We continue to awaken and grow in this area, and it is gratifying to see some of the changes from the me of ten years ago. Some I find comical and shake my head at myself and think, what were you thinking? This is all part of the awakening process, and hopefully, we will never stop growing, awakening, and becoming more intentional in the decisions we make.
As we have recently been downsizing our amount of clothing, and keeping only those things we really love, I remembered a comically horrid habit I used to have. (I might as well laugh at this one and be grateful I don't do this any longer) On many occasions, I would stay out with friends for an entire evening/night and simply go buy a new outfit for the next day's work. This would usually never be an outfit that I loved, but it would get me by until I went home on the following day. I can remember doing this sometimes two days in a row! My closet was full of clothes I would wear only once! Insane to think about, but yes, I did this. Now, as I have purposefully downsized my clothing selection to 35 pieces of clothing, (excluding my uniform, 2 coats, pajamas, and underwear) I just have to shake my head and laugh at the irresponsibility of this former, and might I add lazy, self. (Why 35 you ask? I was going for 33, but I cannot part with anything else at the moment.)
We also try to get the most use out of everything. Our home is not without any plastic, but when we must buy plastic, we reuse as much as possible, and recycle. Again, we've not gone extreme and built a couch and shelving unit out of plastic sandwich bags and wine bottles, but we try to purposefully and responsibly use the items we buy. Along this same line, we've switched to using cloth napkins. (My father will be proud; he loves cloth napkins) A simple decision, but I hope to save at least one tree in the process.
I've just discovered that our bathroom has plenty light for showering without turning on the light! Apparently, I'm slow on the uptake sometimes. We have a nice size bathroom window and there is really no need to turn on the light while showering during the day. Again, this might sound like a silly choice, but when we put minutes/hours to this choice: 5 minute shower/30 days/12 months = 2.5 hours per month...30 hours per year of electricity. Okay, so by doing this simple choice, I've saved 30 hours of electricity per year, now you see the potential if millions made this simple change. (Please don't try this while shaving if you do not have adequate sunlight! I will not be held responsible.)
Lastly, (for today!) I've thought about the way I've changed my eating habits. In an article I read recently, the author points out that more than seventy percent of grain harvested in the world goes to feed livestock for the meat industry. (Read that last sentence again...think of world hunger) We have not (yet) gone completely vegetarian or vegan, but we are extremely close, the wife closer than I am I think. (Admittedly, I still love a good burger when we meet the uncles for pool in Astoria!) Compared to ten years ago, my habits in this area have completely changed; I ate meat almost every meal. Because I was so busy, many of these meals were eaten out, on the go, and with no real thought of this consequences of such decisions. Now, if we eat meat at all, it is at most once a month--a drastic change in attitude and habit. Also, the fact that we eat out less often than I once did, has saved us a bundle. For example, even tonight, we'd thought about going out for Indian food, but I've decided to cook here instead. I enjoy the experience of cooking new dishes, and we save a bundle of money that will be better used elsewhere.
If you are interested in shaking your life up a bit, read the articles to which I've linked throughout this blog. At the very least, look at the small decisions in your life; are there areas you can change? I know there are many other areas in our daily existence that will change in the future. Let me hear about your ideas; dialogue about such issues are essential for seeing blind spots in our own lives. And please, if you decide to move to the woods, send me your address, or at least your GPS coordinates, we'll be sure and come visit in the near future. From our tiny corner, peace to you.
*Add your ideas or thoughts below, and feel free to share this blog with others. The more the merrier.
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