You say you love your children above all else and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes.
I´ve recently read Greta Thunberg´s pocket book, which revived the lump in my throat that I first had as I watched her COP 24 discourse on YouTube. However, it was Christiana Figueres´s words that still do not let me sleep at night:
When the eyes of our children, and their children, look straight into ours, and they ask us ‘what did you do?’, our answer cannot just be that we did everything we could. It has to be more than that. There is really only one answer. We did everything that was necessary.
What would I answer to my son? I could tell him that he was cloth diapered, that in our family we recycled, ate vegetarian and bought most clothes second hand. I could tell him that I never owned a car and tried to limit my flights to a couple every year. I could tell him I did more that most people I know. As this scenario played in my head, I realized this can´t be my answer, so I began looking into what else I can do, starting with google and a trip to our local library.
Fast forward a couple of weeks to a tower of books on actions against climate change on my nightstand. That evening, two thoughts were not letting me rest. First, that all this advice is great, but not really doable for me, or at least not the best usage of my skills. Run for office, sure, but as an immigrant without full control of the local language or citizenship, chances are thin to make an impact. Second, that I might not be the only person feeling this way, the only one reading book after book on what I can do with no clear action for tomorrow, the only one not ready to answer to their child:
I recycled, I ate vegetarian, I didn´t drive a car. Your future was stolen, but as I watched this happening and fully aware of what I was contributing to, I took less than most people I know.
What can I do? I, the mother. I, the employee. I, the lady from the bottom floor. I, the immigrant. What exactly do I need to get started? As I am figuring this out for myself, I realized all these resources and tips could be really helpful to have at hand to pass over to anyone else I come across that finds themselves in the same place as I am, asking themselves the same questions.
That is why I started this blog.
The Mingle Inn 