Diapers, or When Your Values Don’t Line Up With Your Life…

Last updated on: April 26, 2012 at 7:40 pm by Amy Julia Becker

Diapers, or When Your Values Don’t Line Up With Your Life… 2012-04-26T19:40:20-04:00 Amy Julia Becker

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I was changing Marilee’s diaper today and I remembered that I had meant to try cloth diapers this time around. I had the same lofty thoughts when William was born. I did some research and talked with my friend Michelle who uses cloth diapers and thought about all the economic and ecological reasons why it made sense to go that route… And then I paid my money for a heck of a lot of Pampers.

And here I am again, four months into Marilee’s life with an account at diapers.com. I still think I should use cloth diapers, and yet if I’m honest I have to say I have no plans to change.

It’s not the only area of disconnect between what I believe and what I do, just the most recent example.

There are other areas in my life where I can’t live with the disconnect. For instance, I don’t say I believe in exercise. I actually go running (albeit slowly). I don’t just say I believe in God, I actually attempt to commune with that God through prayer and church and reading the Bible. I don’t just say I believe in love. I try to demonstrate my love through action. So here’s my question (and don’t worry, I’m not beating myself up about it, but I am thinking about it…): does the fact that I’m not using cloth diapers mean I don’t really care about the environment?

Not exactly, but it does mean that I value my time more than I value my environmental stewardship. It might not indicate exactly what I believe, but it does indicate a hierarchy of values.

What areas of disconnect exist in your life between what you believe and what you do? And does the fact that you (and I) don’t do it mean we don’t really believe it?

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