Radical Reduction

I love that you love what you do.

2008-10-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

My poppaw Riley always said that he never woke up dreading his job. He barbered for some 55 years in a small Appalachian town in WV and he, along with his identical twin brother, became interwoven into the cultural tapestry of that place. When they finally retired, the town celebrated them as if they were wielding far more powerful instruments than clippers and shears. Meaningful work means more than money; and not only to employees but to those that benefit from the services of people who genuinely love what they do. I wish more of us would feel free to do what we love and make our lives fit around that decision. I think of how different my experience is when I interact with folks who love their jobs vs. those who don't. For some, it may mean they need to step up their game and go back to school to realize their dreams and for others it may mean stepping back to get a look at the big picture. One of the bike mechanics that I know quit doctoring to work on bikes. He may go back to it, he might not, but the important thing is that his heart wasn't in the exam room anymore and he allowed himself to step into a role that, no doubt, got him more than a few good laughs from his friends and family.

The difficult part comes when we don't want to let go of what we've grown accustomed to in terms of lifestyle. We fret, we fear, we wring our hands and convince ourselves we will be out living in the street, eating out of trashcans. But simply put, most of use live well beyond our means in the first place. So a tiny (or even a big) step back or some adjustment time moving forward is probably a small sacrifice on the road to fulfillment. The people that I admire the most are the ones who do extraordinary things with little to no resources.

Since my Riley was born I have basically worked part-time. In the beginning it was hard b/c my self-esteem and worth were tied into my career ambitions so tightly. And I still obsess about what to do with my life, but not about work. I think I know where my talents and skills will be best used and I keep my eyes open to interesting situations and possibilities. There's something to be said for being excited about what lies ahead.

Putting it in writing

2008-10-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ten is a nice round number for goals-not too long, not too short. I am the kind of person who really lives by lists. I honestly believe that putting something out there in writing is like a commitment. I know I need to do most of these, but its good to have something to look at to remind myself. I really need to make a better commitment to cycling this year in preparation for doing the Bike Ride Across Georgia this summer--that one is high on my list!

1.Wake up by 7 a.m. every morning
2.Eat meatless at least 3 meals a week
3.Bike at least 75 miles/week
4.Volunteer twice a month
5.Run/Walk at least 5 miles twice a week (ugh, but yes)
6.Turn off lights
7.Read at least one book a month
8.Pay off all credit cards in 2009 (again ;)
9.Simplify holidays
10.Creative writing 30 minutes each day

Once I tried to do a bucket list, but it was just too stressful so I substituted smaller lists a couple of times a year. Plus, I hate death. Hate it. Anyway, I encourage everyone to take a few minutes and create a "quick ten" list of things that are in the front of your head, that you really need to commit to doing right now.

Moving Mountains

2008-10-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

I read this article
about a proposed mining site in India that will devastate a tribal community and destroy the mountain on which they live.

It really hit home for me as I have been aware of a similar practice that has been happening in Appalachia for at least a decade. Mountain top removal is an invasive form of strip mining in which coal seams are exposed by removing and radically altering mountains to extract the material by which we power of lives. And it is a mess literally, socially and politically. I "visited" (though I wasn't really invited) a site during my college years as part of a documentary project I was completing. The site looked like a meteor had hit and the idea of this happening with as much frequency as it currently does continues to haunt me.

The impact from these sites ruins lives, period. But because the practice is happening in the most economically depressed area in the United States, it continues with little to no opposition from government. Remarkably, though, people who live in the areas and those who love the areas have been very active in opposing mountain top removal. If this is the first time you've heard of this please take 5 minutes and visit either of these sites Coal River Mountain Watch or I Love Mountains to educate yourself a little about the issue.

Anyway, this whole thing became relevant because I was thinking about this quote from the article I cited where one of the tribal elders made the following statement:

"If the Supreme Court will give a decision to allow mining here, all our Dongria Kondh people from children to old women will go to the factory and sleep on the road and say first you will kill us then you can mine, because we cannot live without our mountain,"

This became a powerful quote for me, something I put on my desk and read again and again. What is says to me is that there are people who are willing to fight government and corporate interests (knowing that big money seldom loses) to defend their rights and property. And to send a message that more isn't always more.

