Taken from a journal entry that I put in my final paper.
As I go through the stress and ungodly amounts of caffeine to persevere through finals week, I take a casual night drive to relieve my mind and to change my environment from my small apartment room. I take a busy highway so I can always see where I’m going in the slightly unfamiliar and potentially unexplored areas, hopefully finding some new stores or restaurants that I would be willing to explore during the daytime. As I’m driving back home I thought about the contemplative practice I experienced with the class at the Seattle Yoga Arts Center. I was on the bus ride home, and at this point I became exceptionally aware to the people surrounding me and how they treated the world around them. Dozens of people freely littered the ground with Taco Bell wrappings, and cigarette butts and I was disgusted by their actions. Rewind even further to our class viewing of Journey of the Universe where he talks about how we have evolved so far, just to watch ourselves crash and burn. Fast forward to my drive home and I came to a sudden realization that I was no better than those people. The method I chose to relieve my stress was burning fossil fuels, releasing carbon dioxide into the air. I thought long and hard about different ways I could relieve my stress. Then I thought even further about what I’ve been recently eating, and other daily habits that could have been potentially harming the world. As I lather in self-disgust I realize that I can change my actions. And so can others. For a better future to ourselves and future generations. We have the power to change, so long as we continue to spread information, and make ourselves and others around us become active towards ending this problem. As Schwägerl puts it, why have an epoch named after ourselves, with a negative connotation?