A Journey To Sustainability
I love scientists, they’re so smart. And what a cool idea this is. One more addition to the sustainable energy arsenal. And we need as many as we can get. I see the energy crisis (or should I say petroleum crisis) solution coming not from one big invention (cold fusion) but from many site specific applications like this.
Yeah! The recycling actually made it out to the curb today. As my husband said —“Finally!”
Yarnbombs are great! - safe for trees and animals, and totally fun and interactive for people. This is really cool, it looks like it’s growing on the pole like a huge stem.
So, is having the intention to recycle, buy organic and live a good, green life the starting point? Or is the starting point the moment you actually stop throwing soda cans in the trash, and take them out to the recycling bin in the driveway- in the dark, in the heat, being bitten by mosquitoes, when all you want to do is stay in the cool, bugfree house? (Damn, that trash can is so much closer than the recycling bin!) This is an important question for me, as I’m really, really good at sorting recycling and creating piles in the house, but I’m not very good at getting that recycling out of the house, into the bins and onto the curb for Wednesday morning pickup. So I’m not really recycling, am I?
I have the best intentions. And as a Buddhist, intention is very important – it’s part of the EightFold Path, the way to Enlightenment. Right Intention acknowledges that all our actions grow out of our thoughts, so if we have the Right Intentions, Right Action (another step on the EightFold Path) will ultimately follow. But I’m NOT recycling, so what’s going on here? It seems, like all things in life, that things are more complicated than they appear. For starters, just what exactly is an intention? Most would say they are the big thoughts– I want to make the world a better place; that’s my intention. And making the world a better place really is important to me. I think about the state of our planet, climate change and the world my daughter will inherit quite a bit. SO WHY CAN’T I GET THE DAMNED RECYLING OUT ON TIME???!!
Hmmm – here’s where my lovely subconscious comes into play and complicates everything up - ‘cause you know what? It has intentions too. And those intentions are to stay inside and eat ice cream. My subconscious doesn’t give a rat’s ass about recycling. So guess which wins out? Oh, yeah, you guessed right. And for yet another week, the recycling pile gets larger under the dining room table.
The only way to cure this intention standoff is to get both sides on the same page – and right now that’s not happening. I do have a plan. By bringing conscious awareness to the dilemma, spending some time meditating and looking at my resistance to recycling, I can create the opportunity to realign my conscious intention with my subconscious intentions. And I’ll need to willfully invoke action as well, because action repeated becomes a habit.
It’s not that I’m lazy, I’m just conflicted. Very strangely conflicted. (But that’s not news to those who know me.) I’ll be working on this over the next few months, and let you know if my recycling ever makes it to the curb.
As I’ve been setting up this blog, and figuring out what I’m going to write about, it occurred to me that I’d better know what I’m talking about. Not in the expert, I’ve worked for an NGO overseas and live in a yurt kind of way, but in a way that I can deal with directly in my own life. (I definitely don’t live in a yurt, and have no wish too - I like my creature comforts waaaay too much.) So that said, what does sustainability mean in my life?
I had an a-ha moment last night driving home from work, stuck in traffic - as usual. As I’m sitting in the most completely not-green, red smog alert environment you can find, it occurred to me that sustainability is about a lot more than recycling and buying organic food. It’s a complete world view, a way of looking at your life, each and every aspect, in a way that conserves resources and respects others. I realized it applies to my emotional life, my finances, my spiritual life - everything!
Not squandering resources: I’ve always understood the earth has a limited supply of resources for a growing population. I’ve grown up with oil and gas shortages since I was a kid in the 70’s. But it never occurred to me that I have a limited supply of resources - limited time, limited money (well, I understood that one), limited emotional resources. While love is theoretically endless, I’m not.
Wow - a whole new way of approaching my relationships with others, my relationship to money and work. I can see this quickly leading me to a much healthier way of approaching my life - it’s suddenly much easier to set limits for myself, no more feeling guilty because I’m missing yet another school function because of demanding work, or feeling guilty because I’m too exhausted to cook a proper dinner. I no longer have to be the SuperMom when I can clearly see it’s not sustainable.
I give myself permission to acknowledge my limits and care for myself the same way I care about the future of this planet. Wow - that’s a profound change in thinking for a driven, motivated mother.
I’m getting to like this sustainability thing more and more.
I’m a middle class working mom who wants to leave the world a better place than I found it. And one way to do this is by creating a sustainable lifestyle for my family. But I’ve found out the hard way that it’s a lot easier said than done. This blog is a set of resources, my mishaps and successes and mostly, musings on what sustainability really means. This is where I hold myself accountable and share my failings with the world, while trying to make sense of it all. Let’s hope we can all learn together.
