Another Step

For the past several years, my neighbor, Mike, has grown a small but mighty vegetable garden.  More than once he shared some left over plants with me and I stuck them in a small 2' x 3' space and, amazingly enough, watched them grow and produce....food!!!

In addition, Mike is a fabulous cook.  Many times, we've enjoyed fresh veggies and expertly prepared dishes from Mike's garden.  :-)

Wanting to expand my vegetable options, I emailed another neighbor, Michelle, early this year and asked if she wanted to garden with me this year.  She enthusiastically said "yes!".

And so, in January, we found ourselves at my dining room table, sharing tea and cookies and leafing through a seed catalog like teenagers with the latest Seventeen magazine.

The seeds arrived and Michelle started growing them in her house.  Warmed by grow lights her husband had constructed a few years before, they emerged from their little plastic beds and took on a lives of their own.

Some weeks ago we started peas and onions in Michelle's yard.  The onions are doing well and the peas, while growing strong, are providing a nice salad bar for our local renegade groundhog.  Hmmpphhh!

Now it was my turn.  Planning and plotting where to put my expanded.  Which part of the yard?  What materials to use?  How big to make it?  Where to get organic soil?

With tremendous help from my dear hubby, we tackled this feat last Sunday.  In a morning to evening frenzy, we bought and built our garden space.  It was great fun!

Then, this past Saturday, our first plants went in the soil.  Now they're on their way to what we hope will be a prosperous season.  (Once we figure out how to fence 

 them in and protect them from the deer, rabbits, and groundhog!)

In addition to the sense of community that's been created by this little venture, I've been motivated by what I'm learning in Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  Some of those facts can be gleaned in this article, which I just received in my monthly Organic Consumer Association newsletter.  I had no idea big business played such a dastardly role in controlling the food we consume.  Yikes!

So...in another step towards more sustainable living...and as part of my Not Buying It year...I give you....THE GARDEN:

 BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Kudos to the folks at Mother Earth News for their timely article on building a quick and easy garden!  And also to our other neighbor, Gretchen (soon to be 90 and legally blind) who provided all the newspaper for our project.  (We don't subscribe to our local paper, and were faced with the very unsustainable possibility of having to go BUY a bunch of Sunday editions to use in our garden.)  She was a lifesaver :-)

Are You Kidding Me?

In the poetic words of the troubled yet awesome Amy Winehouse...

"What kind of fuckery is this?"

These lyrics struck me as pretty strong and offensive at first, but they have now almost become my mantra. She just puts it out there. And sometimes that's what is truly needed.

On my way to work yesterday, gas was $3.72/gallon. That was on the other side of the street. On my side of the street (the direction I was driving to work) it was $3.95/gallon. I was running late for work and couldn't stop to turn around and get gas. I *knew* that by the time I left work last evening, all stations would be jacked up to $3.95/gallon. And sure enough, that's what happened.

I paid $20 for 5 gallons of gas.

Indeed, what kind of fuckery is this?

In my world of Not Buying It, there are so many things that I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around lately. Who's getting rich from the gas prices? What's up with the cost of rice and flour? Where will it all end? Are we doomed to take the path of the Roman Empire? How will we survive?

For the past month or so I've been quite unsettled. Off kilter. Short of breath. Tired.

As a highly sensitive person (HSP), I suppose I am affected by the magnitude of disaster and tragedy that has befallen our world lately. If we are truly all connected, the collective energy of the planet cannot help but be shaken by the profound nature of so many souls suffering and leaving the earth in a short period of time.

And that's when I need more sleep. And rest. And down time. And covers over my head. And close friends who love and support me. And to nurture myself.

Because, once again, I remind myself that my well-being is up to me. Be it financial, emotional, physical, psychological, or spiritual...it must be an inside job.

So...in light of my disgust and anger and frustration and discontent...what am I *doing* or how am I *be-ing* to counteract that?

~listening to Eckart Tolle
~reaching out to friends and mentors
~napping with my cats
~slowing down
~choosing where to spend my energy
~recognizing what I own and what I don't (and letting go)
~moving forward in building my coaching business
~planning fun get-aways that will nurture my spirit and expand my horizons
~spending less
~acquiring less
~planning a garden to provide some of my own food
~continuing to look for ways to save money and live more sustainably
~letting myself be loved

One day at a time. One moment at a time. Deep breathing. Centering. Focusing. Incense burning. Lots of prayer.


Write and tell me how you're surviving in these days of uncertainty.

The Checks Are In The Mail

With all the recent hub-bub about our rebate checks coming - and GWB and the oil companies laughing all the way to the bank (not to mention the money lenders in China) - here's a little something to give you a dose of perspective.

Many thanks to the insightful Megan and her Having Enough Blog for this updated link and video.

Don't forget to visit the Simple Living Network to weigh in on the Not Buying the Rebate Bribe message.

Peace Out,

Lisa

What I'm Learning These Days

Hello.

I apologize for my absence over the past two weeks.  Life and time and stress and obligations have all taken precedence over posting in this forum.  Many wonderful blog ideas have come and gone through my mind during that time - and yet none have made it onto these pages. 

Yes, that is frustrating to me.  But, oh, well.  Those occurrences help my practice of non-attachment, letting go of perfection, realizing I cannot do it all, etc.

This week my husband and I are in Charlotte, North Carolina, visiting my dear friend and blog sister, Gail and her family.  It is a joyous change of pace and scenery.  

