“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

I love Dr. Seuss. The Lorax is bar-none my favourite of his stories. It is every bit as relevant now as it was when he first wrote it. One only needs to look at the oilsands in Alberta, the huge amount of plastics in our oceans, the destruction of forests globally, the reduction of our precious ocean coral reefs, the ongoing extinctions – you needn’t look any further than your own backyard to see what the Lorax meant, and what the Lorax stood for.

This one quote can apply to so many things. It can apply to your personal life, public life, community, village, city, province, nation.

For me, right now, it applies to my personal well being, my love of animals, and my deep love for my family. Unless…

Unless I begin caring a whole awful lot about the shape and state that I am in, nothing will ever get better in my life.

Unless I begin to work more carefully with my pets, their behaviours will NOT improve, it will not get better.

Unless I become more active with my family, we will drift apart, and it will not get better.

I do care. I do care a whole awful lot. I care enough to walk every day this week. I walk through my physical pain, and I feel the difference.

I do care so much about my pets, I care that they have – for some reason – become dirty and will work so hard to get them back to how they were.

I do care more than a whole awful lot about my family – I can’t wait to take day trips with them. I want to show them our beautiful province and to go places that even I have never been!

I do care so much about the environment and I promise to fix my compost and restart recycling, my lack of energy had stopped me for a time – but I need to lead by example!

Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi