GREEN WINDOWS & GREEN THUMBS

One of my earliest childhood memories is me standing beneath and looking up at a wall of six-foot-tall sunflowers. It had just rained and I could hear the river's stream gently roar down the side of the mountains. It was at that point in time that I realized the power and beauty of nature.

Fast forward two decades and I still look back to that day when the rain was still fresh, I could feel the mud slip between my toes, the Sierra Madre had a different scent that morning. On most days I would run down to the river banks and play on the sun-dried clay but on this particular day my grandmother, my abuela, called after me and warned me not to go near the torrent. I didn't think much about it then but now I can't seem to shake off this memory and the love for nature it would instill in me.

At the time it might have been the carefree attitude and my childlike innocence but I loved being outdoors 24/7. I would go to sleep listening to the chirps of cicadas and gaze at the stars up above. I still enjoy these things and falling asleep to the sound of rain, but I grew up to work in a nine-to-five office setting and outside of that time frame there's not much time for me to step back into nature.

Growing Closer to Nature

“We live in a fast-paced urban society and in a digital world that most of us don't stop to think about Mother Nature and our relationship with her or our green thumbprint."

Even though we all enjoy the perks of living in the industrialized world we have to remember that we are still connected to Earth and have a much greater impact on the environment than what we can imagine. Technology has only made us less conscious of our physical surroundings in my opinion. Luckily, we can use our tech savvy thumbs to reach others and spread awareness about these issues that affect the planet and its people.

Bringing Nature Indoors

“Indoor plants quickly tie us back to nature and the outdoors...they have a calming effect and help boost productivity, concentration and creativity and clean the air around us.”

I recently potted some leafy succulents and a small cactus in my office space. Though the move is small in the scheme of a green thumbprint, these plants are more about my connection to nature. I appreciate a green planet and the small things humans do, and can do, to promote a healthy earth. These small plants aren't much more than simple desk decor but they serve as a bigger reminder that with a little TLC anything is possible.

Get Inspired

Look for ways to support Mother Nature and raise awareness about our environment, its importance and our role in preserving the planet...it goes a long way. The more aware we are of our environment the more apt we are to take care of it. To this day I haven't traveled back to Mexico to my home-state of San Luis Potosi back but I look forward to the day I go back and hike up one of the prettiest parts of the country.