So there was I reading the latest Permaculture Magazine and just sitting and thunkin' about Life, the Universe and Everything, and I thunkded, so I did, about all those fearfully amazing folk out there who live in them Sustainable Communities and do a great job of living lightly on this ould planet of ours and puttin' the rest of us to ballyshame an' all.
And I sez to me Hub (yon Grouch), sez I, I'm thunken of spending the summer living in a commune.
Commune was the wrong word to use as he immediately answered with, Oooh! running around naked all summer and free love and that?
Blinkin'HECK! Why does he always go straight for the sex and skin? Grrr.
I think maybe community living might have been a better description, or living close to the land maybe? Like Tinker's Bubble, or Findhorn, or some other amazing place.
And I stood in my kitchen and surveyed the dish-washer (Hub's must have), the washing machine (my must have), the fridge, kettle, bread machine, toaster, microwave, cassette player, juicer, iron, phone...and I just feel sick inside. Living lightly- my...hat! Recycling, composting, growing some vegetables (mostly rhybarb, garlic and dandelions), being thrifty, mending and making do with my clothes? Whats the good of such small acts in the grand scheme of things?
And this house- one daughter left at home and all the things in it? Books, CDs, videos, TV, clothes, computer, furniture- its all just so full of STUFF. Remember awhile ago I said I was going to reduce the level of unused stuff we have and find homes for things? Well I have been, honest, and still am, but the level doesn't seem to drop much. Added to which, whenever I'm 'down' I splurge in the second hand book shop- oh how they love me!
What is it with us and things? We have a surfeit while others go short and still we think we need more to make our homes just perfect, just one more cushion, candle, pretty plate, mug set, pot plant, yadda yadda.
Gotta break the cycle...perhaps living naked for a summer really would put things in perspective?...hmmmm...nah- not going to that extreme.
So, how about communal living for the summer? Or would I just end up driving everyone as crazy frustrated as I am myself?
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2 comments:
I often have similar thoughts, but I reckon if I was really made for living in a 'commune' I'd have done it long ago. Some of us just aren't cut out for it (or even shaped for it if nakedness were the the order of the day!). But think of all those jobs you're helping to sustain in the manufacturing industries, the electricity supply companies, the shops etc. I reckon if everyone just does the best they can that's a pretty good contribution to world well being.
We do our bit with solar panels for hot water, green heating (air source heat pump) recycling almost obsessively, and making do and mend, but also have lots of cr@p. I do take stuff to charity shops, but there have been times when I buy to replace something that I got rid of, so I feel happy keeping what we do use so it doesnt end in landfill . Our house is small, but we have a huge shed, so I have been able to keep lots of the girls' toys (I was also a childminder for 14 years, so the stuff was used until 3 or 4 years ago) so I'm ready ith baby dolls, barbie dolls, Lego, dolls houses, brio train sets, etc, and zillions of art and craft resources for when (if) I'm a grandma!! That good recycling!!!
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