Sunday Reflection-The Good Life
My conscience has been itching again… man, hate it when that happens…
The last time I had a tussle with my conscience, the resulting conviction led to me stop colouring my hair. Happy with the outcome, but the process was kinda tough. And now, it’s at it again. Perhaps it’s an every-January-occurrence for me…the natural pendulum swing following the excesses of December. And I thought I lived a simple life.
It’s this whole eco-living-reducing-your-carbon-footprint-sustainability stuff.
Oh sure, I recycle. Feel good about that and my efforts to ‘save the planet’. Put out the rubbish bin with greater infrequency. But when did the totally eco-friendly cleaning supplies become infiltrated with fruity smelling popular dish soap or a convenient name brand cleanser? Guess it happened when I wasn’t looking…
Once upon a time I sang loud the praises of all-organic produce. It’s still my first choice, but if I can’t find that particular fruit or veg of the organic persuasion, am I willing to go without? Tracking veggie air miles to be sure, but tracking seasonal-ness? Hmmm….
And even longer ago, in a land far away, baking daily bread, making stores of soap, reducing dependence upon corporate mega-opolies was second nature. But how did that store-bought-and-even-on-rare-occasion-(gasp)-white-bread come to be in my cupboard? Might blame Husband-Will, but we all know he’s on another continent…
Dublin is one of the more expensive cities in Europe…but do I trick myself into saying it’s only being frugal when I purchase cheap-not-sure-if-it’s-made-with-child-labour clothing?
You see, a simple life is not that simple.
It seems so overwhelming, living in such a responsible way. Will there ever be a time when I won’t have to wrestle with choices on a regular basis? The enormity of it sometimes paralyses me. And the obsessive-compulsive gene in my head says that it must be an all-or-none sustainable, renewable lifestyle, much like Tom & Barbara Good or Rebecca. But certainly there must be an in-between in this process…
Well, no simple solutions here. No grandiose resolutions. No immediate to-do lists. Just thinking and pondering and tweaking what’s already in progress. Perhaps I’ll go bake some whole wheat bread…
“A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
My thoughts have been running on similar paths. I may be moving in the next couple of years, and I am giving a lot of thought to how I can live off the grid and live a self sustaining lifestyle. Anyway, your post made those thoughts come to the front again. I try to live responsibly, but I believe I could do more. Funny, there was such a strong movement towards responsible living here (U.S.) in the early 70’s because we saw global warming coming and wanted to prevent it, but then the culture here moved in a different direction. I hope more people consider responsible living. Wow, I have babbled on.
13 Jan 2008 at 6:23 am
Food for thought! I will chew on this one for awhile.
Nothing, I mean, nothing, beats the smell of fresh, homebaked bread!
13 Jan 2008 at 9:07 am
(Apropos of nothing, I didn’t know about the Hair Conviction thing. I still think your hair is gorgeous - Mac has had a silver streak since he was about sixteen; he stopped covering it when he was about twenty four.)
In California we stuck to a local first, organic next, both at best kind of lifestyle. But, we were in CALIFORNIA. Where so many things grow all year ’round… we’ve tried to adapt to a strictly local UK diet, and it’s been hard. The things that we’ve missed have made us waver in our convictions. We find ourselves rationalizing! It is crazy-making, the many ways in which it seems we fall short environmentally, even when we’ve made conscious choices to live responsibly. For us, it comes down to making a few well-reasoned choices in the moment - trying to look beyond that moment, the day, etc. — well, that way insanity lies. You’ve inspired a lot of people toward more responsible living… no matter your shortcomings, that counts too.
13 Jan 2008 at 12:05 pm
It will never end, because there’s no such thing as living perfectly. That said, I think that there is the possibility of ‘enough’ - as in, you’re doing enough, doing your part, doing your duty. You’re not making up for anyone else’s mess - that’s their part.
I just want the root vegetables to take a break already.
13 Jan 2008 at 1:11 pm
The awareness factor counts for quite a bit. Placing your efforts next to what the rest of the population doesn’t do is overwhelming. Do our efforts count? Within my own household I struggle to consume less and eat lower to the food chain and in season. My two men don’t always get it.
Thank God I don’t live next to Margot and Jerry.
