3 Things You Do That Destroy The Mother Earth And Cause Suffering In The World

Phase them out of your life and help to restore the balance on our planet.

What’s wrong with the world? It’s pretty simple. It’s people’s unwillingness to take responsibility for themselves and their actions and mindless prioritization of fun, pleasure and fulfilment of their desires over a meaningful and thoughtful existence that supports their personal and spiritual growth.

Many people believe that experiencing pleasure is the only way to feel happy and fulfilled in life. Or rather, we were made to believe that because of the societal, cultural and media programming…

I’m not saying that our pleasure and desires aren’t important. Not at all. They are valid as in the end we are having a human experience here on Earth School and we should honor our needs and wants.

But the problem is that we became unbalanced in our actions and believed that our contentment depends on and it’s shaped entirely by the outside circumstances (aka life situation). Because of this belief, many people pursue wasteful and unconscious life not even realizing that they do it because they think they should, it is expected of them or they don’t think that a different way of living is possible for them.

When we pause for a moment, reflect and check in with ourselves about why we do certain things in life, we would realize we do them either out of fear or because we want to prove ourselves to others. And the deeper we dig, the more we will begin to realize that we are hurting and require healing from our fears, limiting thoughts and stories as well as feelings of unworthiness and not-enoughness instilled in us since childhood.

This programming is running our lives on a subconscious level and it’s time we all rebelled against it and heal ourselves.

The fact is that the entire system we currently live in profits from our insecurities, lack of self-awareness, self-love and self-worth. Until we realize our true, divine nature, we only perpetuate the current state of affairs.

You probably already know that the world has been built on exploitation. Greedy corporations and corrupt governments keep growing their profits, CEOs and politicians keep raising their salaries… All of this to satisfy their own pleasures and desires while disrespecting Mother Earth and her natural cycles, destroying the environment and causing suffering to many people and animals.

Because of their thoughtless actions, we found ourselves on the brink of Earth’s Sixth Mass Extinction caused entirely by our own making.

As humankind, we pushed nature to its limits by destroying habitat, taking part in polluting the air, supporting overharvesting from the wild, engaging too much in often random and thoughtless sex causing population growth and performing other mindless activities that caused climate change.

According to scientists, if we don’t change our habits and continue mistreating Mother Earth the way we do, we all will be facing the threat of being wiped out within just three generations from now.

The prioritization of profit, driven by pleasure and desire, is destroying the Planet.

It’s the time that you realize there are more important things in this lifetime than profit and fulfilling your desires.

Here are 3 things that add to the destruction, chaos and suffering on the planet Earth. On the basis that consumer demands drive the market, phasing these things out of your life will force companies to re-think their actions, which will eventually lead to change and improvement of their practices. In the long run, those changes will have a positive effect on reversing climate change.

1. Eating meat (yes, including fish) and animal produce

We eat animal flesh, eggs and other products made of milk intended for calves not for humans simply to satisfy our taste buds or out of habit we never questioned. We ignore the fact that before we could enjoy our meal, it lived and breathed. We close our eyes to the fact that it was caged and kept in slaughterhouse in horrendous conditions and then killed. Cows and goats are artificially impregnated, exploited for their milk, and then also killed for flesh if no longer profitable. We take part in their suffering (and contribute to global warming) by continuing to eat animal products instead of choosing a vegan diet.

The scientific community officially recognize a plant-based diet as a secret to healthier and longer life, so the only excuse left to not give it a try is simply your prioritization of pleasure.

In the book Vegan(ish), Jack Monroe, an English food writer and campaigner against hunger, shares:

‘One person eating vegan just one day per week saves approximately 40lbs of grain (which could feed hungry populations around the world), 1100 gallons of water, 30 square feet of forest, and one animal. To put that into context, 1100 gallons is equivalent to almost 4 months’ worth of showers… saved in just one day, by one person.’

These facts prove that your choices matter and they have a massive impact on our planet. It might seem like a small place to start but it’s not. Your commitment and engagement in making small changes can inspire the circle of your friends and family and well… it only gets bigger from there.

2. Shopping (fast) fashion brands

Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. In fact, it’s more polluting than the aviation and shipping industries combined.

Fast fashion brands in particular are contributing to the climate crisis by producing way too many clothes (it’s estimated that the fashion industry produces around 150 billion pieces of clothing each year). It’s also their common practice to use textile dyes that are polluting water and contaminating soil. On top of that, they often use polyester, a synthetic material that sheds microplastics while we’re wearing and laundering clothes made of it. This process is then repeated through their reprocessing or degradation in landfill or the oceans. Let’s not forget about the packaging, hangers and transportation that also contribute to fashion’s environmental footprint.

There’s also another crucial thing you need to know about fast fashion brands. The majority of them are not only extremely unethical in the way they produce and promote their products but also they have a bad habit of not paying their garment workers!

This industry is almost entirely built for profit and profit only. It disregards Mother Earth and its precious residents — the human beings. The people who sew their clothes.

Many fashion brands not only produce way too much clothing that then gets burned or disposed of in another unethical way usually ending up in landfill but also exploit their garment workers who either get paid extremely low salaries or don’t get paid at all.

We support modern slavery by continuing to live in ignorance instead of choosing to live consciously, researching brands and companies and refusing to support their malice practices by simply not buying from them.

