Hello. I hope you are well today. I really want to thank you for the hard work that you do and for all of the little things you do in your day to day life. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my comments.

I am considering the things in life that are most precious to me, and ask you to do the same for a moment. Maybe you will think of the home you live in or a favorite vacation spot where you can enjoy nature's beauty and quietude. Perhaps you are thinking of those basic needs that are vital to survival: food, water, shelter. And surely you might be thinking about your loved ones: your spouse, children, parents, and maybe even grandchildren. What means most to you?

"I have responsibility. You have responsibility. Please do not turn a blind eye. Instead, look your choices - every single decision - right in the eye and take full responsibility for your role."

I implore you now to think about how your everyday decisions impact the world around you and how they might impact the future of the things, places, and people most precious to you. Consider where you work, what you eat, and how you spend your money. Are the dollar you earn and the dollar you spend contributing to a world you haven't even imagined? If you have not considered it before, please, consider now the extreme likely-hood that many of the everyday choices we all make do contribute to poverty, illness, and even the death of others. If you are already aware of these consequences, yet continue to make the same choices, or chose to turn a blind eye to what is happening around you, think about how you might be envisioned in the future, as a part of history.

I imagine this may be difficult for you to think about because I know it is for me. We love our families. We depend on the security our money and possessions bring us. We are likely too afraid to change things for the fear of losing what we have. I can understand this and I also struggle with these same feelings. But, if we do not make conscious choices that take into account the true and total impact they have on the planet and its people, we are sealing a much darker fate for our future. Because of our choices, our great, great grandchildren will likely have to live without much of what we consider vital to our lives.

You are so very important to so many people. You can really make a difference in what is happening in the world and how our future is shaped. Your decisions have such a great impact on how things play out: in what nutrients - or toxins - are in our soil, water and food; in who is paid a livable wage and who cannot afford to feed their families; in who can thrive in the world and who feels there is nothing left to live for; sometimes literally, in who lives and who dies. I have responsibility. You have responsibility. Please do not turn a blind eye. Instead, look your choices - every single decision - right in the eye and take full responsibility for your role. Thank you.

Anonymous