Below is a pic from my holiday in the Andamans. I spent time in the northern parts of the island. It was gorgeous. It was also full of litter. Relatively obscure tourist destinations are filled with empty bottles, biscuits and chips wrappers. It is a sorry sight. Who is responsible ? The government, inhabitants or tourists ? Is there a point in finding someone to blame. How much do we value the commons such as national parks, beaches, playgrounds that millions of us need to share? 

My point with this post is not about the tragedy of the commons or how terribly we treat our public spaces. It is to highlight how we treat our bodies much like we treat our public spaces. With disregard for aesthetics, capacity, capability, consequences and long term viability. We assume that our physical capacities will diminish with age. We assume that someone or something will pick up the slack and/or litter. This is cynical. It also absolves us of the consequences of inaction or lethargy.

 We speak of regulation, labelling, consumer protection, legal rights of consumers and building awareness. The will to act and take decisions everyday is our choice. The math is division and addition. The measures are in cups, spoons and grams. The ingredients and proportions are in plain sight. All this is public information. Expecting the government or corporates to spoon feed us the consequences of our choices is asinine. 

Stop littering your life with terrible choices and inaction.