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Flip your script!

Hello there, my dear readers!


Today I kinda had to force myself to write an article after more than a week of inactivity. It's been for several reasons but one of them is that... I was lazy.

That's all.


I was trying to convince myself with several excuses but we all know - we are very good at justifying our laziness and our lack of motivation with the most imaginative stories. Anyway, I am not gonna dwell too much on my lack of motivation, for many reasons.


First of all, I don't have time.


Secondly, no one would be interested.


Thirdly, there's the corona virus, how can I divagate?


And also, I am not able to be optimistic. I can't do it.


Weeell...

You got it, didn't you? :D


After getting rid of my negative thinking, what's left? No excuses. I had to write a new article. More for me than for the readers, to be honest. I'll explain why.


In times like these, it's actually difficult to find the motivation to spread good news without resulting trivial, or too simple (one month ago, I had already complained about the stress of being performant all the time - you can read about my complains in this post). That's why I was hit by some sort of lack of inspiration. And it became a loop. I was not writing because I thought I didn't have anything interesting to add to the huge amount of stories on the Internet - and, because of this inactivity, I was feeling demotivated.


That's when I realized that...

it's time to flip the script!

And I want to share with you a story wich really involved a radical and revolutionary change.


That's the story of Patrick Angel. You can check it out at this page, where I found it out (you already know that I am a huge fan of goodnewsnetwork).


First of all, let me tell you that what caught my attention, at first glance, was the title of the post.


"Ex-Coal Man Flips the Script By Rallying Appalachians to Plant 187 Million Trees on Abandoned Mines".


Yes, first impressions still matter - it's not about appearance. It's that, in this world full of information, we are surrounded by so many stimuli that our brains need to filter; catchy titles are one of the first filters that they use to select the relevant information.


Back to our story, I was trying to fully understand the meaning of that expression: according to Google, "to flip the script" means "to reverse the usual or existing positions in a situation; do something unexpected or revolutionary." That sounded like a message to me.


"Claudia, please stop laying on the bed all day and do something revolutionary: get out of your bed!"


To be honest, I read the whole story of Patrick while I was on the bed, pleasantly and warmly hugged by my blankets. But that's a secret!

So, thanks to this story now I also learned something about the geography of the Unites States of America - do you know where the Appalachian Mountains are? Well, I didn't.


A very short geography lesson: Appalachian Mountains are a system of mountains in the north-east of the United States of America and southeastern Canada, which extend on a zone from 160 to 480 km wide. The highest peak is Mount Mitchell, in North Carolina’s Black Mountains.


The whole system can be divided into three great sections, namely, the northern, central and southern sections. The whole Appalachian system has a huge biodiversity (for example, do you know that you can find a lot of different species of salamander?), and that there are overall 8 national forests, 6 National Parks, and the iconic Appalachian Trail.


One of the National Parks (the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee - by the way, "vagavo per i campi del Tennessee - come vi ero arrivato chissà") may have 100000 species just on its own.


That's impressive! And nature is so beautiful!


Appalachian mountains have also given a lot of work to people - contributing to bind families and communities. Many people, in fact, have found a job in the coal industry. But, on the other side, coal contributed to pollution, climate change, and have not returned the money - like the oil industry has done in other parts of the world.


So, what happened in Patrick Angel's life? He had been working for 25 years in the coal-mining world (more precisely, at the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, OSM, an agency in the Department of the Interior which was not very loved by people).


In 2002, he realized that the changes provoked by the coal industry were dangerous, poisoning, and almost irreversible. For example, almost 1.5 million acres of land that were expected to have green trees, lush nature, and a lot of different vegetation, were dry and barren.


So Patrick decided to give a radical change to his professional and personal life. He started to attend the University of Kentucky to get a Ph.D, in order to get more knowledge about the complex topics related to reforestation. There he met a young professor, Chris Barton, who then became his colleague in his new project.


Together with Barton and other people, Angel created the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (2004). Representatives of the government, scientists, environmentalists, and even coal miners agreed to start a revolution and plant trees where before there were mines!


That's how, within few years, many of the mines in the states of Pennsylvania, Virgina and West Virgina were reforested.


Thanks in large part to Angel's efforts and power of spirit, more than 187 million trees have been planted on about 275000 acres of former mines, on an area which is more than six times the size of the size of the District of Columbia.


Well, the story of reforestation in the Appalachian mountains is long, comples and still going on... I just wanted to share some insights with you to make you realize that it is actually possible to flip the script (that's stronger than me, guys, this is today's favourite expression of your lovely blog writer).


If you want to get to know more about this inspiring story, you can read this article by which I took most of the information I shared with you. Or the original article from whashingtonpost.com.


So, what can we learn from this story about a man who had the power and motivation to repair the damages that he was contributing to generate?


Many things could be said.


To fix your errors and admit you're wrong - sometimes this is necessary and can lead to a wanted change. Nothing is forever - if you are not satisfied with your current carreer, you can still give a new turn to your life: it's never too late. Don't wait for a change from the outside - be the change!


Study, read, gather information: nothing is more powerful than someone who knows what is needed to be done to change a situation. Don't be afraid of asking - if you want to obtain something you need to ask, and even if you get many "no", don't give up: if you're working for a right cause, you will get a "yes", it's just a matter of time, and patience.


And, together we are stronger. Sometimes, when we are overwhelmed by the events, or we feel like we can't make it, a right word from a friend or the help of the people around you can boost the changes we are looking for.


So, what is the situation you want to change in your life? Whatever you want to do, think about the story of Patrick Angel. Don't be lazy and flip your script!


And if you want to add something and share your opinions about this article, please feel free to leave a comment!


Stay safe and optimistic.


Warm hugs,


Claudia

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