Of course the people making the decisions are seldom the ones who have to live with the consequences.

Squeaky Clean

2008-09-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

I have been cleaning (especially mopping) with this simple solution I concocted, and each time I am blown away by how it makes the air actually seem clean. I think it is really important to clear your house when the seasons change, you have a lot of old, stale energy rubbing itself all over your stuff. Natural cleaners are cheap and if, by chance, my son moseys up to the mop bucket with a plastic cup and proceeds to draw himself a cool drink out of a plastic well, I don't have to freak out quite as bad.

Ali's Zingly Cleanser
1 part water
1 part white vinegar
1 tablespoon dish soap
several drops peppermint oil (not extract)

Love is a very big thing indeed.

2008-09-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

Going through tons of stuff can be emotional. Those love letters I mentioned, geez... I only wish I hadn't been so hard to handle at certain points. I've never felt like "luck" was the right word for all the lovers I found who were not only willing, but for the most part, able, to put up with my shenanigans for long stretches. But for his part, Mag has won the longevity award for "putting up with a crazy Capricorn raised by a West Virginian" hands down. Oh people let me tell you that marriage is not an easy journey and for a gal like me it can get just, well, too claustrophobic at times. Mag knows me and accepts all of my numerous shortcomings, nonetheless. He lets me go and (either by practice or sheer exhaustion) allows me to work through my crazy notions one at a time. And there have been some crazy notions and some yet to come, believe me.

It's easy to take for granted the "everyday" love that comes from those we are closest to, but it's hard to replace. So I hope that clearing out some of my physical space will have an impact on my emotional life too; in fact, I am kind of counting on it. Because moving forward means that I have to bid adieu to some old dreams that have been hogging some serious real estate in my life for a long time.

Can't I just drink the coffee?

2008-09-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

It is time for me to get moving, but I'll admit I don't know which direction to turn. Today I cleaned out a couple of cabinets in our kitchen and some of our utensil drawers but still felt like I kept too much. I'm having a hard time deciding what to do about some of the stuff we never use (but could). Isn't that always the thing? I mean we have a wheat grass juicer for god's sake (never used) and a completely unopened electric juicer. Apparently we had BIG plans for juice at some point. Still, I think I want to use them and did I mention that the manual wheat grass juicer also can be used to make peanut butter....so begins the justification for junk in my life. I think it makes us feel safe to surround ourselves with stuff, kind of like security blankets (albeit shiny, electric ones) for adults.

But alas what I am doing right now is stalling, big-time because I realized today that there's something in my kitchen that is VERY RADICAL, but reductive....not so much. It's our coffee-maker which is like our second child. We even take the damn thing camping with us, okay?

And I really haven't even thought about getting rid of it until I started thinking about the fact that it is kind of wasteful because each time you make a cup, you use a little aluminum packet that gets thrown out. BUT, but it is a single cup maker so we aren't wasting coffee and we kind of get it well, free, from my mother-in-law (even though we totally offer to buy it all the time). But if we did have to buy it all the time, I bet I wouldn't be so obsessed with it b/c those packets are kind of expensive. So it's just a damn moral conundrum all around. Not to mention the whole fair trade movement which I should totally be supporting AND should probably be the basis of my decision. My mom who, by the way, now has 2 of the coveted coffee machines, just emailed me about ordering coffee, how's that for timing?

What this all means is, I have to pay attention. If you've read Omnivore's Dilemma (or even if you haven't) it's no understatement to say that most of us are just completely removed from the labor and processes that are part of the foods we eat and drinks we drink. But I can almost guarantee you that the Flavia isn't going anywhere right now mainly because I haven't even mentioned this to my husband who is going to freak out and refuse to let me get rid of it anyway. So, for now, it stays, but now every time I make a cup of coffee, I will have to re-visit my newfound ethical issue sip after sip.

