Tuesday, 31st July 2018 (North Side, Anguilla) — I awakened before 5:00 this morning and found myself inspired to compose word thoughts on what I have been meditating upon for the past few days. Spirit has been nudging me to get up and write on the computer since yesterday yet I tried ignoring this inner calling. Today, I am contemplating what wisdom to share that may help us to raise our conscious awareness and ask the Divine Creator to channel through my fingertips messages that we need to heed.
Several days ago, I started reading a book that I purchased at Value Village thrift store in Seattle, Washington. It’s a non-fiction hardback about making room for what really matters in life entitled The Not So Big Life by bestselling author, architect and cultural visionary of The Not So Big House, Sarah Susanka. The original price was US$24.95. I bought it for $2.99 plus 9.5% tax. That was a bargain buy. Susanka shows in her writings that it is possible to make small shifts in our daily life – subtle movements that will open up our minds – shifting our awareness to allow a renewal of our lives, like opening a window to let in fresh air.
Over the past seven months, I have been reflecting on changes that I wish to incorporate in my life and observing change within the Anguilla community that is dear to my heart. My focus has been not only on simplifying my life, the things that I do and own, but also on securing a meaningful way to earn a sustainable income post Hurricane Irma and subsequently my father’s death. Reducing what I possess has been much easier than obtaining the financial backing to keep me going forward. I am certain that it is the same for many of us.
So how do we stay strong and hold onto our faith that life will get better? That is one of the questions I pose for each of us to answer individually and collectively as a community. What I see occurring on Anguilla has made me recognise that we have strayed far from the God centred, holistic, village teachings of our forebears. We have become a consumerist society like numerous communities in larger developed countries. Positive values of honesty, integrity, truthfulness, morals, compassion, love and jollification have been lost in the rat race to develop ourselves and nation. Fifty-one years later, after the Anguilla Revolution, we, as an evolving nation, a small Caribbean island community with people of strength and fortitude, have joined the Age of Technology that has caused us to lose our spiritual grounding which held us together through the trials, tribulations and challenges of life. We no longer carry moral compasses in our souls to guide us through daily living. This is not to say that everyone behaves in this manner. Some of us have chosen to be faithful to what we were taught, and to seek a higher calling that guides us along our paths in these human lives.
As I walk through the communal yards where we reside, and drive on the roads of this 35-square mile island, I notice an excessive amount of waste materials dumped all over the place. We see plastic and glass bottles, aluminium cans, Styrofoam containers, synthetic bags, electrical wires, old rusty and damaged cars, and even televisions, washers, toilets and worn tires. We have accumulated so many materialistic items that we dispose of them at will wherever we choose to let them go.
What has become of us that we have no respect for Mother Earth, the planet on which God has given us dominion? There is no island-wide recycling programme that requires proper disposal of such things. We have large blue dumpsters for disposing of glass bottles. Yet it seems persons may not be aware of them. We may need to educate the public about their use. One suggestion made is to have such bins near every restaurant which would encourage businessowners, employees and guests to recycle glass.
Another idea is to teach children and youths about recycling in a year-round school programme. If young people are taught well and embrace the importance of reducing waste disposal and the need to recycle what is re-usable, then we will create greater influence on the adult population to be more aware. In primary schools, students are taught aspects of how long it takes plastic and other materials to break down. Yet there is not much encouragement to dispose of items properly or to recycle. We may believe that picking up trash is considered a punishment rather than an encouragement to keep the schoolrooms and yards clean.
Fines for uncovered trucks transporting sand, bush or other materials are so miniscule that they do not encourage drivers to cover loads. The Environmental Health Department is short staffed and has an inadequate number of employees who could check households to see if they are complying with the mandates to clean up waste materials in yards, in order to eliminate breeding grounds for mosquitos. There are not enough large dumpsters strategically placed around the island to hold all of the things that we dispose of daily.
For weeks, I attempted to obtain a trash bin for my household’s yard since I was off island when they were distributed throughout the districts. A friend and I put in bin requests at the same time with Environmental Health. She received a bin for her residence in Sandy Hill within two days. Yet, after placing a second request, and three months later, I still have not gotten one in North Side. I gave up asking because there is access to a large dumpster down the road within walking distance.
Something else to think about, as we de-clutter our lives, is clearing out the excessive amount of stuff in our homes. Periodically, I go through my belongings to assess what is no longer needed. When I come across items that I am not using, or which serve no purpose in my life anymore, I pack them up and give away. This is another form of recycling. Last week, I collected quite a few things like towels, pillows, comforter, lamp, fan, woven baskets and clothing, which I donated to the Anguilla Red Cross. I made sure what I donated was clean and useable. Hopefully, there was not much, if anything, that had to be thrown out. Also, I took shoes needing repair to the shoemaker in Stoney Ground because tropical climates wreak havoc on footwear. We are fortunate to have an experienced and inexpensive shoe repairman on island who makes them like new again.
In creating our not so big lives, it also may mean releasing relationships, moving house, building smaller homes, changing jobs, closing businesses, losing weight, eating healthier, working on evolving self, re-building faith and spiritual renewal or whatever we need to do that will give us the space and freedom to move forward. We each must go through our own self-examinations and see how we can shift and change to make room for what really matters in our lives. May God encourage and inspire everyone of us each day to do the same. Blessings and love to all as we travel on our soul’s journey. And may God bless Anguilla keeping us ever strong!
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Kay M. Ferguson writes under the nom de plume Empress Extraordinaire. She is a Spirit-filled, conscious raising writer who composes words to enlighten and uplift humanity. To find the Empress or “i-nect” on social media, link with her via Facebook Messenger or email anguillawriter@gmail.com.
