There’s no sugar-coating it – trying to live sustainably is hard, the main costs being time and energy. Doing the right thing may be the initial motivator, but once you’ve fallen off a good streak, it can be hard to get back on track. Basically, our culture of work and money makes it essentially impossible to perfect the craft.
What motivates and inspires you to keep living more sustainably?
The significance of doing the right thing suddenly seems to vanish when you’re not in the right mindset. You need a deeper reason to live in harmony with nature, one that won’t vanish with your fickle moods. You need it to be a necessary part of your life, your essence, your breath. You really want to feel a deep sense of gratitude for the natural resources you consume, in order to dedicate yourself to living sustainably. You need it to come from a place of love and authenticity.
Gratitude
Gratitude leads to happiness and satisfaction, and is a powerful motivator to continually progress in living more sustainably.
Write about how grateful you are for everything in your life. Make a gratitude list in your journal – thank the sun, water, ocean, wind, food, soil, plants, animals, people, landscapes, forests, etc. Be as specific as possible.
Eventually, as you keep thinking in this way, a deeper respect and appreciation for natural resources will emerge. In fact, you will also find deeper self-respect, which means you can consider letting go of sustainable perfection in favor of wholesome authenticity.
You were not raised to be a zero footprint being. You are not told everyday to reduce, reuse, recycle, upcycle, DIY. You are told the entire opposite, all the time. You are a work in progress, you desire zero impact for the sake of truth and freedom for all, and you are working very hard. You are amazing for simply being you. Forgive yourself for your eco-sins, they will not be the death of this world.
For the seasoned greenie, the average person looks like a consumer junkie. It’s so important to remember that you were once that very person, and that there are no lines, we have all been the same person at some point. Consumer junkies built your home, diagnosed your health, fixed your roads, and served you a delicious meal at the local cafe. Judgment is death to collaboration, as cynicism is death to creativity.
What we need is not more discipline, but more kindness, more forgiveness, more love, and more gratitude. If you’re anything like me, you’re going to fall off the wagon again. Developing sustainable lifestyle habits isn’t an easy overnight affair in this culture. What’s important is progress, not perfection. Competition breeds hate, so let’s choose love instead, and collaborate. Let’s encourage each other, be supportive, and be happy that we have each other.
Photo by timlewisnm
Ooooh I love your line: “Competition breeds hate, so let’s choose love instead, and collaborate. ” Beautiful.
It IS hard, and easy to burn out. I think the only reason I have not burned out yet is because I work part-time. I was thinking about it yesterday, and realized that if I want me and my family to live super-duper green, then I would have to give up my job all together. There just is no other way. There is too much work, especially if you are taking an active role in provisioning your own food or getting it local and preserving it. It is very rewarding work, but very time intensive. But this morning, as I was doing my accounting job – I thought to my self – I would much rather be pitting cherries right now, like I was last night, or I would much rather be outside in the sunshine, in these last few warm days of summer.
Every little bit that someone does counts, and even the little bits are important, as it represents a change in MINDSET which could spread into a change in VOTING patterns or how people think of the world. Maybe they don’t have to grow or can tomatoes, but maybe they would be willing to pay extra for local tomatoes instead. Y’know? Or maybe they will reconsider that extra trip to the mall. I fall off the bandwagon too sometimes, and feel guilty, and then annoyed that I feel guilty, because I am just doing what everyone else is doing…
Good luck with it, you have contributed a lot to greenies everywhere, and have been a great source of inspiration for me personally.
Me too – when I was working I couldn’t stop thinking about being outside or doing something else more sustainable. You’re so right – every little bit helps. I’ve definitely felt annoyed about feeling guilty, and it turns into this vicious cycle of frustration. That’s why I feel it’s so important to just forgive ourselves for our mistakes and move on. Thanks so much for your comment, I’m so happy to hear this blog is helping someone.
Sometimes it’s very frustrating because things, in our world, often seem upside down. And let’s face it, with the economy the way it is and with the barrage of commercialism that we must face, it’s often difficult to be “green”. But we do our best and do what we can. And each one of those little efforts count … they add up to become a huge effort. If we keep asking companies and government to do the right thing, I believe they will eventually hear us.
I love the idea of gratitude! I believe that we tend to protect the things we are grateful for … so developing gratitude for the natural world helps us see the need to take care of it! I write a “positive thoughts” journal … every day I try to find something positive … something to be grateful for … and I write it down. I have several books full now (been doing it for awhile) and on days that don’t seem especially great, I go back through the pages and remind myself of all the things there are in this world to be happy about … and grateful for.
Thanks for the reminder to be patient with everyone. We’re all headed to the same destination … we’re just on different paths to get there.
