On Sunday afternoon, three-and-a-half-year-old Zachy and I were out in the backyard searching for bugs. All of a sudden he looked at me and said in his most serious voice, \u201cThis is Earth. Earth is our planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded solemnly. \u201cWe have to take care of it, don\u2019t we?\u201d \u00a0He nodded solemnly, too.\u00a0We spent a little time talking about what that meant and things we could do, but I wondered what kind of a planet we are leaving for Zachy to take care of.<\/p>\n
This is not a new concern of mine.<\/p>\n
The most passionate environmentalist\u00a0 I\u2019ve ever known was Chris Utterback. To her, all offenses were equally serious whether it was defiling a public space with graffiti or chopping down a rain forest.<\/p>\n
She cared deeply for the earth and couldn\u2019t understand why everyone didn\u2019t feel the same sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n
One day we were driving through the quiet Connecticut countryside where she lived and came across a pile of trash heaped on the roadside. She slammed on her brakes and we jumped out of the car, picked up the litter, bagged it and put it in the back of her station wagon.<\/p>\n
As we got back in, I sighed and said, \u201cPlanetkeeping is a full-time job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chris looked at me as if I\u2019d said the most\u00a0 brilliant thing and without saying so, we both volunteered to be Planetkeepers.<\/p>\n
Planetkeeping isn\u2019t just a full-time job; it\u2019s a demanding one that requires vigilance and a willingness to do more than our share simply because it\u2019s the moral choice.<\/p>\n
Planetkeeping is motivated by a sense of responsibility to nature and other people whether we know them or not. It goes far beyond environmental causes.<\/p>\n
It assumes that we\u2019ll take care of whatever is ours to care for no matter how difficult or challenging that may be.\u00a0Planetkeepers refuse to be influenced by the indifference and apathy of others.<\/p>\n
Like courtesy, Planetkeeping is learned behavior. It becomes habitual behavior to those who have determined that they will, indeed, do what they can to leave things better than they found them.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a practice that is worth a closer look. Imagine, for a moment, how quickly things would change if everyone went through their days actively working to improve everything they touch.<\/p>\n
What would happen to road rage? To rudeness? To the environment? To self-esteem? To greed? To our communities? To litter? To hunger?<\/p>\n
It may be a long time before the majority of world citizens take up the cause to make things better, but that shouldn\u2019t stop us from raising our own standards now.<\/p>\n
How can we as small\u00a0 businessowners improve everything we touch? As family and community members?<\/p>\n
Perhaps it starts simply with a willingness followed by a commitment to put such lofty thoughts at the heart of our activities and relationships.<\/p>\n
Planetkeeping also demands that we stop withholding our own gifts and talents and put them to work in the service of making the world a better, happier nurturing place.<\/p>\n
How to take up the challenge?<\/p>\n
As Paulo Coelho reminds us in his marvelous book, The Alchemist<\/em><\/strong>, \u201cThe secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve upon the present, what comes later will also be better.\u201d<\/p>\n Zachy will thank us all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Sunday afternoon, three-and-a-half-year-old Zachy and I were out in the backyard searching for bugs. All of a sudden he looked at me and said in his most serious voice, \u201cThis is Earth. Earth is our planet.\u201d I nodded solemnly. \u201cWe have to take care of it, don\u2019t we?\u201d \u00a0He nodded solemnly, too.\u00a0We spent a…<\/p>\n