Reduce, reuse, recycle. Everyone knows this all too familiar set of principles, and although they aren’t paid much mind, people still vaguely follow these guidelines, making them feel like they’ve done their part. However, the fundamental value that is essential for the world and its people is often overlooked.

Even though there are only three principles, I think the unsaid but most important one should be to refocus. Refocus one’s mind toward the environment and the simple relationship between people’s actions and their impact on the environment. Refocus one’s mind on the truly important things in life- like people, not things- so as to come together to nurture and sustain the world.

Throughout the fast pace of modern life, people are rushing to and fro to catch up with the latest trends and news. There’s definitely nothing wrong with being in touch with the culture around you, but often times, people are so blinded by their own lives that they fail to realize the degradation of the world and the people around them. The earth isn’t made of constantly available resources specifically put in place to serve our selfish needs; it’s supposed to be the connecting tie that links the world (and everything in it) together to universally support one another.

Generally, positive usage of resources isn’t harmful because people understand that what they take they must also give back. For example, trees can be cut down from forests in large numbers to prevent forest fires and to maintain the balance. But in return, trees must be replanted somewhere else because they are a necessary resource for all living organisms. On the contrary, it’s the abuse of resources by overuse and degradation of land that endangers the world. We, as humans, have the responsibility to sustain the earth and, as a rule, give back what we take.

Beyond the environmental aspects of this proposed principle, refocusing also means to lean back on the people who make up the world- loved ones and strangers alike- because people matter. People are often so inwardly focused that they can hardly ever see the truth of what is going on around them. Rather than expending energy by worrying about what they are missing in their lives, people should be focusing on what they do have: people and community.

There are so many people embedded in your life, and whether you realize it or not, they are there for a reason. It could be your best friend, your elderly neighbor, or even one of your teachers, but however you put it, people are there for connection and relationships.

So no matter how you realign your focus, it should be toward the things that truly matter, such as our world and the people in it.