So, I just stumbled upon the fact that it's blog action day. Living in a 'lucky country' I don't have to deal with poverty on a daily basis. I have *some* money to buy good things for my family, even if it's not a lot by some people's standards it will always be a lot by most of the world's.
But I want to make a conscious effort to minimise our negative impact on the world. I don't want the poor people who *are* living in poverty in this world to be slaving in sweatshops or working with dangerous materials or being treated badly so that I can buy some cheap junky thing that I use once and then throw out.
I wanna buy free-trade goods and buy local and buy organic and buy second-hand...
Maria Montessori believed in the potential for world peace through the healthy education of our children and I quote:
"The child is much more spiritually elevated than is usually supposed. He often suffers, not from too much work, but from work that is unworthy of him"So too our civilized culture provides our children with many *things* that are unworthy of them. So much junky tv & junky food and stores and stores and stores of junky toys. And more often than not this on the back of people living in poverty, somewhere else on this mighty planet. They suffer and paradoxically our children suffer too.
Each small decision that we make as a family towards living consciously and ethically will impact upon our children and hopefully imprint them with compassion and consideration and the ability to think before they "consume"; be it food or media or *stuff*.
That was my rant... I shouldn't get on the computer at night (but it's my only opportunity :)
