Slowing Green

When families set out to go green, I think it's important to think about pace.  While it often feels like we don't have the luxury of taking our time, I'm also inclined to argue that transforming our habits will never be achieved overnight.

If we want to make change in our lives and the wider world, we need to allow our new habits and practices to settle in and become not just deliberate, virtuous acts, but the way we go about existing on this Earth.

More importantly, we need to give others in our households and our lives a chance to catch up.

The Greenes have changed so much in the past 16 months that it's easy to think that we can change just as much every year.  But if we did that, well, in another few years we'd be living off the grid in a cabin, waking every morning to forage for berries and check our fishing lines.

That's not the goal.  At least not for us.

So I'm going to stop looking for new things to do and start looking for ways to do things better.  I accidentally tossed a plastic bread bag into the garbage instead of recycling it this morning; when confronted with an invasion of ants, I sent Franklin to Home Depot for traps rather than to Whole Foods for peppermint oil.

This summer has been incredibly fun and relaxing, but as we head into fall - and Fiona's impending arrival - I do feel a need to slow down, evaluate and relax.

We're doing better, and sometimes it feels reflecting on our progress and giving ourselves time to relax into the changes is more important than imagining the next step.