By AMANDA WHEELER

Going Green in the Bluegrass

It’s hard sometimes to remember to be reflective, thoughtful and thankful. It’s ironic that it seems even harder to do this during the holiday season, when it would be appropriate to be thoughtful and thankful — especially during Thanksgiving. 

Through time, Thanksgiving has changed, but I think it should always be used as a time of reflection, rest and thoughtfulness. So between making food, traveling and trying to keep it all together, give yourself some time to reflect. 

As I reflect on this past year, there are many things I’m thankful for. In my personal life, I’m thankful to have a healthy newborn to celebrate the holidays with. I’m also thankful for my family and friends who have been so great and helpful to us this year. I’ve also made some new friendships and re-energized some old ones, which is exciting. 

Professionally, I am thankful that I get to be a librarian and an environmental columnist. I’m also very grateful that I had the opportunity to become a certified environmental educator in the state of Kentucky this year. Becoming an environmental educator is something I had been wanting to do for a while and I was so happy to be able to go through the program. I’m also very thankful for the relationships I gained from going through the program. 

Politically, I’m grateful to have a governor who believes in climate change. Hopefully he will be able to make a positive difference on that front. 

I’m so thankful for all of the natural beauty we have here in the Bluegrass State. It’s easy to take for granted the things you have every day, so sometimes I have to remind myself that we live in a gorgeous place and we are so lucky. 

I’m also thankful that there is a current eco-movement going on and that there are products on the market to help us live more environmentally friendly lifestyles. We shouldn’t buy too many of these things because unnecessary consumption is never environmentally friendly. But I’m glad to see that more and more people are trying to be more environmentally friendly. Hopefully this isn’t a fad and it’s something that will be ingrained in our culture and become just a fact of everyday life. 

I read before that people who think deeply about why they are thankful for a few minutes each day are happier people. I think that makes a lot of sense because you are taking time out of your day to think positively. It’s so easy, especially around the holidays, to feel overwhelmed and stressed out. I’d like to challenge everyone to take a few minutes out of your day, everyday, just to think about what you are thankful for.

Lastly, I’d just like to say that I’m also thankful to you. I’m thankful to all of my readers and I couldn’t do this without you. 

 

Amanda’s Animal Fact of the Week

Adult male and female horses don’t have the same number of teeth. Males have 40-42 permanent teeth and females have 36-40 permanent teeth. 

 

https://pixabay.com/photos/horses-horse-head-animals-1414889/