When you wake up everyday, I don't believe you plan to be wasteful with anything. At least I don't intentionally think I will or plan to be wasteful. Yet, if we took time to reflect on what our day looked like and identify moments we were wasteful, we would be utterly amazed! Whether it's time, food, money, water, electricity/power, there is so much that we waste daily without even thinking about it. What does it mean to be wasteful? "(of a person, action, or process) using or expending something of value carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose." How often does that happen?
What if we each made a decision to shift things in our lives and become more cognizant (having knowledge or being aware of) of the impact our decisions have and result on us being wasteful? What could you and I do differently today not to be wasteful? What could we give away so that it's not wasting away in our homes or at work or school? One of the decisions I made today is not to buy any food that is not an immediate need. Not that I want to go to the store everyday, or have the time to do so, but I need to do better in terms of what food I buy. The reason is that I have found myself having good intentions to bake or make something and I get a few of the initial perishable ingredients and then sometimes I don't get round to making or baking what I wanted to. Then the fruit or vegetables go bad... and that's just being wasteful. Buying frozen fruits or vegetables may be an alternative, but the point is just to be more mindful and not wasteful. As you go about each day, be more conscious of what is around you and what you have so that you're not being wasteful--with anything. Be grateful of what you have access to and don't waste it.
Time is something that you don't realize how much you waste... so it's good to be more intentional about your time management. Remember, time you spend with people that matter in your life is not wasted so never take it for granted. Enjoy the time spent and don't fret about other things. Think about how you will spend your day and week ahead. Will you be present everywhere and therefore not waste your time? Check with yourself daily and at the end of the week... how well you would have done in terms of being less wasteful and more intentional.
