As you know, I have been encouraging any readers out there to write me with any feedback/insights/opinions etc. Well, today I received a very interesting comment posted to the blog that is more than worthy of opening a dialogue...
Cheryle writes:
I must say, good for you Maren, for pursuing this interesting goal! Life is way too short, and I feel it is imperative to do what you must in order to be happy and enjoy every single day on this planet.
Do you ever feel sometimes though... and I mean no disrespect whatsoever by tabling this, it's just something that I have struggled with for years... that society and the world in general is on a progressively downward spiral... and that a single person's positive, well-intended efforts, while totally admirable, are mostly futile? That's the biggest challenge I face, when it comes to me personally dialoguing with myself about 'living with less'. I am a responsible, hard-working adult with no serious accountability to anyone but myself (ie no kids, no husband, no pets, not even a houseplant!). If I want to buy something or travel somewhere, I just do. I have a hard time justifying denying myself the things I like, especially since I am a healthy, educated, tax-paying, contributing member of society. Now, you know how Todd and I live - and it's definitely not to excess. But we certainly do not go without... meaning that we each have the usual material possessions (a house - small, and a vehicle - economical) and we make the most of our vacation days every year. And yes, we also eat ALOT of meat (which we actually buy from a local organic farmer, and overall it is MUCH cheaper, not to mention healthier, than buying from a grocery store). Truthfully, I don't feel bad about my lifestyle.
I'm not saying that I agree with wasting non-renewable resources, and just dumping garbage freely, and not recycling or anything like that... we are humans, with cognitive ability, not animals... But the reason I have a job is so that I can live life to what my version of 'its fullest' is. I am curious to know if you ever feel torn? Because really (and this is merely my opinion - like I said, I've struggled with this for years), unless someone is going to move somewhere and 100% live 'off the grid'... like almost completely disappear... we are all negatively impacting the earth, whether we like it or not.
Your thoughts?
See? Great insights and questions! I only hope that I can be half as concise in trying to respond.
In response to the issue of a single person's actions being mostly futile - to some point I agree... and it can be maddening to work so hard at something, and have others efforts practically reverse your efforts right in front of your eyes! Let's take recycling for instance. Every other week, us country dwellers have the privilege (not) of frequenting our local neighbourhood waste transfer station. Week after week, I bring my carefully sorted and cleaned recycling materials in blue bags only to put them on top of bag after bag filled with recycling that is ALL SCREWED UP (and manky, and stinky, and... well, you get the picture)! Honestly people! An extra 5 minutes here and there and you could do it right too!!! So, yes, when I watch my beautifully sorted bags go right in there with the disgusting ones, I will admit that it does make me a little crazy. However, the way that I look at it is this: just because those idiots choose to do it that way, doesn't mean that I have to, especially when it is an act that requires virtually no skill, money or effort to do correctly.
As for the rest of your comments, I think that I need to be more clear about something. There are three reasons that I started down this road: 1) to save money, 2) to try and reduce my spending to only those products that we actually need and 3) to reduce my environmental impact by doing so. In other words, #3 is more of a bonus side-effect of committing to #1 and #2. I also should clarify what sent me over the edge and started all of this as well: EXCESS. Now that I am a mother, it has really caused me to try and see the world from Chephren's eyes, and I realize how much impact that I have on what he sees. I feel that if Chephren sees his mom and dad being happy with what they have and spending their money responsibly and efficiently, then he will come to value these lifestyle practices as well. When I look around at other children out there, we have started them on the path to excessive greed and consumerism practically from birth. Now, I am not saying that I want Chephren to 'suffer' or anything, in fact it is quite the opposite. Like any parent, I want Chephren to have the things that he enjoys and will make him happy, however, I also want him to find more value in people and experiences than in the material world. So, if I truly want these things for Chephren, I needed to start leading by example, which is really what I am trying to do. So no, I don't think that my actions will impact a huge number of people, but if they impact my son, than I do consider that a huge benefit.
Now comes the part where I deep-sea dive off of my large and over-bearing pedestal and qualify all of the above statements. Trent and I aren't undergoing any major life changes here, not really. We are not living off the grid (at all!) and still use natural gas and electricity to heat/run our home. I drive a fairly large gas-guzzling vehicle and regularly fill it up and take it in for oil changes and other maintenance. We are still planning on taking vacations, as we always have and still love to do, but this year (at least) we will just take less of them. We are also going to be building a house in Nordegg this summer - also a huge expense and not high on the list of things we could do to save the natural environment! I guess what I am trying to say is this: NO, I am certainly not perfect, and I could even give you the names of several of my friends who are doing it better than me. BUT, I do feel that for me, personally at least, the changes that we are making (however small), are improving not only our quality of life, but have given us a sense of purpose and a new-found resolve to meet the challenges that we have set for ourselves. Frankly, I can also tell you that in one year, when the challenge is 'up', our future lifestyle will probably fall somewhere in the middle between the way we were living before and the way we will be living for the next year. Even at this early stage, I can begin to see which new behaviours will be here to stay and which ones probably won't make sense for us in the long-term.
So Cheryle, I would say 'you go girl' when it comes to living your life in the way that you are choosing to do so. If the choices that you and Todd make are the choices that are making you happy, than you are truly living your life authentically (which is far more than I can say for a very large majority of people in our society). In fact, the lifestyle that you and Todd lead is one that Trent and I have often envied - who wouldn't want to take the kind of trips that you guys take, and do the kind of rad stuff that you guys do? I truly admire you for following your dreams and living each day to the fullest.
Thank you so much for your comments - and I hope that you don't mind that I highlighted them in this blog entry. I really do feel like they were a great way to get a dialogue going, and I would even say that this has helped me to clarify some of my own feelings on some of the 'heavier' stuff.
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. ~Confucius (Who Me?!)
And tomorrow is another day :)
Marebear
