Thursday, December 31, 2009

Personal sustainability

With the end of 2009 almost upon me, I have been scrambling to get together some GREAT resolutions for the new year on how I am going to be a better me. I actually came across some resolutions I set last year and thought I should just copy and paste, scratch out 2009 and add in 2010.
I was to lead a lower impact life, slow things down, cook more, be a better partner, a better friend, ride my bike more... all that good stuff. I realize that these are things in which I want to always live my life by, not just goals for the year. The idea of goals is one that challenges me greatly. I LOVE goals, I love setting goals and writing them down and making charts and all that good stuff. But what goals don't do is get me through the day to day and at the end when I have accomplished my goals, then what? It is not sustainable for me to be only goal oriented, rather I want and idea of where I am going. Like a healthy lifestyle, a low impact living, stronger relationships, and then set intentions to live each day towards that.
Life isn't very fulfilling as a check mark on a list.
So new resolution for the list 2010 - remember to live my life as I plan it to death

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

How we got out of balance

It isn't a big surprise to everyone how much we are a consumption culture especially around the holidays. It just becomes so apparent to how much we spend, even when we try not to, even with our best intentions. Giving thanks, sharing food, gifts, all of these things usually require purchasing. And strangely enough even though I am annoying with my mantra of don't spend, I need people to purchase from the company that I work for so that I can keep my job.
We have gotten ourselves out of balance such that we need our consumptive society to keep our society at all. Much of the debate over the last year with the USA recession and the pumping the system with money to protect jobs and the reductions we have seen are almost circular in their tales of woe. Job cuts mean reduction in spending, reduction in spending means companies need to be tighter with their budgets, more job cuts.
This makes me think about where the sustainability in all of this is. More jobs, a stronger economy means more for more right? We saw that a few years ago and that wasn't sustainable either.
The balance of wealth, stability of jobs and economy and the impact of consumption has not been figured out yet. And this topic is too big to try and break down in one posting, but I do think there is a model out there. Let's keep talking about it.