So you value sustainability....all for 'think global, act local'...you start to avoid plastic, you start to compost your food waste, you start to plant seedlings, you start to plant seeds, to plant natives, to bake your own bread, to make your own soap, to ride your bike or walk wherever you can, to convince your housemates to join you, to stop buying packaged foods...even delicious chippies!, you start to read about climates change, about environmental justice, you make your own peanut butter, you make your own hummus, you compost your dog poo, you read more about equity, equality, racism and environmentalism, you see who's really affected by global warming and environmental pollution, you read about the health impacts of plastics, you read that plastic is everywhere, in our soil and our rain, you buy a bamboo toothbrush, you sign 5 petitions, you make your own deodorant, you attend a few protests, you change your bank and your superannuation, you read some more books, you read about First Nations, about colonialism and systemic racism, you try to be anti-racist, you realise so many hypocrisies, you consider not just the environmental impacts of your purchases but the ethical impacts, you seek to buy from First Nations owned or Black owned businesses, but you also seek not to 'buy more', you seek to buy bulk food and avoid plastic, but you want to support local, migrant owned businesses, you see the environmental movement and market as often elitist, 'sustainability' seems unaffordable...now that's unsustainable!...but you understand it's people like you who have to spend the first dollars to bring the novelty and price down, you think there's a way to spend less and be more sustainable- buy less, borrow, share, grow, downsize, you realise this is your responsibility, but it's not everyone's responsibility, the migrant who's arrived here from a lifestyle of 'less, borrow, share, survive', now has the chance to have 'more, to own, share, thrive' and what right have you to deny, you realise your duty is to encourage more people like you; White, middle class- wealthy folk, to adopt a lifestyle of 'less, borrow, grow, share'.
Choosing to 'live your values' is not simple, but it is at once a privilege and a duty.