So what is it going to be this year? To exercise? To lose that ten extra pounds? Have a better work-life balance? Work less, play more? Or vice versa?
I no longer make New Year's resolutions, and have not done so for couple decades due to one simple fact: To decidedly, abruptly, and resolutely change a behavior at a definitive time does not work - that is what a "New Year's Resolution" mean, right?
A foundational change in behaviors takes more than a declaration if it is meant to sustain over time. What does it take for the Tipping Point to occur, to propel a mind to think differently and the whole being to act differently?
Whatever changes we want to sustain, we must start with fundamental understanding of the current situation and a raw desire to arrive at a different place. It also requires an acceptance that once the changes take place, there is no turning back. The new becomes the core.
It is not news to my close friends that I have been on a path in recent years to live more simply and sustainably. I feel the desire to frequently examine my lifestyle, and strive hard to leave a "lighter footprint" when it comes to the direct and indirect resources I consume. Among the many things I consider "basic necessities", majority of the world considers them "luxuries": I use paper towels, take hot showers, turn the heater on, drink filtered water, eat sushi, and yes, drive my car. Knowing they come with an expensive human and environmental price, I want to make informed and conscious decisions when I consume the finite resources that fuel my "basic necessities." My goal is not to bring on suffering or forgo the comfort and convenience that civilization brings - what's the glory or honor in doing so? The goal is education.
I want to be cognizant how nature is intimately connected with and impacted by my decisions when I consume.
This new year, don't make a resolution to exercise three times a week. To lose weight. Or quit smoking. Or take shorter showers. Or eat organically.
Make a different kind of resolution.
Instead of an abrupt change of behaviors, invest in your education. Understand how nature is intimately connected to and constantly impacted by your every consumption. Discover where your drinking water comes from. Find out what cattle eat naturally, and what they are fed in CAFO farms. What is a CAFO farm? Understand the role methyl iodide plays in growing California's beautiful, red, gigantic strawberries...but read the opposing view, too, and make your own informed decision. How much water does it take to make a pair of jeans? Research what it takes to hatch an egg and nurture it to a 4-pound broiler, comparing to the modern industrial breed called Cornish Rock Cross, raised in factories, and reached 4-pound maturity in mere 35 days. Read about the physiology of our bodies and why we should eat for weight but exercise for health. I can go on and on, but this is not about me. It's about us. All of us.
Pick a topic of interest, spend some time on it, and share the facts. There is no place to be defensive, or offensive. But it does take curiosity. Some may question the point of uncovering the depressing truth because there is seemingly nothing we can do about it. Let people answer their own rhetorical question, but decide on your own. What do you stand for?
The more we are connected to nature, the more we are connected to ourselves. And each other.
A foundational change in behaviors takes more than a declaration if it is meant to sustain over time. What does it take for the Tipping Point to occur, to propel a mind to think differently and the whole being to act differently?
Whatever changes we want to sustain, we must start with fundamental understanding of the current situation and a raw desire to arrive at a different place. It also requires an acceptance that once the changes take place, there is no turning back. The new becomes the core.
It is not news to my close friends that I have been on a path in recent years to live more simply and sustainably. I feel the desire to frequently examine my lifestyle, and strive hard to leave a "lighter footprint" when it comes to the direct and indirect resources I consume. Among the many things I consider "basic necessities", majority of the world considers them "luxuries": I use paper towels, take hot showers, turn the heater on, drink filtered water, eat sushi, and yes, drive my car. Knowing they come with an expensive human and environmental price, I want to make informed and conscious decisions when I consume the finite resources that fuel my "basic necessities." My goal is not to bring on suffering or forgo the comfort and convenience that civilization brings - what's the glory or honor in doing so? The goal is education.
I want to be cognizant how nature is intimately connected with and impacted by my decisions when I consume.
This new year, don't make a resolution to exercise three times a week. To lose weight. Or quit smoking. Or take shorter showers. Or eat organically.
Make a different kind of resolution.
Instead of an abrupt change of behaviors, invest in your education. Understand how nature is intimately connected to and constantly impacted by your every consumption. Discover where your drinking water comes from. Find out what cattle eat naturally, and what they are fed in CAFO farms. What is a CAFO farm? Understand the role methyl iodide plays in growing California's beautiful, red, gigantic strawberries...but read the opposing view, too, and make your own informed decision. How much water does it take to make a pair of jeans? Research what it takes to hatch an egg and nurture it to a 4-pound broiler, comparing to the modern industrial breed called Cornish Rock Cross, raised in factories, and reached 4-pound maturity in mere 35 days. Read about the physiology of our bodies and why we should eat for weight but exercise for health. I can go on and on, but this is not about me. It's about us. All of us.
Pick a topic of interest, spend some time on it, and share the facts. There is no place to be defensive, or offensive. But it does take curiosity. Some may question the point of uncovering the depressing truth because there is seemingly nothing we can do about it. Let people answer their own rhetorical question, but decide on your own. What do you stand for?
The more we are connected to nature, the more we are connected to ourselves. And each other.
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