It’s so easy to get trapped in a loop of wanting to follow the latest trends because otherwise we feel left out and unworthy.

But once you become more self-aware, you will realize that these brands thrive on your insecurities, unworthiness and not-enoughness, promising beauty, self-worth and happiness only if you keep buying their unethically made clothes.

I know how it feels to be manipulated by those corporations because I’ve been there myself. I fell into that trap once and was addicted to shopping for many years. Thankfully, I managed to break the addiction through deep inner work and healing.

Society, media and culture promote certain beauty standards and make us conform to the rules which can often make the healing way harder. But it is possible to heal from healing not good enough and unworthy and I am living proof that you can go from a shopaholic to a minimalist.

So, I encourage you to re-think your relationship with(fast) fashion. Every time you want to buy something new, ask yourself if you really need it? Can you find it in a second-hand shop or an app? Or can you find something similar that’s already hanging in your wardrobe?

Your choice to buy less or buy second hand can literally help the world. And if you’re not convinced about the second hand clothing, go and check Venetia La Manna’s work on Instagram or her YouTube channel for inspiration. I’m sure that her arguments, as well as creativity, will help to change your mind.

3. Buying from polluting and unethical corporations

Unilever, Nestle, Kellogg’s and Shell are only a few corporations that have been labelled as unethical. Research conducted by the Ethical Consumer suggests that several issues with Unilever have been found including “environmental reporting, habitats & resources, palm oil, pollution and toxins, human rights, workers’ rights, supply chain management, irresponsible marketing, animal rights, animal testing, factory farming, anti-social finance, controversial technologies and political activities. “

Nestle doesn’t have a better reputation either. Child labor, pollution, unethical promotion, manipulating uneducated mothers, price fixing and mislabeling are some of the reasons why they are considered one of the most hated companies in the world.

I’m not even going to go into the details on Nestle’s politics on bottled water that they are the largest producer of and the fact they’ve been selling tap water (yes, tap water!) and were found the worst plastic polluter alongside PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.

Just to add a cherry on top and make you realize how ignorant and cruel are the people involved with the corporation, you must know that Nestle’s Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe doesn’t think that water should be a basic need for humans. In his appalling statement he said:

“There are two different opinions on the matter [or water]. The one opinion, which I think is extreme, is represented by the NGOs, who bang on about declaring water a public right. That means that as a human being you should have a right to water. That’s an extreme solution.”

I don’t think I need to add anything else on that matter…

Bonus matter

Going to zoos, aquariums and other facilities using animals for entertainment

We think that going to zoos and aquariums is enjoyable or even educational. But the reality is that we see animals that are held captive or we watch dolphins and orcas performing. We ride elephants and camels. All we see and experience is fun to us but we don’t see the truth, which is the exploitation we take part in when engaging in these activities involving animals.

I don’t know about you but I’d rather die than live in captivity knowing I have no chance of gaining my freedom back.

Conclusion?

Be wary of where you’re putting your money into, who you are sponsoring and ultimately who you supporting unknowingly.

Choose not to stay ignorant as to where your money is flowing to. By doing that you can actually make a significant change.

You are a part of the mass population and if all of us make a small effort of checking and knowing where your money is going, we can make huge differences in this world.

Final Thoughts

If you care about restoring balance, peace and happiness to this world, you need to look at your own actions first.

You have to understand that your behavior, your habits and daily actions matter and leave an enormous impact in this world although you were made to believe by the system, society and the media that it’s the opposite. I promise you, it’s not.

You have to stop constantly prioritizing your desires and your need for pleasure and instead find balance in your life and the daily actions you take.

This isn’t about being a martyr. This is about your responsibility to do right by other people, animals and Mother Earth.

By participating in a consumption lifestyle, you are only helping in reinforcing old structures, exploitation, unfairness and mistreatment causing pain, chaos and suffering.

Just because you can eat meat, buy fast fashion, indulge in eating Nesquik or Kellogg’s cereal, go to zoos and support other places built on exploitation, doesn’t mean you should.

It’s time to stop focusing on your pleasure, desire and fun and begin to prioritize moral values and ethics as well as love, understanding and compassion for others so we could restore freedom, peace and harmony in this world.

You can start small. Or you can start big if you enjoy challenges.

Think of what you can do to help other people, animals and the planet.

What can you change about your lifestyle today?

What actions can you take now?

What habits do you need to eliminate to help you with this intention?

It’s important that you begin making the changes sooner rather than later.

The clock is ticking and we’re running low on time.

Your future and the future of generations to come depends on you and your conscious willingness to make better decisions and do what is right, not what is only fun or pleasurable.

Do better.

Be better.

And be an example to others.

Hi, I’m Malgorzata but friends call me Gosia. I’m a Self-Love Coach, Spiritual Mentor & Writer. I share my insights on self-love, well-being, personal growth, conscious living & spirituality hoping to inspire others to live empowered, sovereign and fulfilling lives on their terms. For more about me & what I do, check my website and my Linktree. I hope you enjoyed reading my piece. If you would like to support me as a writer, consider joining Medium. You can also subscribe to my Medium posts and get notified by email every time I publish one. If you’re experiencing a spiritual awakening and seek guidance, support and assistance on your journey, join our Awakening Planet Community here.