Growing up in the States, I would say that from early on I grew accustomed to a life of convenience.  Prepackaged, ready made,  drive-thru everything was just a normal way of life, nothing to question.  In high school most of my friends and I drove to school everyday… I never once thought about riding a bike the mere 2 mile distance.   We visited restaurants frequently, and I ate mostly in the cafeteria at school.  The American dream, everything at our fingertips, just for a price.  Though I would say I’ve never had a dream to be rich or earn a lot of money, there is an association with success and being able to buy the things I desire.  It’s also just easy, you work and earn money with which you buy everything you need.  It wasn’t until I moved to Europe that I got to know a whole different way of living.  What if you cut out the middle man… and make what it is that you desire?  What if you didn’t jump in the car every time you needed something from the store, and maybe took a bike? What if you hung your laundry to dry?  Or what if you didn’t buy things at the store but actually grew or made them yourself?  There are many different levels of self-sustainability, and there’s something new to learn about it at any given moment.  There are also bumps along the path… riding 20 km on the bike is definitely more likely to happen when it’s not freezing and sometimes it still seems like the bottle of aloe vera gel may be more effective than the actual plant I have sitting on my window ceil, or the store bought chocolate will satisfy my craving more than my fabulous homemade chocolate… yet there is a satisfaction that comes along with the independence from the system’s infrastructure that is slowly latching onto me, teaching me it’s secrets and leading me to the answer that I have everything within me that I desire and I can slowly stop being governed by outside resources.

Let’s take an easy first example: Hummus.  It’s no wonder that pre-made hummus has become so popular in grocery stores, it’s easy to make, simple to package and doesn’t spoil very fast.  It’s just as easy to throw it in your shopping cart as you push past the veggies.  But next time you reach out to take that plastic package, maybe think about where that plastic is going… is it going to end up in the belly of a whale? And what if you saved the money you would spend on the hummus to do something more valuable than buy hummus?  Or maybe you wouldn’t have to earn as much money if you would make your own yummy things like hummus instead of seeking it out in a store?  Lately when I walk into a normal grocery store I get the heeby geebies… most of it is not even food!!! The fresh, ‘whole’ food section is getting smaller and smaller and the aisles of boxed, packaged and bagged ‘food’ just keeps growing.  Ok, back to the hummus.  3 choices: plastic package, buying cooked chickpeas that come in a can or jar… or buying the actual chickpeas, soaking and cooking them.  Of course the least destructive for the environment takes the most time.  That’s what it all comes down to… time.  When you’re in the race to make a bunch of money, there’s no time to make stuff on your own.  But what if that is taking out all the goodness of life?  Bigger, better, faster… what if it’s leading to illness?  These values are so American, and Americans are also leading in the consumption of pharmaceutical medicines, to alleviate all kinds of illness and disorder.  I can’t help to think there’s a link here.

Lately I’ve been seeing these small kinds of decisions as an overlying way of how one’s life is being lived…either in the fast lane, buying everything premade for you, creating waste, versus slowing down a bit, taking the time to nourish yourself and learning how to be a creator, not a consumer.  It takes patience, an open mind and curiosity.  Most people are living or striving to live up to all the advertisements that are constantly being shoved into our face through media.  The best house, the most expensive car, the fanciest restaurants.  All of these things can be fun, and joyful… but does it last?  Does it lead to satisfaction?  And what about that carbon footprint???  I don’t even want to think about how many paper cups of coffee I’ve picked up on the way to work or school… and the plastic lid!  Just for the convenience of saving a bit of time at home by not preparing my own coffee.  I know, those lattes are totally delicious, but please bring your own container!  I was so happy that the last theatre I worked in stopped giving out paper cups at the coffee machine.  They supplied everyone with their own mug, with markers to paint and identify which was theirs.  Please if you’re reading this, just pay a bit more attention to all the little things that you throw away on a daily basis.  At my university some students put up an exhibition of how many plastic cups were used in the food hall everyday, it was completely mind boggling.  Our fast food way of thinking has really gone too far.

Another thing living in Germany has taught me… how to live without a clothes dryer.  Almost no one I know in Germany has a clothes dryer.  It’s just totally normal to have a rack in your house and dry them.  To be honest there are still days, in the cold, dark winter where it would be really convenient to have a dryer.  But, as with almost everything, once you don’t have the luxury anymore, you realise it is just that, a luxury, not a necessity.  Though I do know some people who will argue with me on this one = )

These last two years I’ve learned a lot about the land we live on.  That’s the big difference, we actually live on the land and not in the city anymore.  We can pick wild apples, berries and beautiful flowers all around, and harvest the amazing bounty of nature through our vegetables… these are now my luxuries.  Planting baby trees, discovering an unknown fruit, maybe it sounds boring (and I’ll be honest, I still stop for a to go coffee sometimes) but this path I’ve somehow found myself on is so glorious and full of nature.  With all the craziness in the world, who couldn’t use a bit more nature?

As I move through this life of mine, I’m feeling, I’m mediating, thinking and analysing… what is it that one really needs.  What is necessity and what is superfluous?  Maybe there is something that we’ve just grown accustomed to as normality but is actually having a terrible impact on the environment?  What is culturally relevant or irrelevant and how does it affect our planet?  Can I make a sustainable change in my life while going against the masses?  Progressive thinking is almost always met with criticism… how will I work around that?  These are just some thoughts that I’ve been pondering, and I thought I’d share them.  Changing old habits and learning new ways is always good for the soul.  I recommend it.  Go against the grain a bit, cook more food.  Be slow.  Take your own path.  Much love and light, and remember: kindness always makes a difference.