“Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. This is not just a dream, but a necessity.”
~ Dalai Lama
We have a light tropical wave passing through this morning, which brought a refreshing rain shower to my waking. It disrupted the cats schedule too, as they coming running in from their own morning hunt to tell me all about it, and to make sure I didn’t miss this pretty misted photo … Get up they said … I’m happy that I already had what I wanted to share, since my meditation seat is a bit soggy ….
Last night we watched another documentary on Netflix called “The No Impact Man”. It follows a year in the life of a New York City man, and his overly consumptive wife, as they try to reduce their waste, and leave no impact on the environment.
Working in stages, they first started with determining how to live without making garbage: no disposable products, no packaging, etc. Stage two was figuring out how to cause the least environmental impact with their food choices, buying only food which came within a 200 mile radius (easier said than done in Manhattan). Stage three was figuring out how to reduce their consumption to only what is necessary and how to do that sustainably. The whole thing got harder and harder with each stage.
To top it all off, his wife is not a naturalist by any stretch of the imagination, and the movie begins with him reviewing their AMEX bill … Her latest shopping binge revealed $975 boots she just couldn’t live without …
I won’t reveal too much of the story line, as I really hope you’ll have an opportunity to watch it, as it raises so many powerful questions.
Begin to think through for yourself ….
- What does it mean to produce no garbage that isn’t truly recyclable? Think of all the plastic containers we throw away every day … Yes, he ended up making his own laundry detergent and shampoo …
- Could you live without electricity, for a day, a week, a month? What about all your refrigerated foods?
- And then there is the issue of toilet paper 😉
As a vegan, I am told that my own carbon foot print is significantly lower than the average. We compost all of our leftover food and scraps. I use eco bags. Yet we still end up with a fairly sizable amount of garbage every day. I try my best to buy in bulk to reduce packaging, but I’m still going to be much more mindful and see if I can set some goals here for myself. I’ll start with doing some research on making my own cleaning supplies. Any tips anyone can share, I’d love to hear them. Our electric bill (with villa guests) can run close to $1,000 a month, which tells you how much electricity we are consuming. I’ve lived for months without it after Hurricane Marilyn. If I had access to a farmers market, I’d be ok here. But I’ve said it before, I’d really miss my fluffy towels, warm out of the dryer! And I’m getting anxiety attacks just thinking about giving up my paper towels LOL …
So think about it today, as you toss something into the garbage: Can I do without that, or make a more sustainable purchasing decision in the future? As you go to buy something new for yourself: Do I really need that?
A perfect opportunity to quote one of my favorite lines in Bikkhu Bodhi’s “The Noble Eightfold Path” …
“When we methodically contemplate, attachments are shed like the leaves of a tree, naturally and spontaneously.”
And in the end, this no-impact family truly experienced more happiness by doing without ❤
To Learn more about The No Impact Man (and No Impact Project):
http://noimpactman.typepad.com/
And one of my other favorite environmental websites:
http://www.storyofstuff.org/
