I would like to apologize for preaching mindfulness...

Source:powertodecide.org

I did write about mindfulness (Are we mindful in our ways?) and hailed everyone to practise it. But now, after a little bit of pondering, I feel guilty about my mindless practices.

Well, what is it after all which bothered me you ask? I have my closet filled with unused and expired personal care/skincare products waiting to get thrown away to the landfill or even worse, get burnt in my home's backyard. It is not something a proponent of mindfulness would be proud of.

I was not very much into skincare until the COVID pandemic when everyone felt the need to do something at a personal level ( although now I feel we have less time for ourselves after work). I thought why not have a good beauty regime? Lack of discipline made me a products hoarder and now I have products that are past the expiration date.

I can blame the year-long sales in e-commerce websites, the mushrooming of 'organic'/'100% natural/'cruelty free'/PETA approved skincare companies or the thousands of beauty/fashion influencers for my doings. Even though all the above factors influenced my purchase decisions, my fault to evaluate the need for products cannot be overlooked.

There would be other things lying around our homes like gadgets, stationery, clothes, etc. We have no choice to get rid of certain things and we have to either burn them or put them in landfills. But, I feel we are not giving the necessary consideration for the things we can reuse, recycle and reduce.

In cities, we pack all the non-biodegradable waste into biodegradable garbage bags and keep them for the people from municipalities or corporations to take away.

But what is scary is the fact that all our villages do not have a waste collection system. While in cities, all the garbage goes to designated landfills, in our villages, we throw waste everywhere. Each family either burns the waste, throws it to the nearest water body or to the backyard. Waste is everywhere. Just imagine how dangerous this is because we eat the produce from these villages with polluted soil, water and air.

This new year as the curfews restrict us from going out, let us take a look at our own home and our habits. Wherever possible, let us bring a change and make this planet liveable for some more years...