CrankyBuddhist   the learning never ends …

I come up with ideas in the line at Whole Foods. I started thinking today in the quick check out line when the woman in front of me was chattering away with the cash register guy for about ten minutes after she’d paid and been bagged.

Today I was thinking about change. Mostly I was thinking about how we are sitting almost on a tipping point of change, where people are really beginning to realize that what they do matters. I don’t think enough people are on board yet, but we’re getting there.

Change is kind of an abstract concept. It’s hard to define, especially when we need everyone to scoot over a few pixels. Change means different things to different folks.

I’ve been on a fantasy daydream tangent lately where I’ve been visualizing my change. I’ve been wanting to buy land in New Mexico for half a century now, but I’ve never been really clear on exactly where or what I would do with it once I had it. It’s part of my process of change – it’s a big thing for me to be thinking about moving away from the coast. Anyway, I’ve been daydreaming about the strawbale house, the painting studio, the green houses, and the off the grid lifestyle that I would be living there – all within the pretext of being minimalist and ultra-modern. That’s my big change. It’s a little creative, combining styles and architectural methods.

My little change that I found for today in the real world were compostable bag liners for the kitchen compost.

So while I was standing in line at Whole Foods, I thought about people’s fears and resistance to change, which sort of revolve around their expectations of what their lives are supposed to be like, based on what everyone else’s live are like. I was trying to think of ways to let people know that we are on the edge, where expectations are not going to be the norm. That we’re all going to have to get a little creative about how we live our day to day lives on the planet.

Anyway. That’s what I was thinking about in those few minutes when the chatterbox wouldn’t shut up and go on her way.

I used to be one of those people. I used to be in that group of folks who will criticize anything because it is absolutely not perfect enough. I’m not so much like that anymore – maybe that comes with age, or a decrease in hormones …

I have another blog, called Small Rock Big Universe, where I post on environmental and green living topics. I’m no expert, but, just like in Buddhism, I’ve been practicing and studying for decades. Which is a lot longer than a lot of people.

Part of my goal for SRBU is not necessarily to tell people what’s best for them, but to suggest things that might make their lives greener. It’s really hard for people who have never been environmentally minded to change their habits and find new ways of doing things. SRBU is also about celebrating new ideas, concepts, and breakthroughs that move us toward be a greener society. They may not necessarily be perfect ideas, concepts, or breakthroughs, but they are moving in that direction.

So far I’ve only attracted comments on how wrong I am. No one gets the idea that we should be celebrating baby steps.

I have started yet another site, this one related to the environment. I just can’t fit in all of my interests and topics under one umbrella so why not start another project.

The site name is SmallRockBigUniverse.com and it will be about our environment, tips to make your life more green in small increments, and when I’m out of topics to write about I’ll talk about whatever NASA is up to lately.

I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but here goes anyway …

One of the hardest things I found to do when I first started turning green, as in environmentally green, some thirty odd years ago, was to give up my brand loyalty. I grew up with Kraft, Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Clorox, Campbell, Heinz and oh so many others, brands that my family used for everything from dish soap to creamy processed cheese.

Over the years, I have slowly eliminated a lot of these products from my life, one product at a time. I think the first to go was Velveeta. That one was easy. Then I started using biodegradable soap. Then I started using biodegradable soap in place of the toxic cleaning products I was used to using. Things got just as clean and I felt better about letting it all go down the drain.

Then I think I stopped using paper towels and paper napkins. I think one of the worst of recent inventions for the environment is the Swiffer. Instead I use rags and sponges for cleaning, I keep neatly folded dish towels in strategic points around the kitchen, and when I cook I keep a dish towel tucked into my pocket, so I don’t have to reach for one.

Going green doesn’t have to happen all at once. Do some google searches and find out what other people are doing. Also google your favorite cleaning supply + the word environment and see what comes up. I bet there are things that you’ll read about that you could do that you didn’t even realize would have a positive effect on the planet.

One step at a time.