Green Living by Janet Marchant: Greening Your Mindset

If you're like me, you're probably the first person on your block to notice when a neighbor brings home a brand new, clean, green, hybrid SUV, or builds a solar-heated swimming pool. When I see something like that, I almost always think "Ooh! I wish I had one of those, or maybe even two or three."

Until recently, I felt guilty about coveting my neighbors' possessions this way, but then I had a mental breakthrough. You see, envy is a very green emotion. They don't call it "the green-eyed monster" for nothing! The more envy we feel, the greener we'll be! That means that it's not only good to take note of all the environmentally friendly products that our neighbors buy, but also to work at inspiring envy in them in return. We should always be sure to flaunt our newest green purchases as much as possible, preferably waving them around as soon as they are unloaded from the SUV, or exclaiming loudly when they are delivered on the flatbed truck.

Soon, your whole neighborhood will be buying more green products, which is good for the environment. They will probably also be getting rid of the old things they are replacing, most likely by recycling them, which is also good for the environment! That's what we call a win-win, so let's all remember how important it is to be green with envy.