The Side Effects

Mindfulness goes hand-in-hand with mastery. What you put in your body, how you spend your time. My newest quest has had an not surprising yet unexpected effect- mindfulness. I've become acutely aware of not just what I'm putting into my body but what comes into my home. It's like the vegetarian challenge, only for my house.

Along with mindfulness is awareness. I was blissfully ignorant. And it's devastating when you see exactly how wasteful our culture is. Mindlessly wasteful. It's not like we are all aware and choosing the path anyways. We don't even realize it. We are so accustomed to buying, unwrapping, throwing away it's insane. It’s been habitualized. I'm not just referring to the plastic free produce movement. I'm talking about the half sandwich left on your plate. The "oh, it broke, I'll buy a new one" moments. The excessive number or shirts we all own but don't wear, the 6 spatulas we each have but only use the favourite one, the 12 different Phillip screwdrivers, the latest fashion we must keep with, the newest device we feel we need. Buying, buying, buying things.

Another effect has been the emotional impact. I never thought I’d become so emotionally invested, becoming more and more driven to see this through. I’m thrilled at the changes I’ve made and I feel pride in my accomplishments. However, I feel devastated by how driven we are as a culture by consumerism. Sorrow at our mindless actions and negative impact. Anger at the greed that convinces us to fill our lives with unfulfilling things.

I have a long ways to go. I’m thankful that my husband gets it, is changing and accepting change. But we still have so far to go.

Love people. Use things. The opposite never works. -Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus

Garbology

With the recent changes in our house I’ve found myself creating new habits. The biggest is how I view the garbage can; its taken on a new meaning, almost becoming a monster lurking in the corner. I can’t look at it without thinking of what I am trying to accomplish and how far I have yet to go. I see it as a dark stain, and ugly scar in my home. In short, I’ve began to see it in a negative light instead of neutrally, as I had my entire life until now. It’s taken on a life all its own.

I would like to extend a simple challenge. Keep track of how many times in a day you throw something into the trash. Keep a running tally. When I started becoming aware I couldn’t believe the frequency. And I had been living like that my whole life! Now, say to yourself “I am choosing to throw this in a landfill”. Don’t say “just toss it” or “throw it away”. Say “landfill”. Changes the whole game, doesn’t it?

Rat Pack

I’ve been thinking hard about my requirements for next years team. I have to admit many of my personal requirements have not been met, and with some analysis I can say it is because most are not a priority. They’re love to’s, one day’s and would be cool’s. The few that were important to me, such as putting away savings for the kids, saw the most success.

To rectify this, my goals next year need to be pertinent in my life now, not just in my ideal life of ample time and comfort. I’ve started by breaking down the three areas I need to focus on; myself personally, my family and my community. Little ones have managed to completely change how I think and what my priorities are. I think with this perspective meeting my goals won’t be easy, but will become priority and not left on a back burner.

Personal- My example in this area will set a standard for my kids on the importance of self. Big responsibility, therefore I will stop procrastinating, make appointments and take the time to go to them. Schedule and keep dentist appointments at the frequency they determine necessary. As my chiropractor has moved away, find a new, trusted chiropractor, make and keep appointments at the frequency they determine necessary. I believe this will also work to achieve the third part of this one which is take care of my feet- between the plantars fasciitis and the odd, extremely painful pins and needles sensations I’ve been getting I’m surprised I can walk sometimes. The latter I believe is caused by a pinched nerve in my hip, therefore proper alignment should rectify that.

Family- This will be drastic and yet easy if I succeed. I want to achieve zero waste in my home. I’ve started my journey already by trying to eliminate plastic coming into my home; asking for less at Christmas and birthdays, gifts made from natural materials such as cloth, wood or metal. I’m in the process of changing where and how I shop- mason jars have become my best friends. I’ll need to begin collecting recyclables and make the 30 minute trip to the recycling facility on 43. This will also take research as I haven’t a clue what is or is not recyclable, what types of plastic they take, etc. I’ve began to purge my home, eliminating anything unused, unneeded or unwanted in an effort to simplify and declutter. I need to analyze each area of my home and each aspect of my life and ask myself, is this going to benefit us or hinder us? All this simply because two tiny humans came along and if I’m going to raise them I want to raise them with compassion for their home, the earth.

Community- Nick informed me that once upon a time our small summer village had a recycling program. It has since been discontinued, sometime before I moved in with Nick. I want to rectify this, in my opinion, poor decision by our council. So what will this look like? Research- I noticed on our village website we are told to “train ourselves” to use the facility on Hwy 43. So, looking at the facilities website they mention “working jointly” with several summer villages. Does this mean we’re paying for a service no one knows exists? That is so out of our way no one would use it if we did? Long story short, I need to arm myself with facts and costs and approach our council with a solid proposition to bring back a recycling program to our community.

Things need changing in our lives. Incremental progression will be key. Wait, I’ve heard that somewhere...