Steward...
Many of you have heard the word, many of you know what it means. For those of you that don't, Webster defines a steward as; "a person who manages another's property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others." But, how many know what it truly means? Now, some may say it is merely a person one would hire or request to take care of their belongings, while this is true, the real meaning goes significantly deeper than that.
Where do you live? In a house or apartment, yes, but where is that house or apartment? On Earth. Does anyone own the Earth? No, rather, we all do. Bear that in mind, think about the definition and origin of the word 'steward' again....let it blow your mind for a minute, then come on back and keep reading.
That's right, this isn't just your house, it's everyone's. Most importantly, it's Gods (if you don't believe, this all still applies so keep reading!), so when we rethink the meaning and role of a steward, it takes on a whole new light. We need to take care of this place! Not just for us, for your kids, your neighbor, your relatives, and yes even for the illegal alien harvesting your vegetables in the haze of toxic chemicals we use to grow our produce. We have been consistently destroying our planet from the word go. It was always bigger and better and faster and louder. "Your building is cool, but mine is twice as tall".... and takes twice as much energy to run. "The sun is an unlimited supply of renewable electricity? We know how to harvest it? It's relatively inexpensive? But we have this nonrenewable goo that costs a fortune to produce, blast toxic emissions into the air we breathe and causes wars....so....why would we use the sun? We're not gonna run out of oil in MY time!" We have grown to be the epitome of a selfish culture. People won't do anything if it won't affect them directly. They don't care if meat from industrial farms causes cows to get sick, which causes us to get sick, which cause many people to die before their time. They get their beef for a buck a pound, what difference does it make if "a few" people get sick from it?
It takes approximately 56 calories of energy to grow, produce, clean, package, ship and sell one usable calorie of lettuce. Why? Because people in cool climates want lettuce when it's out of season for them. Oh my, what would we do without salad in the winter? Ask the people who did it for thousands of years before us, ask the countries that don't eat lettuce at all. They have the answer, eat what's in season in your area. Store some away for the winter by canning or otherwise preserving it. Go without salad in the winter. There are many ways to do this, but it starts by buying local. There are farmers in your area that grow all kinds of food to sell to you....you just have to go buy it. It's more fresh, better tasting and better for you. Please, take care of your home...and mine. I promise I will return the favor. Go out there and make a difference, vote with your fork and as always, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
