AWKWARDNESS OF CHANGE

by Tjerk van der Weij

Most people want to do something good in life, but doing good can be hard in practice and socio-economically challenging. Students want to take good care of nature, but organic food is expensive. Students want to create a positive or at least a less negative impact on nature, but yeah we want to see the world as well? How do you cope with doing things you love but that are damaging to the planet? You know that meat, and even dairy products come with animal harm. How do you not get paralyzed, and keep doing good things while still embracing that no one is purely ethical?

Personally, I find it hard to deal with these things. You know a bit about what is good and what is bad for the planet, but how do you still enjoy things with a negative impact? For me, this dilemma most noticeably turns up when booking vacations. Of course, I would like to see the world and go on adventures like my parents and maybe even my grandparents could without thinking too much about the consequences for the planet. But once you know, you know. And you can’t unknow it. It is the burden of knowledge that stops you from enjoying things you could have experienced great joy from. You wish that you could travel the world without having this impact, or could eat a delicious steak without killing that animal you love. But, unfortunately, it remains impossible. You either skip the activity completely, or you do so with the knowledge that it comes with painful consequences. Or you find a balance, as most people do, I would think.

However, this balance is constantly changing with new research, new opinions and new Zeitgeist. It is this balance that is so amazingly hard to find, but maybe that is life. You need to ponder to make it all work. But I would claim that people with these active contemplations are already on the right path. The fact that you are already aware of your thoughts and actions, and you reflect on them with good understanding and knowledge, makes you consciously aware of your impact. And I would still prefer to be a conscious thinker over an ignorant-blissed handler. Although the latter probably makes your life a whole lot easier. 3