is away when I throw things away, Domini asks, “are we unwittingly destroying our own ecosystem” when we think and say, “throw it away?” Where is “away”? The world is an island, but a part of a universe. There is no “away.”

Tho I accept the idea that the world is an island, in practice I throw lot’s of stuff “away,” and hadn’t connected this behavior with the idea that there is no away. As I read Domini’s article, I felt stupid, then guilty. I recycle and thought it was enough, what else could I do? The article suggested more things that could be done, most of which I thought were too much effort for too little return. But it’s still a marvelous question, not just for thinking about throwing away physical garbage, but mental and emotional “garbage” as well – where is away?

What do I do with the thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions I consider to be garbage? Do I ‘stuff’ ‘em, suppress ‘em, deny, disown and project them, blaming others for my shit? Is it shit at all? Can it be used for fertilizer? Is the way I think and feel sometimes toxic, polluting my life and others’ lives? Are the thoughts and feelings I label “garbage” really garbage at all? What if I could stop labeling them as “garbage” and start seeing them as incentives, motivation and catalysts calling for a course correction?

Yes, I’d like to see my garbage differently, am ‘working’ on that, and perhaps in 75% of the cases, I am able to see it differently. But the rest of it, the remaining 25% of my physical, mental and emotional stuff really is garbage and does have to be thrown away. What then? Just stopping, works for a lot of it. Buying things that last longer and have less packaging to throw away, giving up painful thoughts and feelings and turning them over to source, these are non-toxic ways to throw away my garbage. Most effective so far for me, is simply being aware of what’s not working, that is not leading where I want to go and changing, making the necessary course corrections as quickly as the need for them arises.