#LanguageOfRegeneration Part 1: Waste/Gift

The Language of Regeneration

A series where I will explore the words we use everyday that serve the economy and culture of Degeneration and offer alternative words and concepts to encourage the development of a Regenerative Culture.

Part 1. 

Degenerative - Waste

Regenerative - Gift / Offering

Food waste. Human waste.  Waste water. Waste of time. Waste of breath. Industrial waste. Waste of space.

What is waste? What makes something waste? What should we do with all our waste? How do we eliminate waste?

Am I a waste? Of space? Of breath? Of water? Of resources? 

Am I unnecessary? Unneeded? Unwanted? 

Should I be thrown away?

Put that waste in the trash… get rid of it. Waste him, he’s useless. Those people are a waste of resources, get rid of them. That was definitely a huge waste of time. Wastewater should always go into the sewer.

In the process of composting we turn waste into soil fertility. After time and reflection, I understood the experience brought me much learning and growth.  They figured out how to turn the waste from one factory into the input of another. My garden is thriving on waste greywater. After clashing initially, the community found the recent immigrants were very friendly and made delicious food.

WHAT IF THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS WASTE?

Each Day, I drink 1 gallon of water. My body uses and enriches this water and creates the gift of pee. I offer this gift to my plants which brings depth to the greenery of their leaves.

Each Day, I chop fruits and vegetables for my daily nourishment.  The pieces I don’t eat I offer as a gift to my worms, and they, in turn, offer their poop to the trees and plants.

Each Day, I wash this body. As Water passes through my hair and down my skin, she collects the gifts I have collected there, depositing them in the Earth.

Each day, I gather the experiences that bother me, that have rank odor and foul texture, and I examine them to understand their value.  What do they offer me? 

What if the wastes we see all around us are the gifts that bind us?