13 Jan 2008 at 2:04 pm
That is an interesting thought…I have been pondering this one too. We moved to a very rural location at the beginning of last year, but we are still thought to live in a “suburb”. We have one store in which to buy everything within the 10 mile radius. Everything being food (usually you have to make sure it isn’t expired already), clothing, home supplies, etc. Many people have questioned some of the business practices of this company as well. Things that concern me because they are worker and environmentally based. The farmers market is 25 miles from my home because it is actually in another suburb. We can’t farm our land because after about two inches the soil is SOLID clay (I can’t get a spade into usually at all.) So that would require a complete (expensive) overhaul of the garden plot. So the question for me is always do I double DRIVE the extra distance to get the fresh, possibly organic, produce or to support a smaller privately owned store where things might actually be fresher? Or do I just go ahead and support this major corporation because it is the only one there? How do I find the balance here? Its something I’ve been working on for the last year and still struggle with.
13 Jan 2008 at 2:15 pm
This is a struggle on an ongoing basis in my household, too. It’s so easy to take the path of least resistance. I just heard an interview on public radio of a woman who is this year trying to bring NO plastic into her home. NONE. It is turning out to be a ridiculously Herculean task. (even to the point of making her own toothpaste) I could hear so many of her things being “my” things, too. Like I have the cloth shopping bags up the wazoo, but how many times do I actually remember to bring them when I go shopping? And do I have the conviction to say, “Oh. I forgot my shopping bags. That means I can’t shop.” The answer is no, I do not have that strength of conviction. So I then get umpteen more plastic shopping bags. And onwards from there. It’s such a hard thing.
13 Jan 2008 at 4:57 pm
This is a struggle that I have, too. In upstate New York, there’s no such thing as fresh anything this time of year. So everything has to be trucked in, and our choice is between the regional grocery chain (where the food is more expensive) or the nearby Walmart (where the food is cheaper, but the entire store offends me). Taking care of a family of six, it’s a hard choice to make! In the summer, we have plentiful and cheap fresh produce at the farmer’’s market down the street, so we do our best to support local organic farmers as much as we can.
My own solution to the philsophical dilemma, however, is to remember that I am just one person, and I am an imperfect person at that. All I can do is try my best, knowing full well that’s I’ll fall short of perfection. But if everyone tried as hard as I do–and as hard as you do–we’d still make quite an impact on the planet!
13 Jan 2008 at 6:26 pm
I completely understand where you’re coming from. I have been trying to make a huge overhaul of my life in the past six months to make my day-to-day living fall in line with my ideals. A “practice what you preach” kind of thing, I guess. My main decision was to stop shopping at Wal-mart and pay a little more for things at the little mom-and-pop stores around here, but I completely understand your dilemma, Tracy. It’s very tough to do.
13 Jan 2008 at 6:39 pm
My husband and I have been trying to do the very same sort of thing. Buy organic, spend a little more for the good stuff. We are in a condo and plan to turn our storage closet off the patio in to a greenhouse of sorts so we can grown our own veggies. May make our power bill go up. We do the best we can in teh big city and look forward to a life less complicated and more off the grid in years to come.
13 Jan 2008 at 8:28 pm
I know what you’re feeling… I have been thinking a lot about these issues lately, as well. In fact, I found a great quote to share:
“We need to move away from more and global to less and local; from accumulation of unnecessary clutter to enjoyment of good things in life like art,music, friendship and free time. We need to shift from waste to frugality, from consuming to making, from illusion to imagination, from desire to delight and from consumption of natural resources to an appreciation of the natural.” Satish Kumar
I have decided this would be a great New Year’s resolution…
13 Jan 2008 at 8:40 pm
It isn’t the easiest task to revert back to a simpler way of life. I find myself wrestling with the same demons as you, especially when we are experiencing 65 degree temperatures in a month that we should have temperatures below freezing. If that doesn’t scream global warming, not much will. We do what we can and keep trying to do a little more as time goes by.
13 Jan 2008 at 9:59 pm
No, there are no simple solutions. All you can do is do the best you can, and if you ’slip up’, well, tomorrow is another day.