I think you’re onto something – we need to keep asking companies and government to do the right thing. This should be a community effort, after all. A ‘positive thoughts’ journal is a great idea! I started a gratitude section in my journal, and it’s really helped out a lot. I think I can expand it to include all positive thoughts. In this crazy world we live in, positivity can get lost so easily. I totally agree – I think we’re all headed to the same destination.
Lynn, thank you for this reminder to be patient with everyone, including ourselves. It is amazing how quickly our perspectives change and we begin to think of them as if they had always been that way. Two years ago I was still buying the occasional plastic water bottle. Three years ago I swore by Ziplock bags. Five years ago I was eating CAFO steak. Ten years ago I didn’t really realize that the environmental issues were real and concerned me. It’s hard not to judge people by our ever changing standards, but as Sandra mentioned, judgment happens — but we don’t have to dwell on those thoughts or allow them to negatively impact our relationships.
Something I was mulling over today was how fatally easy it is to make a bad impression. A vegan on Twitter recently referred to vegetarians as ‘lame brain vegetarians,’ and I was surprised how quickly I felt defensive and ready to condemn vegans as judgmental and intolerant. I think a little love could go a long way in introducing people to new ideas and lifestyles!
Hi Jennifer, That’s a really good point – judgment happens, but we don’t have to dwell on it and perpetuate it. It’s too bad there’s still strife between vegans and vegetarians. We really need to work together for the greater goal, rather than nitpick among ourselves over who’s holier. Change isn’t easy, but maybe more people would try it if they received a little more kindness for their efforts. Thanks for sharing your story!
The thing that drives me is guilt, or rather I should say conscience, because it’s the same thing really. Even when I’m having an ‘off’ day and begrudge the extra effort it takes to cook meals from scratch, bake or wash up pots/cans for recycling I still do it because my conscience won’t let me off! This makes for a resentfull experience rather than the happy, thankful one it should be. I’ve tried to be a bit easier on myself lately and realise that I’m not solely responsible for the condition of the earth. There is so much more I could do if I didn’t work full-time but at the moment I should be pleased with the effort I can make because it’s still so much more than the majority of people.
Thank you for helping me see things in perspective.
Teresa
Hi Teresa, I’ve definitely felt that resentfulness! It can feel ‘wrong’ in a way to allow yourself time to rest, but balance is most important. You’re so right, remember to be pleased with your efforts, as you’ve done much more than the average American. Thanks for sharing your story.
Oh, so true! I’m about to spend a weekend with a whole bunch of people who rarely think about their actions in terms of the associated environmental footprint, but instead of drawing a diving line between us, I’m going to seek out what we have in common – even if it’s as small as changing to CFL light bulbs – and take it from there. I’d be ruining my weekend if I spent the whole time judging everyone’s efforts.
That sounds great! I wish you luck in finding common ground. I need to learn how to do this myself.
Lynn,
You have such a wonderful and supportive perspective! This post is timely for me as I made a small less than optimal purchase yesterday. I appreciate your reassurance and the honest way you address being green.
Thanks, Sandra! It’s pretty tough to walk the line between responsibility and forgiveness. Striving for perfection makes it even harder for me to make honest progress, which is probably a dilemma most of us face. So I feel compassion is the best way forward, collectively.
Hi Lynn,
Yes, let’s perpetuate gratitude, kindness, forgiveness, love:)
In my life, if I keep my focus on my overall purpose in life, I don’t get bogged down in the details of living, I just *live* the best quality I may in the moment. When I am focused on life enriching, simplicity and sustainability are natural and effortless. When I feel grateful for the steps I have taken (rather than guilty for the steps I have not), that momentum gently guides me to the next steps. May we celebrate the changes we do implement, and allow that joy to move us forward, together:)
Hi Joy, That sounds really beautiful. I seem to be arriving at that destination – that a life focused on authentic purpose will naturally give rise to simplicity and sustainability. That is where true meaning lies. Thanks so much for your lovely comment. I’m grateful to connect!
Hey Lynn, I liked your post, and your two poems above are both fantastic, thanks for sharing them.
On this topic, there is not not much point being a perfectionist because we work with such bad info anyway.
And if we are ever in a state of mind other than forgiveness and acceptance, we are pushing people way and people will disregard our influence on account it.
Far more can be achieved with sympathy and empathy than info and strategy.
Part of the new green revolution will simply be people developing their own common sense, and taking their decisions back into their own hands.
The fanatical greenies mostly had wrong or skewed info anyway. I mean just look at the nuclear debate. Both sides have the best interest of the environment at heart.
At the end of the day, it’s the intellectual assholes, green or not, who will go down