It Does Take A Village, It Absolutely Does To Save The Earth
May 19, 2022
by Dr. Plastic Picker
It’s 454 AM and my body is coming along. I was in this daze of binge-watching some really good Kdramas and not getting enough sleep. The broca wernike area of my brain is so enjoying the Korean-language dump, and also the heart-wrenching story lines – that it was getting kind of ridiculous. If you know me in real life, any of my clinic friends will tell you – it was kind of getting obsessive. But I’m an adult and generally healed, so I turned it off to get some good sleep yesterday.
But this entire time I am reminded of my own worth. I’m quiet on the HMO front this day, as metric after metric are returning and unknown faceless and nameless forces are making us again hamsters on that wheel. But after being released from the literal cycle of metrics, it’s hard to go back and Dr. Plastic Picker is never going back. It’s rather do things that are fun and meaningful and complete projects of my own design, and also get outside.
Getting outside is so important. Doctors and generally climate-minded health care professionals, we need to get outside of ourselves and outside of our clinics to really help save the earth. And honestly that is what I’ve been doing. I’ve been wandering around the virtual and literal environs and meeting people and thinking with my doctor hat and with my common sense hat and with my personal finance blogger hat. I’ve left myself open to new and old friends who want to do climate work, and that’s the way forward for me. How does one save the earth? Really anyway you can. Individual choices and systems-wide choices – they all matter. And the Studio Door Instagram ad, which was a result of our Youth Arts Exhibition reminded me that the most important thing anyone of us can do in this work – is simply to inspire. And usually one is able to inspire by actually doing something, accomplishing something. So in the end the art exhibit inspired a fair number of artists to plant trees through effective reforestration programs. Everyone who attended the art gallery opening was inspired by the art work. The children who entered were inspired that their works were chosen, and they were able to plant trees through Eden in Nepal. And the San Diego public was inpsired by all the stories we were able to tell through the artwork.
I haven’t been blogging much but I woke up with some jumbled thoughts and needed to sort them out on the blog. What have I been doing other than watching Kdramas? My in-laws are in New York City visiting family for the first time, and my own parents have left for their second island home. I’m lonely knowing that both set of parents are gone. I still worry about them both, given the COVID surge now. A climate friend texted me about his daughter and I gave some pediatric advice. I’ll text him later to follow up. I met with one of our premedical students and the reduction in single-use plastics webinar is starting to gain momentum, and we have a date set, speakers lined up, and our student will select articles now.
I just wandered onto my doximity profile where I keep things updated for fun and realize I’ve been making so much noise about climate. We are making noise with our friends, but individually I’m making noise as well. I’ve been mentioned 19 times by different press outlets.
Which is a crazy thing because before starting this blog, I had never been in the press before. So I’m continuing to make noise and try to do climate work. The single-use plastics work. Called Senator Atkins office yesterday and sent an email regarding SB 1173 , the fossil fuel divestment bill. It’s a long uphill battle but definitely as part of AAP California – I showed up. We are trying to get this bill onto the floor for a vote, it’s stuck in “suspension.” We are trying to get our HMO pension which is a couple of billion also divested from fossil fuels. I never knew that there was this coalition as well. Climate Safe Pensions.
Reducing single-use plastics. Pension divestments. Inspiring through youth art. Premedical Advocacy interns. It all somehow makes chaotic sense when I’m on this blog. It made sense this weekend when my village came together on the wetlands this weekend.
When I look up and see my village, it makes sense. It absolutely makes sense. I’m trying dear readers. I’m absolutely trying. Can you try too? Zero-out the noise of the metrics and the hurtful judging words of naysayers. You are enough. I am enough. I’ve stopped believing those that hold titles and powers, and at some point I decided to believe in myself. You too should believe in yourself. The only way to heal ourselves and heal this earth, is become a village together. And we’ll get it done. We have to. There is no planet B. A bit teary this morning and remembering to give myself a break. I can’t do it all and not to burn out again.