With my new mindset of Not Buying It, vacation travel takes on a whole new meaning.  As one who likes to collect *stuff* - travel to new and different places has always been an occasion to acquire more mementos to document the trips and connect with the memories.  Mugs, magnets, postcards, jewelry, posters, t-shirts, books, blah, blah, blah.  An endless array of things exist in various places within my house.  Oddly enough, most of them (or at least the ones I can recall now) are still in the bags in which I brought them home.  The plans I had for them long forgotten.

Of course this is not true of every single thing I've acquired while away, but definitely the majority.  Mugs packed away in tubs in the basement,  ornaments in boxes that are only displayed during the Christmas holidays, books on dusty shelves, postcards and brochures still in the bags, scarves packed away, t-shirts long folded away in the bottom of a drawer, jewelry stuffed in boxes and cloth sacks in a drawer overflowing with watches and earrings and necklaces and bracelets.  On and on and on.

While I love the reminders and the connection these things have to those special places I've been blessed to experience - they are in no way a substitute for the experience itself.  Or the relationships that have been formed along the way.

So...as I travel on this particular journey, I am trying not to buy *stuff*.  I am fighting the urge to acquire or to mark my presence here with trinkets and things that will go home with me - adding pounds to my luggage that must be lugged back through the airport. 

I just want to soak in the essence of BE-ing here.  I want to bask in the sun of friendship and family love and adorable doggy kisses and cool new sights and sounds.  

I want to resist the urge to spend my hard-earned and short supply of money in exchange for another something that will take up space in my home.  Instead I will relax, breathe, step away from the cashier, and let go.  I will listen to the birds, marvel at the azaleas, take photos of the trees, drink the sumptuous tea and enjoy being present in this moment.  

Letting myself deeply experience the NOW of being here - with these dear, special, loving, kind, generous people is by far the richest thing I can acquire.  And, when all else fades away, what will remain in my mind, my cells, my spirit for as long as time goes on.

In the Dark

On this Saturday evening, we're sitting at home in the dark to honor this event.

What are you up to?

Off Track

Okay, it's confession time...

As with many of my past New Year's resolutions, my attempts at change have lost steam over the past few weeks. I continued strong until about mid-February and then seem to have petered out.

While my awareness of not spending continues, I haven't been keeping track of it (in the calendar I designed at the beginning of the year). Also, in the essence of full disclosure, I have knowingly, consciously purchased items that, in my original post, I indicated I would not buy this year, namely two tote bags (one here and one here) and a candle. Hhhhmmmpphhh!

It seems this lifestyle change takes focus and energy - and lately both of those things have been occupied by other endeavors and life circumstances. Thus, the not-buying-it work has slid down on the totem pole of priorities.

However, I remain committed to this quest!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Two good things of late:

1) My spending IS much more in line with my values. I continue to seek to purchase local and/or handmade goods as much as possible. I also focus my choices on things that are consumable and/or experiential (like a visit to this awesome museum); things that won't sit around and just collect dust.

When considering a purchase or a donation, I am asking myself, "Is this important to me? Is this worth the exchange of my hard work and life energy for this product?"

I have reduced the amount of catalogs I receive by participating in this great new web site. Also, I have requested to have my name removed from non-profit mailing lists for companies that are no longer in line with my values and vision for what I want the world to be.

2) I am happy to report that, other than our mortgage obligation (which happens to be at a great interest rate with less than 10 years to go), I am now DEBT FREE!

I have paid off my credit card balances! And I just opened a new savings account (my previous one was used up and closed when I was out of work last year). This is the one in which I plan to deposit the $600 rebate check I'll get from GWB in May.

So - all in all - my falling off the wagon so to speak hasn't been as dire as past failures at making lasting change (mainly diet and exercise!). It's just that, like anything else if life, it is a work in progress...with lots of learning along the way!

And your journey? How's it going? Please comment and let me know how you find yourself and your spending as we near the end of our first quarter together.

Our Primal Nature?

I often get epiphanies at very odd times - in weird places. As I was changing the sheets on our bed today, it occurred to me that, perhaps, the act of shopping is part of our primal nature.

Is our bent towards the acquisition of *stuff* a leftover genetic thing from our days of hunting and gathering?

Now that, for the most part, our survival needs are met and we don't have to hunt and gather for our basic needs any longer - have we replaced that urge with the shopping and spending that consume so much of our days?

I know I shop for security reasons. This has manifested itself quite clearly in the years since 9/11. Each winter since then I have hoarded a commodity of some sort. The first year it was toilet paper. Then it was cereal. Then it was boxes of tea. This past year or so it was canned goods.

A part of my psyche told me that if I had enough of "x" on hand things would be okay. All is right with the world as long as we have canned goods!

And that's where the hunter-gatherer thing comes in. While our ancestors had to spend the better part of their days working hard for food-shelter-clothing, we now have those things in abundance. And yet our genetics remain unchanged, which leaves us with the desire to continue to hunt and gather.

Who among us hasn't experienced the thrill of bringing home a desired object - or - felt the victory of the kill when finding a great bargain? I assert that these are similar feelings to the quest and subsequent celebration that existed years ago (and, of course, may still exist for those who live and struggle in other parts of the world) when the hunters were successful.

So, once again, I will attempt to lay down my bow and arrow. I will look at all that is gathered around me - the accumulation of years of working hard and exchanging my money and life energy for stuff - and resist the primal urge to hunt and gather. I will remind myself that what I have is more than enough - and that I am safe.

Well, right after I stop at the grocery store on the way home that is...