Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Sustainablility in my little world

Sustainable. We're hearing a lot about that these days. It means different things to different people. Where you live, what you do for a living and your own personal beliefs will affect your feelings on the subject. These factors will also affect what you may be able to do to effect sustainablility in your own life.
If you had told me a few years ago that I would have chickens in my front yard, I would have laughed hysterically. But, to me, in my quest for sustainable life, chickens are a very real thing. They're also pretty fun to have. Our world is in a constant state of change. Our beliefs are also changing all the time.
Before I had children, I never really thought about it very much. Then we had kids and bought a house. Suddenly, much more was possible. Suddenly, my thoughts turned to having a world that my kids could grow up in. In my case, the change was gradual. I went from a career woman to a nursing mother who made her own baby food.
After my second child, we decided it was better to have me stay home full time. Then we decided to homeschool. In our quest to sustain our family and be financially stable we stumbled on this desire to be sustainable for our world as well. The woman who said she would never have a veggie garden. The nurse who hated dirty fingers, started to change. It all started with a few tomatoes my mother planted when we bought the house from excess seedlings she had started. Every year I did something new. The garden grew, we added fruit trees and bushes. Herbs joined the flowers in the front. Then came the chickens in all their glory.
Am I done? Not even close. I love all the wonder created from a simple suburban yard. I love all the food that I put into my family from a few simple seeds. I love knowing that I don't have to rely so much on the corporate food system as much as I once did. To me, sustainable is adding things a little bit at a time. I could never have done this all at once. It would have been overwhelming and unsustainable for my life. I try not to compare myself to others, except to use them as a goal to strive for. We're all at different stages of our lives and in our thoughts and beliefs. What do you think of sustainability and are there any changes you are making in your life to adopt sustainable practices?

1 comment:

  1. Well said. There is great pleasure and comfort in providing more of our own food. The joy of doing is almost as rewarding as the end product itself.

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