Being Green isn’t easy.

Just ask a Blanchard’s Cricket frog and I’ll bet if he could talk, he’d tell you that whether it’s a habitat for frogs or for us humans, trying to be green and then staying green isn’t easy.

New Homes - Can a new homeowner even plan to “go green” and keep a yard healthy when they landscape it or is it too much?  Sadly a house is more than just the TV, some furniture and a place to plugin your cell phone.  In my opinion you may as well have a condo if you really don’t want the yard.

Existing Homes – Rehabilitate the yard, no concentrated fertilizers or pesticides and use locally produced organic compost or more natural chemicals. The argument that they both achieve the same results with similar chemical means is understood but that’s why you read the label. Also being prepared that sometimes seeing smaller yields from our gardens with a few bugs is totally acceptable.

Mulching - We are mulching more, a properly prepared yard prevents run off into the city sewers and can stop erosion around a house. Best of all no one needs grass to do that. So year by year, we are landscaping to reduce lawn grass in favour of perennial plants, bushes, trees and the mulch. [There's a great link about  mulching at Trees Are Good that I refer to often]

Drought - We are experimenting with drip irrigation and hope to install a rainwater collector to use for the some of our plants rather than using city water and of course this assumes we have rain this year. Sometimes the grass goes brown simply because it needs to be dormant. We use our small garden to supplement fresh vegetables and use containers for other plants that need more care.

Trees - It’s always a hard call but maybe for us trees are more about aesthetics and sound than to cool and again stop erosion. Our house is very close to the street so a tree in our front yard is necessary. Unfortunately the tree that came with the house is a river birch which means water, water, water. The year before was particularly tough for it so we ended up having to top it due to die back. I’d take it out completely but it still has use and a new tree costs money.

Being Green outdoors can be easy if you think it through for your needs although I’m afraid we may be too late for the tiny Blanchard’s Cricket frog here in Canada.

I get the feeling around this time of year that people search for something tangible to enjoy or maybe they hunt. Food is always a fav so is companionship as is a good deal.
I’m always looking for a good way to take the edge off a desirable food item. Drink water (boooring) or (my favourite) substitue. Yeah baked potato chips for real Miss Vickies - not – a – chance! How about this one: eat less of what you want. That works for me for the most part.

So tell me, how do you avoid buying that big screen LCD TV because it will make you happy? Buy a smaller one? Buy a whole bunch of good books instead? Invite yourself over to your neighbour’s house offer to bring your blu-rays and the popcorn (he’s got a huge screen projection job its like an IMAX in his basement).

My point is (and there is one I think) is that we are never quite happy, we always seem to want something. Which is too bad, conspicuous consumption is more about keeping our sense of fullness and completeness, not about satiation and satisfaction. Being mindful of so much in this world: food, breathing, loving, appreciating, caring, thankfulness, everything….

If we had less food or even just simpler food, if we read books and invited people over for card games and laughter, would that help us see that all the consumer goods in the world really don’t matter. As I sit here in the relative comfort of my recliner, the hypocrisy of my words spill forth from my Dell laptop, while I sip coffee with a great, fantastic, “I-made-this” ginger snap.

I get it and I don’t. I’ve fallen victim to this as well. Get out the hard hats people, this recession is going to be a tough one! Happy 2009!

Okay let’s try this.

I find somewhere where I can sit quietly. Then I let my mind wander a bit to the noises around me until finally I calm my inner voice. I eliminate thinking about comfort or re-living a recent moment or thinking of a future action. Each time I bring myself back to the present. I can do this but it really is quite challenging at times.  Finally I calm my thoughts and just sort of drift in and out with my breath. Then I start to relax and take deep breaths.  Okay, then I try not to fall asleep. Okay, I take a nap.

I think naps help too.

The point of mindfulness.

When I first heard the word “mindfulness” it sounded like the opposite of “mindlessness” but that’s not it at all. No matter what the label, I feel connected with everything around me and on a different level from only having thought. It’s like joining the human race on a conscious level rather than just existing. Single cell animals exist; humans know their immortality.

Mediation has been around for so long I suspect we have always had it in our lives in some form or another. Although it sounds simply like having a heightened sense of awareness it is very hard to maintain on a continuous basis unless you are very well disciplined. Mediation though also brings a certain amount of contentment when done well.

People are often encouraged to try it when they need to relax from stress or to try to make it part of their lives along with a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. Like everything in our lives it takes practice and persistence and the willingness to try.

I recently took a class on Change Management and one of the many books mentioned in the class to read was called The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block. I read this and it started me thinking back along the lines of quiet reflective meditation:

• Know yourself.
• Think about what your buttons are that sets you off.
• Learn to recognize it when your values are being challenged.

It’s not really what the book is all about but it helped me focus more on what I truly wanted to do to facilitate change. It really is all in your mind. Unfortunately unless you come to this realization sooner rather than later, you will undoubtedly spend a lot of time reading about what you should do.

The other thing I learned and this is from several sources, was to find a passion. Something that really and truly makes you want to do it. Don’t just obsess of it, instead find a meaning and a focus for that passion. Use the energy in research to guide you.

Meditation guides your mind and a personal reflection on who we are and what we stand for. Mindfulness keeps you focused by keeping your interest in the journey itself.

Enjoy