Economy, Ecology, Community, Faith

There are four main areas of concern that I write about and act upon. These are the areas of our lives that I feel we need to integrate, for ourselves, for our communities, for our nation, and for our planet. I haven't written much over the last month. I've been busy living life and working toward that integration through getting more involved in my community and my faith. By participating in our transition committee, our community center building committee local art show, a craft fair, and our holiday celebration. I have also been taking stock of the the economic and ecological choices that I make on a daily basis. 

I saw a cartoon recently that showed three cans labeled "trash", "recycle", and "pretend to recycle". This really got me to thinking. There are some packages that we put in the recycling at our house because we believe that they should be recycled and recyclable. Unfortunately we have found from talking to the employees at our local transfer station that many of these packaging materials are not actually recyclable at this time. So for the last week I have been putting those packaging materials into the trash and paying attention to how much our trash is increased. It wasn't an excessive amount, but it was enough to give me pause and to remind me that there are at least 5 Rs to saving our planet (not just three) and the first of these is refuse. Refuse to purchase products that are packaged in packaging that is not recyclable. In fact, why purchase products in packaging? It is far healthier for us, for our environment and for our economy even, in the long run, if we purchase our foods in the packages nature provided them with, their own skin. We should be eating far more fruits and vegetables and far less processed foods and meats. And as important as this, we should be purchasing our food, as much as possible, directly from the people who are producing it. 

This evening I watched a film that spoke to many of these areas of concern, surrounding our freedoms, the production of our food, our communities, our faiths, and our consumer culture and behavior. I can't say that I agree with every word in this film, but I will say that it definitely gives a great deal of food for thought.  I'll share the link below and I hope that you will take the time to watch it and really give some thought to the concepts that are brought forward. I hope you will also give some thought to how integrating the concepts of economy, ecology, community and faith within our lives can help us to regain a sense of balance and security that has been lacking in American society for at least a quarter of a century and probably more. I feel that over compartmentalizing our lives is part of what has lead to the disconnection of individuals from their communities and also the breakdown of our moral and ethical principals.  I think it is this compartmentalization that has lead to the breaking down of society and the increased willingness of people to support more and more antisocial governmental policies: unprecedented exploitation of natural resources within public lands, unilateral military action against the citizens of our own country without due process, and unfettered interference into the affairs of other nations in direct contravention of international law. 

Here is the link to the movie Ethos. I hope you will find it illuminating. 

I Voted - Now What?

On Tuesday we elected the officials who will determine the course of legislation for our states and our nation over the next 4 to 6 years. In that election just over 1/3 of eligible voters nation wide turned out to make their voice heard and their vote count. Shame! Before the election I heard a lot of people talking about how unhappy they are with our government. I also heard a lot of people talking about "what is the government going to do for me." It is a statistical probability that many of the people who complain about the current state of affairs in our country are the same people who are not turning out to vote. I just want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that, as a citizen of a democratic society, voting is not only your privilege but your duty. It is one way that we can stand up against corporate greed and the power and money they wield to advance their agendas. That said, this is not a post about getting out the vote. It's a post about what we do now that the vote is over, and about what we should have been doing all along rather than sitting around waiting for the government to solve our problems.

Folks we have been far too complacent in our lives. We have been far too willing to hand over the reins of control and responsibility to someone else. We need to start taking responsibility for ourselves, our neighborhoods, our villages, our towns, our counties, our states and finally our nation. In that order. We need to join together in small groups, in medium sized groups and in large movements to create the future that we want to see. We can't wait for someone at the top to do it for us.  They don't have the same goals, and to be honest you can't blame them. They don't come from the same place you do.

We can't wait for Washington politicians to solve our problems. We need to start at home and ask ourselves what can WE do to make our homes a better place?  And we need to do it.  Then we need to go beyond our own doors and look at our neighborhoods and ask ourselves, what can  we do to make them a better place, and who can we involve in the process? And we need to DO IT! If we need affordable day care, access to healthier food, better educational opportunities for our children; then we need to form coops,  community gardens and CSA's and we need to go to school board meetings and vote in our local elections for the people who will sit on those school boards. Perhaps we should even run for local office. I understand that we all work hard, but that does not absolve us of our responsibilities as members of society. If we wonder why our society is broken, we need to stop looking to the people in Washington DC and start looking at ourselves. 

The results of the recent election may be disappointing to many, and there may be many who have given up on exercising their right to vote because they just feel hopeless about the outcome and that it wont matter regardless of how they vote. To both of these groups I say, you now have a unique opportunity to show what you can do when you mobilize on a local grass roots level to bring about the vision that you have for the future of your family, your community, and your nation. As Gandhi once said, we need to be the change we want to see in the world. 

Happy New Year Revolutionaries

Happy New Year, and welcome to a new revolution! One year ago today I began One Earth Revolution to see what could be accomplished for our planet in one year along with the help of my family and friends. I will be honest, it has been a slow start. There have been some personal and logistical challenges, but I also have a sense of real progress.  I have seen myself and my family begin to truly live by ethics and principles which we believe will help to sustain our community and our planet well into the future. We have become involved in many groups that are rebuilding the sense of community in our town and are actively working to create a future for our village which is both economically and environmentally sustainable, and not only sustainable but bountiful without being damaging to our ecology. This year has also seen the conversation of sustainability and a post carbon future really making inroads in the mainstream media. While there are still many naysayers and not a few people who staunchly refuse to remove their blinders and see the coming storm, we have begun to see real evidence that people are beginning to awaken  to the real dangers of climate change.  There is so much more to be done!

This weekend Hubby and I have spent two days in contemplation and meditation on our property, on our planet, and on  our personal feelings and goals surrounding both. We spent a day being grateful for the achievements and blessings of the past year and letting go of anything that happened during the past year that we do not want to bring forward with us. We spent today looking forward to the challenges and promises of the coming year. 

This year I finished my permaculture design certification and I'm now saving up for the advanced class. Meanwhile our homestead continues to take shape and we begin to see the real beginnings of the permaculture demonstration sight that we would eventually like to have here. In the coming year we plan to install cold frames, expand the plantings in our fledgling food forest, erect a greenhouse and so much more. Stay tuned for an Indiegogo campaign announcement early in the calendar year. 

And One Earth Revolution? We've got plans for you too. We'll be better than ever with field trips, regular feature pieces on the permaculture ethics and principles, recipe share, farm hacks and so much more. We may even have a podcast in store for you. So stay tuned here and you'll be in the know about everything that's happening on the farm and with The (R)evolution.