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Touch Grass


 

Does your inner monologue sound like this these days?

What good can I do? I’m only one person. There are so many things demanding my attention, so many crises that are overwhelming me. I know I shouldn’t keep scrolling on social media but I just feel paralyzed.

Got twenty minutes? Go outside. Here’s an activity from Live Green Howard County that anyone can do.



Help us celebrate Earth Month by planning a 20 Minute Cleanup in your community any time during the entire month of April!  The 20 Minute Cleanup is Howard County's annual spring-cleaning project and anyone can be involved. Either in a group or on your own, safely pick up litter for at least 20 minutes at the time and place of your choosing. Dispose of the trash and recycling as part of your regular collection.  We want to know your results! Tag us and use #20MinuteCleanup on social media (photos welcomed!) or email 20minutecleanup@howardcountymd.gov.  https://livegreenhoward.com/recycling-waste/litter-cleanups/

Here’s a local example from Ellicott City H-Mart to kickstart your motivation:



 

A special #20MinuteCleanup shout out to the Ellicott City H Mart for setting an example for the community. H Mart staff recently transformed the litter-laden ravine and pond area just beyond their parking lot into a clean and green haven.  See how you can join in the movement this month:  learn more about Howard County's 20 Minute Cleanup initiative at https://livegreenhoward.com/recycling-waste/litter-cleanups/

The expression “touch grass” is explained here by Merriam Webster:

touch grass - -  idiomatic phrase

: to participate in normal activities in the real world especially as opposed to online experiences and interactions

• To be told to touch grass is intended as an insult for people who spend too much time online, disconnected from the reality outside their pixelated screens.

- Catriona Morton

I don't want to become one of those people who does so well in their career, but ... has never touched grass a day in their life.

- Antoni Bumba, quoted at vox.com

Today I’m using those words not as an insult but as an invitation. And not just to my readers but to myself as well. We can’t save the world by ourselves. We can’t stay sane being sucked into scrolling the Internet. We can go outside for twenty minutes and pick up trash. It’s doable. And it will make a difference.

Have you participated in the 20 minute clean up in past years? I’d love to hear about it. 


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