Looks v Productivity and Health: Lawns

Lush, green lawns are nice to look at. They are the object of much affection for many American home owners. Maintenance of lawns eats up many hours and lots of money every year. I personally see well-manicured lawns as a waist of time, money, and space. Simple grass offers no substantial benefits to its owners (unless you’re raising animals and keep them as your lawn maintenance crew!). The space and time dedicated to perfect, green lawns could be put into more useful activities such as creating a garden. Food, herbs, and even some flowers have lots of benefits for people everywhere. I’ve seen a list of plants that excel at “eating” CO2 and releasing oxygen, thereby aiding the entire world and making a long-lasting, positive impact. Just imagine if everyone switched from growing lawns to growing gardens or other useful plants! The impact would be staggering!

The uselessness of lawns really bothers me, but what bothers me even more is what people put onto their lawns to make them perfect – chemicals. Just yesterday I was walking through some grass in my neighborhood and enjoying being barefoot, only to discover a sign posted that I should keep off the lawn because it had just been treated. This treated lawn has no weeds growing in it, is bright green and thick, but at what cost? A neighbor’s cat was rolling around in it and enjoying what should be a natural environment for a cat. Birds swooped down looking for the supper from the ground. Ducks waddled through the lawn on their way to the water, which will be full of chemicals every time the rain washes them down. Children want to dash through the lawn. Dogs frolic and play catch with their owners. They will come into contact with nasty, poisonous chemicals… all because we want perfect, green lawns. It’s ridiculous and unethical, in my opinion. Putting something like the aesthetics of a lawn over the health of people, animals, and the environment as a whole is deeply selfish.

P.S. Dandelions and other “weeds” are really pretty and may even have medicinal or edible properties!

I Don’t Speak Human

Thoughts on My Spirituality & Love of Green Things

I’ve not written here in awhile; haven’t had spirituality on my mind very much lately. That may sound odd, and even alarming to some… but it’s the truth. After finally reaching a point of contentment with my spirituality and what I think about the world… I stopped needing to obsess about it. By obsess about, I mean spend many hours reading, researching, and writing about something. That’s how I tackle a new thing. Spirituality got put on the back burner while I focused on diet and health for awhile. Now my mind has begun to turn back towards thinking about spirituality again.

I’m still not sure where to start or how to go about things. I seek the connection of a spiritual community and the connection with the universe that comes with spiritual experiences. But I’m not brave and bold about paganism yet. I’m not brave and bold period. But I’m trying. My focus on diet and health has brought me closer to living naturally and in harmony with the world. The more I live this way, the more it becomes important to me – even feels like a huge part of who I am. I’m currently living in an apartment and don’t have access to a garden, backyard, or any bit of land to call my own. Once Spring arrives and clears away the snow I’ll be able to go back to local parks and enjoy Nature again. I can’t wait. I’ve missed green things and earth so much this winter. I need sunshine, dirt, and green stuff to thrive. I’ve always been a person of the Earth. As a child I made beds out of moss, climbed trees, swam in the ocean and lakes, dug in the dirt, and ran barefoot on the grass. 

I love the Earth. 

That phrase is overused and “hip”… but I sincerely mean it. The more I understand what humanity has done to the Earth, the more angry and sad I become. Caring for our environment should come naturally to us. Instead, “Environmentalism” is something the crazy liberals obsess about (I am one of those crazy liberals). It’s crazy. Not destroying our home world isn’t something we should be fighting over. Ugh. But that’s another post for another time.