Earth Day!

Today I'm talking about how to slow down and feel connected to the planet we all call home! We explore how caring for the Earth doesn’t have to feel overwhelming—it can start with just one small thing.

Perfect for car rides, quiet moments, or meaningful conversations with your kids.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Hey, what's up, my little friends? Welcome back. It's your friend Mikkel. I am so happy that you guys are here. I took a little bit of a break, but you guys are still listening. I still have the same amount of downloads, and that's just so exciting to me. I'm glad you're still tuning in. I do graphic design for work and I got super busy and just had to put a few things on pause. So thank you for being here. And if you're new, welcome. There's a pretty fun holiday coming up this week. Do you guys know what it is? It is Earth Day. Earth is our home. It's everybody's home. And today we're going to talk about caring for our home together. But first, I wanted to just take a minute to notice the planet. Think about how it's taking care of us all the time. So let's think about this. The air you're breathing right now, that's the earth. It's giving you air. What about the water you drink when you're thirsty? That's coming from the earth too. All the food we eat is coming from Earth. The trees are giving us shade, and it's like the earth is quietly helping us all day long without asking anything back. And here's something special. We're not the only ones who live here. The earth is home to so many animals. Tiny ones like ants and butterflies, and big ones like whales and elephants. Birds flying in the sky, fish swimming in the deep ocean, animals building homes in the trees, in the ground, and in places we might never ever see. Sometimes it helps to imagine, like, what if someone came into your home and left trash on the floor and wasted your food and didn't care for your house? That wouldn't feel very good, right? So when we take care of the earth, we're not just helping ourselves, we're helping the animals too. And we're keeping their home safe and clean and peaceful. And the cool part is when you start noticing all this, the air, the trees, the animals, and the sun, you don't have to force yourself to care, you just do. And it starts to feel like this isn't just earth, this is my home. And when you love something, you naturally want to take care of it, right? And I wanted to tell you a story about a kid named Simon who didn't think much about the earth at all. Not in a bad way. He just didn't really notice it. He noticed his games and snacks and friends, but not the ground he walked on every day. One afternoon, Simon was at the park with his mom, and he was running towards the swings when he slowed down because something fell off. There was trash, a crumpled soda can, a plastic bag, wrappers near the grass where the kids were playing. It wasn't a huge mess, but it was enough to make the f the park feel a little different, a little less happy. So Simon pointed at it. Why doesn't someone clean this up? His mom looked around and said gently, Sometimes people are waiting for someone else to do it. Simon frowned. Well, someone should. That night he couldn't stop thinking about it. While he was brushing his teeth, he thought about the park. The next morning, while he was eating breakfast, he thought about the park. And finally, some he had a thought that surprised him. What if I'm the someone? At first, it felt like a weird idea. He wasn't a grown-up. He didn't work for the city. He didn't have a big plan, but he did have friends. So that afternoon, Simon texted a few of his friends. Hey, this might sound random, but what if we cleaned up the park on Saturday? There was a pause. Then one friend replied, Like for real. Another said, Do we get snacks? Simon laughed and typed back, Yeah, I'll bring some snacks. Saturday came, and at first it was just Simon standing there with a trash bag, feeling a little unsure. But then one friend showed up and then another and then three more. Some brought gloves, which is always a good idea. One brought music and someone actually brought the snacks. And suddenly it didn't feel weird anymore. It felt fun. And they started small, one bottle, one wrapper, one bag at a time, and they talked and laughed and they made a game out of who could find the strangest piece of trash. And something unexpected happened. People started noticing. A mom pushing a stroller smiled and said, Thank you. A little kid picked up a wrapper and joined in for a minute. Even the man walking his dog stopped and said, This is awesome. By the time they were done, the park looked so much cleaner. It felt different and happy. Simon stood there looking around. It was all the same, but somehow not the same. His friend nudged him and said, Hey, we should do this again. Simon smiled. Yeah, we totally should. And here's the thing, Simon didn't fix the whole planet that day, but he did something. He noticed, he cared, and he started. And sometimes that's exactly how big changes happen. So, what are some other small things we can try to do to take care of our planet? We can turn off lights when we leave the room. Lights are being powered by something. So that's helping the planet. You can use less water when you brush your teeth. You can reuse things instead of throwing them away. You can pick up one piece of trash, even if it's not yours. You can ask, do I really need this before getting something new and consume less? We don't have to save the whole planet together, but we can care about it. And when lots of people care, it's just a little bit, it adds up into something really big. So thanks for being here today, you guys. And thanks for loving this big, beautiful earth. And in honor of Earth Day, let's all do something to take care of it this week, okay? All right. Hope you're doing so good. And I love you, and I'll talk to you soon. Bye. Oh, and hey, Mind Snacks is here to inspire and encourage. Please seek professional help if needed.