Today while coming back home, I realised I was supposed to make eggs for dinner as per my weekly plan. Generally I buy eggs in advance and always carry my egg carton to get the eggs in it. My forgetful brain had decided to vanish this reminder from my memory and I did not have any eggs in the house.
Being a zero-waste enthusiast, I resented the idea of getting into nearby store on my way back and buy eggs. In my experience you need to get either a carton of 6 eggs or shopkeeper will pack some eggs in single use plastic carry-bag. I hated both options, but I did not have anything else to cook for dinner so reluctantly I entered into the store.
We all know such times, when we suddenly remember to buy some grocery and realise that we don’t have a bag to carry it. Zero-waster in me hates me for taking single use plastic & minimalist hates me for having to buy a carry-bag unnecessarily. It was one of those days.
Upon entering the store, I saw these small packets kept alongside eggs. Yay! Now the eggs can be bought in loose & can be carried in the REUSED packets. I obviously knew that he has not taken that step to reduce plastic waste, rather it was born out of two things: customer convenience & cost saving for him (based on my many past interactions). Nonetheless, I liked the idea, it did solve my problem & I can see that the shopkeeper has increased life of that packet.
I conveyed my appreciation to the store owner. He said, he just tried to use what was a waste anyway.
Sometimes, we start despising plastic way too much while applying zero waste lifestyle. So much so that seeing an empty plastic packet gets on our nerves.
Sometimes, we become too critical of ourselves and of others. We think of idealistic lifestyle & blame ourselves for not following it rigorously.
Sometimes, such small changes we can’t appreciate because those are not the ideal ones.
Sometimes, we fail to realise that ‘Jugaad’ can also take us an inch towards zero waste lifestyle.
And many times, we fail to convey our appreciation to anyone taking that small effort to reuse, recycle or revive used items.
This incident made me realise that there can be other options too. We need to keep an open mind and welcome non-ideal options as well.
This incident served as a reminder to make it a habit to appreciate little changes anyone does, which directly/indirectly help mumma earth.
Because, appreciation & gratitude always has ripple effect.
ecodhara 