In Afrikaans we have the expression: "As dit pap reën, moet jy skep!" (When it's raining porridge, you must collect in spades!)
While I was writing this post, Aesop's Fable of the Ants and the Grasshopper came to mind. In that fable, the ants were diligently working to harvest everything they could while the grasshopper was content to fiddle around. And when the winter came, the ants had more than enough to eat and the grasshopper starved.
It was a big wake-up shake-up to me, too, as I realized how much of my life I have simply been fiddling away doing things that benefited no-one, not even myself! Sure, I have been busy, but I can't show much for 15 years' worth of busy-ness.
By the grace of God, all that is in the process of changing. It's all about making the right choices. Simple, true, but extremely difficult as well.
The reason is that we've been conditioned to think in a certain way. The experts call it a "scarcity mindset". We're so out of touch with nature that we don't notice what she has to offer any more.
"We can't do ABC because we don't have XYZ."
"I can't afford it!"
"It's too expensive!"
"If I only had [insert doodad here], my life would be so much better!"
"The government must provide..."
Frankly, I don't have a lot of money. Sure, I have a good job with a decent salary and proper benefits, but it still isn't enough for me to afford a car that works more often than not or to go on an expensive annual vacation. That doesn't mean that I can't do things now that have the potential to change all that.
I can start by collecting glass again. People in my area like to consume copious amounts of beer and they are notorious litterbugs. So, what I can do from now until February is to collect all the beer bottles littered on my way to and from work. It's the Festive Season, so there should be more than enough bottles to fill some dog food bags. I'll sell the glass in February, simply because I can!
It's a harvest. It will produce a yield, both monetary and in me being more physically active and healthier. It'll serve to clean my community and make me feel good about doing something for the planet in the process.
