MY VERY OWN SPILL

Last night I was watching a news report about the oil spill in the Gulf, with film footage of divers in Hazmat suits that went right into the mess to see how shocking it really is from IN the water. The fish's perspective. The chemicals they are spraying on the oil have now blended with it to create an entirely new toxic entity and no-one knows what the environmental impact of this new creation will be. WOW.

I found myself reflecting on all the millions of people watching that news clip, who react with horror and compassion for all the creatures being poisoned. And then they get up and go take a shower or wash the dishes, and toxic chemicals flow down the drain from their very own spill. Every single person who watches that horror in the Gulf and then pours products into the waterways that are not biodegradable is creating a spill of their own. But do we ever think about that? There are millions of gallons of oil and chemical dispersant in the Gulf, but BILLIONS of people every day all over the world use detergent or shampoo or fabric softener or soap that contains chemicals that are toxic to creatures in the water. If people felt the same horror and compassion as they wash their clothes with something like Tide, as they have when they hear about the Gulf, this world would be a very different place.

I know people who have SO much love and compassion for Nature and all the blessings she bestows, and yet when I go into their bathroom to wash my hands, there is the soap with toxic chemicals on the sink. How many of you reading this still have "regular" soap in your bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms? But I bet every single one of you is horrified at the oil spill in the ocean. Where is the disconnect? Why do we care SO much about something that is poisoning the water down in the Gulf, and not a whit for what is poisoning the water from our very own home? Our very own toxic spills. Every day, many times a day. It is time to personalize this horror and compassion. To bring it right in front us as we reach for the detergent, and CONNECT to the creatures that are about to be dumped on. If you still have things in your home that go down the drain that are full of chemicals, please take all that reaction you have to the tragedy in the Gulf and USE it to transform your own spill. We don't need BILLIONS of personal toxic spills every single day. This is something we can change TODAY.

My mother, God bless her, is really trying to shift into all products that do no harm, and I get to hear her trials about how hard that is! Right now my parents are in the woods in Northern Wisconsin where they don't have many options for stores to search in, and sadly, many stores don't carry bio-degradable products at all. So if you are in a place with only one grocery store and a Wal-Mart that has NO environmentally safe products, what do you do? The fact that these stores have HUNDREDS of soaps and not ONE that is safe for our waterways is a sad testament to how many people are still unconscious about the importance of these daily choices. We have created a society where the option to do no harm is not even available in some places! Again, WOW. How did we get to this place? I still dream of a day when EVERY store you walk into has ONLY products that do no harm so you can't buy toxic chemicals even if you want to!!!!! Imagine THAT world. Then live that world in your choices.

May this horrific event in the Gulf that everyone is conscious of be a miraculous catalyst to make us conscious of our OWN contribution to the waters near our homes. And may the Waters forgive us for all the poisons we are continuing to wash down the drains in our very own spills.

Thanks for listening, and making new choices.