1) I believe that greenies can restore the balance. Yes -- living more thoughtfully, more respectfully and "greener" can really make a difference. It's the complete opposite of the downward trajectory of hyper consumerism and carefree waste that our culture has embraced for far too long, but it's precisely what we need nowwwww. Thinking before using, spending, eating, throwing out, driving...it's a careful, deliberate lifestyle makeover that may be really tough for the majority of us to wrap our brains around initially, but nothing but good can come out of it. Imagine having more money in your bank account, healthier food and body, more personal satisfaction in everyday life...all by revamping the way you live and embracing a return to simplicity. Wow, all that and the power to save the world, too!
2) I'm far less selfish than I used to be. I used to be a hoarder, hanging onto my infinite worldly treasures for a rainy day but now I realize just how stupid and wasteful that mentality is. There's no better time to use what I am lucky enough to have squirreled away in my closets and cabinets than right now, and becoming more of a green-minded individual has helped me to spread the wealth any chance that I can get. I was always a fan of donating items to worthy charities, but now I realize that individuals can be just as deserving. If someone I know (or a friend of a friend of a distant friend) needs something that I actually happen to own, I think that it's a lot greener to offer what you have because sharing or donating is far better than buying new any day. Plus it actually makes me feel pretty good to help someone else out.
3) I've broken myself of the disease to buy cheap and buy often. Five years ago, I was the queen of the dollar store prowl, the high priestess of scoring the cheapest possible deal on the planet. I thought I was so clever sniffing out the junkiest low priced plastic doohickeys imaginable, but what never really registered with me was that I never needed any of it. Hunting for bargains was merely a sad little sport that helped me to occupy (and waste) an inordinate amount of my life (and money). Storing all of that crap became an even greater challenge -- all that it did was create a vibe of congestion and perpetual clutter in my household. You know you have a real problem when it takes too long to find the gadget you need, so you just end up using your fingers and the back of your heel to get the job done. Now, I steer clear of stores and if I don't already have what I need, I just try to make it myself.
4) I care a lot more...about everything. Sometimes it can be a detriment (like when I get emotional about the ritual slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan), particularly because that event probably represents just .00298% of the injustices that human beings continually play out in our natural world. On the other hand, it's refreshing to finally take the blinders off and see the world for what it truly is at this point in time, as a broken entity that needs fixing. For me, the caring started morphing into real life actions. I began joining groups, educating myself, writing about many of the injustices that resonated the most within me in an effort to spread awareness and to make a difference. I'm not sure if my blog posts have changed the world quite yet, but they've certainly changed ME.
5) I've earned a black belt in resource management and conservation. I never thought it was possible to produce one small grocery bag's worth of landfill-bound waste every 3 or so weeks, but that's what I've managed to reduce my household output to. I can attribute this small coup to vigilant recycling, being a firm believer in the "leave no scrap of food behind" plan, and repurposing everything else that I can possibly get my hot little hands on. It's not always an easy thing to reduce, reuse and recycle -- especially with confounding materials like styrofoam and plastic wrap -- but I like being able to constantly challenge myself so that items gain a second life as often as possible.
6) More strangers talk to me. (I call it talking, someone else might consider it debating.) Okay, so maybe the topic of conversation leans heavily toward the "you flippin' tree huggers with your reusable bags and man made global warming mumbo jumbo" side, but I'd like to think that maybe through our often heated butting of heads, they walk away with a slightly different, greener perspective. The bonus is that I'm often picking up the recyclable materials that they chuck on the ground when we strike up our conversation -- at least those items will take on a new life at the recycling center rather than wallowing away in a landfill.
7) I've become a glass is half full kind of person. My drop in the bucket that slowly but surely adds up over time is something that I can actually visualize -- it is the main motivating factor that keeps me on course. Anyone who gives me a crazed, are you insane? look when they see me adding foil yogurt lids and stacks of grocery receipts into the public recycling collection station near my home can continue to point, snicker and flare their nostrils all they want. In my mind, I am well aware that by the end of the year, I will have probably have recycled a full 3 pounds of aluminum and maybe a full 4 pounds of paper by doing so. Every day that I can recycle or do something positive that benefits our environment is a good day in my book.
8) My cerebral matter is exercised on a regular basis. Maybe I've become a bit more deeply invested in the green movement than I initially expected, but I don't see how that's a bad thing. It's made me develop more of a passion about becoming involved in efforts that will surely make a real difference for future generations. I've found that I like brainstorming real solutions and actually researching issues so that I can express myself with authority and genuine eco-intellect. Plus, it's cool to learn new stuff...it makes you grow as a human being and emerge into a person of substance.
