What is the big debate with Ego vs. Eco? Have you ever heard of it?

It might also be known as "Microcosm vs. the Macrocosm," or "Humans vs. Nature."

Let me break it down for you.

So we are all intertwined with the earth. Every single one of us envelops in the sunlight, the air, the water, the ground, all of it. Without the earth, none of us would be breathing in the oxygen we're just so carelessly breathing in right now. Obviously we need the earth to survive. I think most of us, {me included} take this for granted. We don't really appreciate how amazing and beautiful our earth is. With that being said, we all need to be a little bit more aware of how we treat our earth and environment. But loving the earth and appreciating the earth is just one small bit of being ecocentric. Being ecocentric means to live like you are your soul. To live as a soul on earth and be happy and appreciate what is around you. According to dictionary.com ecocentrism is a philosophy or perspective that places intrinsic value on all living organisms and their natural environment, regardless of their perceived usefulness or importance to human beings. In a nutshell, it's being one with your soul, planet, and everyone and everything else around you. To live in harmony.

This whole idea got side-tracked when money and power came into the picture. Egocentrism is more popular in western cultures, and began when were colonized. Egocentrism also is associated with religion. Success, competition, achievements, and the potential are all things that are ego-based. These things aren't necessarily bad, but they're definitely not always good. These things cause an ego, a more conscious perception and ideas of ones self. A more prominent focus on your own being, rather than a focus on the world as a whole. This egocentric value enforces stress, anxiety, and worry among human beings. Consumerism also plays a large role in ego-centric values. The more we buy, the more we support our ego. We all love looking good and feeling good when we buy new clothes, products, or whatever, but in the long haul these things are the things that don't matter.

I'm not saying give up the egocentric lifestyle, because it can be beneficial in some ways. It would be ideal to sit in a circle all day and sing kumbayah all day holding hands, but in the modern world, it's definitely not realistic. So, i'm not advising dropping the ego completely and moving to the mountains and braiding each other's armpit hair, but I am advising focusing a bit more on being ecocentric. Think about your carbon footprint, think about cutting down your meat consumption to save water, think about the world as a whole and the people as a whole rather than your own being. These will all lead to being healthier. But most importantly I want you to focus on living in the now.

Living in the now is one of the most valuable pieces of advice that can ever be taught. If you train your mind into thinking this way, anxiety and stress levels will decrease, making it a lot easier to enjoy moments in life. I know how it can be when you have deadlines and not even a second to think, I know how it can be to be so stressed out all you want to do is cry, i've been there. But when those moments come, know that there is nothing you can do about it in that exact moment, so try not to think about it. Don't worry about the future so much that it takes over your being. I know it's hard to change and most of us are resistant to change, but just try it, be open minded-- be more ecocentric.