Traveling, even to already visited places, makes me watch the world with the eyes of a stranger, think of known things in another way, enjoy the skies, nature and wildlife fully, even when they have already been seen. But that afternoon, the skies showed me that some natural beauties do not repeat themselves.
It reminded me to always look with the eyes of a stranger, because that way, I will notice much more. Whether it was about watching the skies before the rain – a breathtaking contrast of brilliant light and never-ending gloomy clouds – or watching surroundings on a monotonous motorway on our way back, going further and further from the sea. We can always feel something new.
While driving on motorways, you can see glowing marks every now and then that remind us to be cautious and responsible drivers. “Keep distance”, “Take a break”, “Be responsible”.
We all know the rules, but it is good to be reminded once in a while.
Responsibility is one of the features that mark mature people, and yet, we often lack it in some parts of our lives.
Maybe we are responsible drivers, but at the same time irresponsible pedestrians or cyclists. Maybe we take responsibility for our close ones, but could be more responsible for our acts and words, in our schools, on our universities or workplaces.
Maybe it is the other way around.
Even when it seems to us that it is too late to become responsible in a certain sphere of life, we can learn from our mistakes. Irresponsible mothers and fathers sometimes through time become responsible and reliable grandparents. People who were once careless and irresponsible, perhaps even troubled students, sometimes become exceptionally dedicated and diligent employees.
I often encounter people who have a highly developed sense of responsibility for their family and belongings, but have no feeling for the environment. Some take out the cigarettes wherever it fits for them, some other throw away empty cups or bottles from their cars during the ride. They teach their children how to behave, they teach them manners – but at the same time, many forget that most children learn best through following their parents’ example.
Doing our best in keeping our environment healthy is one of many beautiful, selfless things we can do for – and with – our children. After all, we all want our future generations to live in a world beautiful as it was before, or at least as it is now.
Responsibility is a highly complex virtue, and we often do not have it fully developed at first.
So, we can work on it.
And it does not have to be anything grandiose or groundbreaking. We can try with small things – for example, if you have the opportunity to separate waste, I encourage you to make a little bit of extra effort and sort it.
Of course, it is “easier” to throw everything together. Also, not all towns and municipalities have well-performed waste management. But this way, we build a worthy habit of thinking a little greener than many of us are used to, and we also set an example to our families, to our children, friends and colleagues. I have seen friends and colleagues changing their habits because of that one friend who “gets mad when he sees us using plastic cups”.
Other examples of those little acts of caring for nature are:
- turning off the water while brushing your teeth or shampooing hair, in order to avoid unnecessary loss of water
- using eco-friendly cleansers
- using reusable canvas bags instead of single-use plastic bags
- avoiding single-use plastic products (cups, cutlery, straws).
We tend to be a little lazy and self-centered when it comes to these things, and because of that, many of us will refuse to even try it out.
But by putting just a little more effort, we can start doing little things for our environment – with doing those little things, we become more responsible, more sensible, and we show others that it is does not have to be difficult at all.