13 Jan 2008 at 10:38 pm
you expressed it well. I grew up on a new england dairy farm where we grew it, processed it, ate it. Clothing..we sewed it. I didn’t know what fast food was until i was almost a teenager. My husband still laughs at the thought of my being 21 and never having been to most any fast food places (i didn’t eat anything they sold). My jobs involved baking/cooking in natural foods rest/bakerys, working in natural foods stores, etc. I just did not buy things, etc that were not whole or environmentlly friendly. I still recycle most everything (i am always amazed that our family of 3 produces more recycling i the bins than our neighbors with 5-6 kids…and i know we use more fresh produce, hence less cans etc) But it was good to see you express my thoughts so well. The vicious circle of thought when trying to live right, within your means, healthy, etc. Well put. I am so jealous of your being over there! My bank fund is slowly gaining for a trip to ireland, we’re murphy’s what can i say!
14 Jan 2008 at 3:44 am
I can relate completely to your dilemma. My current take on it, though, is that it is better to do the things I am able…make the small changes where I can and the big ones when I’m able…than to make no changes at all because it all seems so overwhelming. Not saying it doesn’t take effort and it will all be easy, but I’m trying not to beat myself up over not being perfect. :}
14 Jan 2008 at 5:33 am
Awareness is the first step. After hearing a report on National Public Radio concerning an island of 10 miles of plastic bags out in the middle of nowhere in the Atlantic, I don’t want to use plastic bags anymore. I always have used paper bags to bring my groceries home, but that story brought the use of all plastic bags in the grocery to the forefront of my mind–i.e., the plastic bags to package your produce in, the enormous amount of plastic used in packaging, etc.
Working in the computer field, I am certainly not a Luddite, I appreciate the advantages that the development of plastics bring to modern civilization, but now the importance of reducing the use of extraneous plastic as much as possible is a top priority for me. I’ve started using more glass containers rather than plastic, waxed paper instead of plastic wrap, and I try to buy items that have as little extraneous packaging as possible. I think my next step is to use reusable cloth totes to bring the food home. Each step is small, but they all add up to a more eco-friendly world.
14 Jan 2008 at 8:20 pm
This has been gnawing at me as well this winter - how personally sustainable could I become, living in a northern clime (Minnesota)? I love our Farmer’s Markets, loathe the MallWart, and find myself in conflict with both when trying to be budget-conscious to boot. Baby steps, is what I coach myself. Maybe I try canning/preserving some FM purchases this summer and fall…
One of my resolutions this New Year is not only to do my part, but to teach my 3-year-old stewardship and responsibility. Granted, the finer points of global warming would be lost on her wee brain, but she does notice things like recycling and using reusable shopping bags and containers. I think educating others is one of the biggest ways we can have an impact.
14 Jan 2008 at 8:35 pm
Okay, I just want you to post a picture of your hair, front and back. I love the cut, and I want to see what my hairdresser says. I cruised back through your blog to see what your hair used to look like, and I was floored! You don’t even look like the same person! I love your style and natural color now. Going with the grey was a great move, and you have a great stylist!
14 Jan 2008 at 8:43 pm
I think the most important thing is the effort itself. Let’s face it, preventing the use of five plastic bags when I go shopping doesn’t do a heck of a lot. But others seeing me use my own sacks makes it all the easier for them to do the same. And the more people others see, the more “mainstream” it becomes. So I don’t beat myself up for the egg shells that may have slipped past the compost pile.
Think about it — if we were really sincere about “saving the planet,” we’d be getting into issues of population control that I doubt anyone wants to deal with (remember: “Soylent Green is PEOPLE!”).
15 Jan 2008 at 12:55 pm
Well said my dear…thank you for showing me that I am not the only one at this crossroads!
15 Jan 2008 at 9:26 pm
Well, Cheryl, you said it all, I think. We can only try to do our best. There’s a market in the square of our town, and we get most of our fruit and veg there. There’s absolutely no hint of it being organic or local, but in general we figure it’s better than the supermarkets that are the only alternatives.
And now that I have money to buy clothes and random stuff, I’m trying hard not to buy things for the sake of buying things, and try to avoid most of the high street. I’m sure there’s more I could be doing, but…
15 Jan 2008 at 11:17 pm
Although we now live sustainably in rural Leitrim, Ireland we did live city life for a long time too. I often read Living the Simple Life I Want Blog which is full of tips for ongoing sustainable living tips in Dublin.
http://livingthesimplelifeiwant.blogspot.com/
17 Jan 2008 at 12:31 pm