I just finished a book (recommended by Michelle) called “No Impact Man” by Colin Beavan. He tries to have no negative impact on the planet for a year. He carries mason jars around when he goes out for coffee or to the grocery store to fill with bulk food. He only buys food that is grown within a 250 mile radius of his home. He walks or bikes everywhere. He goes up and down 9 flights of stairs to walk his dog. He hangs a solar panel outside his apartment for his laptop but mostly uses beeswax candles for light. He gives away his TV. You get the idea. He is pretty honest in the book about his successes and failures. At the end of the book, he suggests that we ‘live deliberately’. We shouldn’t do things because others are doing them. We should do them because we’ve made a conscious choice.
I’m connecting this to reading I’ve been doing lately on the Franciscan way. St. Francis of Assisi emphasized service, poverty and humility as spiritual practices. Service and poverty (or at least simplicity) were a big part of No-Impact-Man’s experience. Humility – not so much :v). Putting this all together – making conscious choices about service, poverty and humility – seems like a really important topic that I need to prayerfully consider.
Oddly spiritual 