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May 25 When the going gets tough...I've been thinking, maybe a dangerous thing to do but it all started with a post on Organiblog entitled "Self-Propelled Engine". As I read this post I thought, "well that would be OK if I lived in town, but I live about 4 miles out of town with some pretty steep hills along the way. How would I bring back groceries for five people on a bike?" As I searched for some answers I came across this cart. Hmmm, now the impossible becomes the possible. Could I actually make it to town and back with something like this? The only thing really holding me back might just be my own reluctance to expend that much energy. Still with gas at $3.09 a gallon, I think I might be bike shopping very soon. May 14 Is your food safe?It was only a matter of time before we had to face the problem of food tainted with some substance. We've gone from purchasing food that is grown and produced locally to having absolutely no idea where the ingredients for our food have originated. A few years ago, the company I work with was producing a ginseng product and importing ginseng from another country. Since they test every batch of ingredients, they came across fungicide. They sent that batch back, but every batch after that ,even from other suppliers, was contaminated. Finally they went to the country to see what was going on. There had been a very damp, rainy season and when the ginseng was being stored it was getting moldy, so the warehouses sprayed fungicide. That year, this company stopped making products containing ginseng until they could find an uncontaminated source. Other companies did use this ginseng, marketing to consumers who had no idea what they were getting. My point? Buy from the most reputable company you can. Know where their ingredients come from. The less processed a food is, the less ingredients you have to worry about. Buy locally when possible. May 01 Simplify!Some mornings when I awake I am immediately overwhelmed by the day. My calendar looks like the scribblings of some mad scientist, with notes, arrows, and various drawings taking up every bit of free space. Every now and then there is a blank space. I love the blank spaces because they are like a window I can throw open to take breath after breath of air. When I was young, my life was filled with blank spaces. I had long wonderful days with nothing to do but lay in the yard and watch the clouds go by. What happened?
Americans are busier than ever. We work more hours than almost every other nation. But are we happier? I don't think so. People who are busy tend to use more disposable items, recycle less, and produce more CO2 gases. In addition, our obsession with work costs the environment. We are stuck in the rut of production and consumption.
It is time to simplify. You might start by "taking four windows of time" over the next 6 weeks. This would be a few hours, on 4 different days, where you did not schedule anything. We can also begin to change the "rules" of our approach to time. Let me know what you did, I might just watch some clouds. |
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