Extreme Life Makeover

2008-09-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

My cousin Natalie sent me a funny note after she read my first post, defending her love of "stuff". And quite honestly she has the means to support her love interest. I don't. And I'm not ashamed of that. But we can all try to live responsibly, mindfully, no matter what our situation is. For her part, Natalie is great about passing things on for a second life (rather than just throwing them away), she is a great financial planner and makes good investments.

Part of living small is being able to live within your means, to take responsibility for your financial health and look at what you can and cannot do. We're going to try really hard. Mag and I both love travel, great food, beautiful furniture, art, electronics...the typical trappings of modern life. I'm not ready to give them all up at once or even in total but I am ready to look at the "why" when it comes to making decisions about how and what we spend our money on. Not that we don't already do this, but when we aren't careful we can find ourselves looking at each other saying "what happened?".

I really used to enjoy watching "Extreme Home Makeover" and thought to myself how awesome it would be to have a beautiful new home handed to you---what a gift. After reading a couple of stories about families who couldn't afford the new homes they were given, though, I sort of started thinking about how this show has it all backwards. While I think that the families they choose are awesome and definitely deserve to be recognized and absolutely deserve homes that meet their needs, I worry about what happens when that big bus rolls out of sight for good. Are they more responsible, richer, smarter? Will the new home put additional stress on them in terms of upkeep, utilities and taxes? But that is not what the show is concerned about, they promote big living, period.

I think a lot of it has to do with a mindset of buy now, pay later, coupled with an age when we are ultimately concerned with "lifestyle" instead of "living". I always think of my parents. Although they divorced when I was young, my mom has talked about their struggles to make ends meet during the early 70s. Among my favorite stories is how they paid for my birth, in cash installments made to the hospital (they didn't have health insurance). I have seen them both become successful adults and achieve wonderful lives, but I don't see them living above their means, it's just not part of how their generation was raised.

We as a society of individuals are disconnected from simplicity, from being able to enjoy wonderfully uncomplicated things. Having a child makes you look at the world in a different way. I want that way of life to be about living fully, not a life full of things. Because I believe as my mother does that if you were suddenly left without anything, you would still be able to make it if you count your human experience and a life centered on trying to do good among your most precious possessions.

"Our own evolution as an awakening human is a moral obligation, not a luxury."
Andrew Cohen

think small.

2008-09-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of time spent, of late, making small talk in my household. Not the kind about weather or great supermarkets, but actual conversation about the stuff of life, how it defines us and how to keep it in check. A recent trip to my both storage areas of my home (the attic and basement) confirmed the fact that we are knee deep in it. Additionally, I have read several wonderful articles about artful reduction, everything from families who live and learn on the road to the growing small home movement that have really had a lasting impression on me. They are usually written by people who have just had enough...stuff.

And although I have always been prone to periods of seasonal "purging" my husband likes to point out that I am just making room for all the new junk. But radical reduction is more than boxing up a few things for Goodwill, it is about reducing your "footprint" and your urge to consume. And personally I don't think there is a better time to start living small. But, as excited as I am to embark on this new journey, to see how much we can do without (there's talk of getting rid of the t.v. folks), I am a little anxious about the debates, negotiations and justifications that are sure to be part of this process along with being responsible about how we dispose of unwanted items.

I guess rules will be made and compromises too, although at this point, I have no idea what those will be. Right now, we just don't replace what we can live without. Last weekend I gave our dryer (which had some heating issue) away because we hadn't used it in six months and we hadn't replaced it. We're effectively down from a 3-car household to a one-car household (although to be honest that had nothing to do with choice). But we've made it work. We squeeze into what was effectively our "date" car wherever we go now. I ride my bike more. We walk and take transit. We drop each other off and pick each other up. We plan our trips and pay attention to each others' schedules with a lot more understanding.

Sounds lovely, doesn't it? But I am here to tell you that there are at least 10-15 boxes of MY Halloween decorations to be reckoned with in the near future. And MY "letters" which consist of a huge storage box full of old love letters and bits of my past that I am not sure I am ready to deal with letting go of. But check back and be part of our little experiment and let me know if you
have any "radical" suggestions of your own.