9) I've mastered the art of DIY creativity. Granted, my right brained tendencies have helped me to figure out the some pretty clever and imaginative ways to reuse very ho-hum items, but adding a green perspective on top only upped the ante. Whenever I'm at a loss for what to so with an empty snail shell or the pull tab on the top of a gallon of milk, all I have to do is dive into the online pool of trash-to-treasure ideas offered up by fellow greeniac DIY artists -- so many handy step-by-step tutorials and phenomenal photos, so little time!
10) I've stretched my budget further than I even knew was possible. The everything and the kitchen sink style of cooking that my mother handed down to me was already pretty hardcore, but now I manage to cook with everything, the kitchen sink, the patio, the spare bedrooms, and the garage. Leftovers? Pre-portioned, dated and frozen. Veggie scraps? Tomorrow's soup extraordinaire. Give me a piece of organically raised meat (it really doesn't matter what type) and I'll turn it into 4 different completely unique meals plus I'll even figure out how to clone it just as soon as I can hunt down the instructions on the internet.
11) I have more purpose and fulfillment than I previously did. Talk about having things and stuff to do...I'm always researching, studying, writing, joining, brainstorming and actually getting out into the real world and doing. I never would have done this in my former life, and the truth is that I'm thankful that I barely resemble the person that I used to be. Using my brain, formulating opinions and doing something about the problems in the world rather than just pretending that they don't exist is what really makes me wake up in the morning.
12) I appreciate Mother Nature's simple pleasures a lot more than I ever did before. Looking out at the landscape, taking time to draw in the sweet aroma of springtime blooms, savoring painted sunsets and the sight of woodland creatures -- I realize that every experience is a gift and hopefully through my actions and those of other greenies, those sights and scents will be a part of everyone else's ritual in the decades and centuries ahead.
13) I barely ever have to go shopping anymore because I actually USE the stuff I already own. Honestly, I don't think that any of us really ever need to buy another new pair of jeans or a t-shirt again for as long as we live -- at last count, I had about 45 different pairs of jeans, and about 398 shirts. In a good month, I seem to rotate a total of just 10 of them. Seriously, how much do we really need? It's the fashion trends that play into our personal insecurities and compell us to restock our closets with outfits that will inevitably be out of style within the next several months. One way that I've learned to avoid all of that nonesense is simply to stick with well made classics! It's a no-brainer, full-proof way of dressing...kind of like adopting a simple uniform for life without ever worrying about whether its hip to be square.
14) I eat more healthfully and have found that being a semi-vegetarian is way easier than it sounds. Chemicals? Pesticides? I never really understood what all of the fuss was about. I bought whatever was cheap and dismissed the far more expensive organic versions as a grocery market ploy to rip off misled (or maybe snooty?) shoppers. Clearly, the lifetime of chemicals that I unknowingly ingested went straight to my head and severely clouded my judgement. Once again, I was only able to see the light when I made it my business to start reading...not one article, but one hundred different perspectives which helped me to make informed choices. These days, my part-time veggie status is a green effort fueled partially by the fact that organic meat costs so much more than conventional. That's okay, though. I'd rather stick with beans and rice and occasionally enjoy a small portion of organic beef for $12.99/pound -- I definitely end up appreciating it a lot more.
15) I'm making a positive impact on the world. Some may argue that my eco-efforts can't possibly make a difference in the grand scheme of things because there are too many forces at play doing the complete opposite of what I'm doing. I mean, how can freezing leftovers and repurposing cardboard toilet rolls offset huge conglomerates that are dumping poisons into our water? The thing is, if I just give up, shrug my shoulders and say, "let someone else worry about it...I didn't cause this problem in the first place" then I become guilty of passing the buck. Haven't we done that enough already? I don't think that any one of us was put on this earth to passively flit about, and while I understand that not everyone is motivated by the same issues, caring enough to make waves of change can make all the difference in the world.
jen w
said on August 22, 2009
My friends are introducing me to different nature based beliefs which encourage healthy lifestyles and re-bonding with our planet. When we focus our energy on educating ourselves and our children, we are setting the best example we can for future generations. You hit the nail on the head when you spoke of appreciation your for the occasional organic beef. When we live in excess, we sometimes lose our ability to be appreciative. Thank you so much for such a beautiful reminder!