4th of July 2024

Happy Birthday America!

4th of July, our country's birthday, is definitely one of our biggest national holidays in the US. 

Parades, picnics, barbecues, flags, festivities, and fireworks all are part of this national celebration.  

Were there to be a red, white, and blue birthday cake, we'd be placing 248 candles on the cake for the country that was "born" on July 4, 1776.

Every 4th I like to post a little something about the holiday:

• ways to celebrate in an eco-friendly way; 
• ways to add a little environmental green to your red, white, & blue routine;
• ways to honor our country by getting outdoors, etc. 

To check out my thoughts on all those topics and what I've written in the past, you can easily go back into the archives for 4th of July. May they serve as inspiration to tie together patriotism and environmental stewardship.

In thinking about what to write this year, I started thinking about the symbolism of our nation's colors, thinking about how they can tie in to both environmentalism as well as the meaning of the holiday. It led me to become a bit philosophical and even include a little play on words:

♥️ Red

The color word "red" is a homophone for the past tense of the verb "to read." As Americans, we definitely should be well-read! My challenge for you is that during this week of our nation's independence, make time and take time to read. Read it all: history, biographies, environmental stewardship, social justice issues, the news, non-fiction, and more. With it being an election year, being informed, well-read citizens is the best present we can give our country!

🤍 White

The color white can symbolize a lot of ideas: purity, honesty, innocence, cleanliness, equality. It even is the color of those racing, chasing arrows on our recycle symbol. All good food for thought. The white daisy photo above reminds me of the adage "stop and smell the flowers." Which of course is synonymous to "live in the moment." This is something that holidays often tend to help us with because they are rare and precious, and we tend to NOT take them for granted, not in the same way we often do during our "regular days." Smell the flowers this 4th of July. Appreciate your holiday. Treasure the gifts of your nation, your friends, your family. 

💙 Blue

Being both the color of the sky and of water, blue is the perfect symbol for "being outside." Take time this holiday weekend to soak up some sun, get some Vitamin N (Nature), and romp around outside. Ground yourself in nature. Unplug. Counter your tech time by spending some time in the great outdoors. Breathe in the beauty that surrounds in the world outside our walls! 

May this Independence Day be filled with many remarkable moments

and memories in the making!

♥️🤍💙      

Images created at Canva.com.