Sometimes the problems of the world seem so large and overwhelming that it's hard to wrap my head around where to begin.

Stopping the destruction of our ecological systems is one of them. Where do you begin to solve a global problem. One of my favorite quotes is by a man named Frank Tibolt: "We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action."

Anyone who has ever worked with me will tell you that I've always had a fire - ready - aim philosophy. It's not something I learned, it's just how I am. It's how my brain is wired. As a result, I have witnessed firsthand how action generates inspiration.

Here's a perfect example.

Peter Kazanjy was eating lunch at an an In-N-Out when he noticed how he, and everyone else, was approaching the napkins. If you've ever been to an In-N-Out, you know the napkin dispenser is in a center island with the ketchup. Peter writes, "Well, the thing is, because the ketchup and the napkins are centrally located, and you don't want to have to get back up to get more, you typically end up taking more than you really need."

Yep, that's exactly what we do every Sunday. We eat at In-N-Out every Sunday for lunch. With 6 kids, we like to divide and conquer, so one of the kids is always tasked with getting the napkins. What do they do? They grab a whole bunch, of course. Pete noticed that everyone did the same thing. 

So what did Pete do? Well, he just acted. 

On February 19th, 2007, he wrote the first post on his These Come From Trees Blog. It describes his lunch experience. Each post thereafter details the birth of an idea. At the end of that first post he says, "As I started noodling on it, I resolved to research how extended this problem was, and put my mind towards seeing if there were any good ways to deal with it." It is the perfect illustration of action leading to inspiration, which leads to more action and direction. He made his thought process public. He acted. And the simple action of writing about the issue turned into the inspiration behind what he calls "the world's first guerrilla public service announcement." Go read about it. It will inspire you.

The Green Is Red Hot, This Sounds Like Fun Contest is really no different. Of course we could argue all day about whether inspiration or action came first for JaneAnne. Or, as she invited us to do, we could just act.

This is NOT the post I intended to write on this subject. I have a very angry post about newspapers rattling in my head. Other things keep getting in the way. The action of researching that post is what lead to the inspiration for this post. Unintended consequence? No, it's just the way it works.

Yes, the challenge we face in ending our conspicuous consumption is overwhelmingly large. We all have a choice to make around that obvious truth. We can sit around waiting for a great wave of ecological inspiration to kick us in the butt, or we can simply, locally, actively begin doing something... anything. If we do, inspiration will find us.