Connecting the Dots for 2020

For so many people, January 1st is a time to set goals and think about the New Year.  The first few weeks are full of starting new habits and vows to change, but before the end of the month, most are back to old habits and behaviors.  What causes us to want to change in the first place, especially if we have had past experiences of not being able to obtain these goals?  Why do we give up so easily?

I believe that everything is connected, that life is interwoven with all seen and unseen matter.  There is something deep inside humanity that needs to grow. Just as a seed must sprout, so must we.  One issue of accomplishing goals is that often, they are so big that we don’t know how to break them into small accomplishments.  When we do make them manageable, we don’t see the results as fast as we want. 

Today, global warming, zero waste, social justice, eco trends, alternative energy and others fall in to the larger concept of sustainability.  It’s easy to get all riled up and declare new behaviors at a rally or after watching an inspiring movie, yet after a few weeks of carrying those mason jars to the food co-op, many people become discouraged and whine that the problem is just too big to do alone.  

Therein lies the problem. When we think we are alone, singular actions rarely make a difference to our mind. Yet, when we feel a part of something greater – something bigger than just me – courage and power rises within us.  Today, more than ever through social media, we all have the opportunity to be connected with some group.  Even then, we can easily get distracted and forgot what our original goals were.

For me, the best way to create change is to feel connected.  I need the big picture and the small steps to get to that point.  I need to feel the energy that flows as the dots are connected.  This is what has kept me honoring the planet and humanity.  Knowing that I am greater than myself, and believing that my small actions make a difference because I recognize the oneness of everything, encourages me to move forward through the hard times. It also allows me to start all over again when the current plan doesn’t work.

Finally, we are starting to see how action, as well as inaction concerning environmental issues, not only affect the planet, but also humans living on the planet.  I grew up on a farm, so I learned at an early age that crops needed to be rotated in order to improve the soil.  I also learned that many plants and animals were symbiotic and needed each other to thrive.  That meant we had food to eat, so I understood the connection of my actions on Earth. 

One of the reasons I promote “Green Building” is because building science looks at the building as a whole system. It takes into consideration everything from the site to the people living in the home.  The guiding question is “how does everything work together to create the best home ever?”

We have spent the past century breaking everything into parts in order to understand how it all works. Vast improvements have been made in industry, medicine, transportation, social welfare and food production. America had high goals and effectively created steps and processes that allowed us to rapidly obtain those goals – our school system was divided into time frames much like assembly line workers; doctors focused on singular cures and specialties; individual cars created convenient mobility; vast amounts of food were created in mono systems.  All of this elevated the overall quality of life for most Americans.  Somewhere in all of the objectives and mini-goals, we forgot the big picture.  We forgot that most things work in tandem and everything is connected to something larger. 

Quantum physics and string theory are changing the way humanity sees itself.  Science is now stating the words of ancient mystics and agreeing that, indeed, everything is connected and our awareness of our universe and ourselves depends on those connections.  It means that what I do and what you do really does matter!  It also means that “a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing!”  It means when individual actions are recognized and intended to create change, then they will.   This is why we start with those lofty New Year goals and break them down into smaller objectives that we can accomplish.

2020 is a new decade and an excellent time to create personal goals and objects. The key to keeping those goals and actually creating change for yourself is to believe that little steps matter, and as long as you don’t give up, change will occur.  It is also important to recognize that when you make a better version of yourself, you are in fact creating a better version of the world you live in.

Let’s create a world that works for all!

Happy New Year!

Read More

Living the Green Life

I am at a season in my life where I am enjoying the fruits of my labor.  I have taught others about green building and green living so long that I am called the “Grandmother of Green”.  At first, I was taken aback by the idea that anyone thought me old enough to be a grandmother.  Then I remembered how much I had learned from my Mamaws.  So, it is with respect and honor to my roots that I have embraced my Mamaw Love.

The concept of “green living” has been around for several decades.  Over the years, it has meant different things and called a variety of names.  Today, the popular catch phrases are organic, local, zero waste and sustainability.  In the past, it was vegetarian, hippie, environmental and tree hugger.  Whatever term is popular right now, it all comes back to the core concept that humanity and all of nature do better when we are in harmony with one another.

I realized my direct connection with the earth as I grew up on a farm.  Today, my family would have been referred to as sustainable farmers. Back then, we were just poor dirt farmers who didn’t have enough money to buy those fancy fertilizers and pesticides. My extended family, especially my Mamaws, showed me that nature was abundant as long as we understood and worked with her natural cycles.  We planted with the moon, saved seeds and used our farm animals’ manure to enrich pastures and gardens. We canned, froze, dried, smoked and stored our seasonal harvest.

For me, nature, the woods, creeks, trees and rolling meadows were my playground as well as a safe place to escape.  When I climbed to the top of a tree and silently swayed with the wind, I became one with something so much greater than I could express. When I crawled inside a dark small cave, I could feel the heartbeat of the earth. Those moments were when I knew my true self and understood the connection of everything.

As I grew, I learned more about what we considered progress, and the good for humanity often have unforeseen consequences.  I loved science and the cause and effect of everything.  I felt a deep sense of responsibility to honor the earth.  On one of my hikes in the woods, I came across an old paved road. Pieces of black top were staggered between dirt, grass and weeds.  It occurred to me that the earth didn’t need saving, it would be fine if we left it to do its natural thing.  Mother Nature just wants us to pay attention to how we interact with the planet and with each other.

Society’s denial of how everything is related often frustrated me, and I was delighted when Environmental Science became a field of study.  Finally, there seemed to be a logical connection.  However, I was frustrated as we broke into specialty areas without showing how they interrelated.  For years, the main jobs you could find were chunked into waste management, nuclear, and air pollution.

When building science became a field, I was hooked.  I loved the idea of seeing a house as a whole system – the work every step of the building process. It thrilled me to know we could now create buildings that utilized nature’s building process.  Plus, there were all kinds of cool tools that gathered data to prove how these processes all work together.  Building science had the formula to create a sustainable world!

For me, the concept of “Green Living” just comes naturally. It is so much more than conservation or alternative energy. It is more than how to build a house or live on the land or reducing plastic. It is also about social justice and honoring the process of where we are as individuals, communities and as humanity.  “Green living” is also about looking to nature to find strength and connection. We as human beings are part of nature. Individually and collectively, we can create amazing, wonderful, positive change for the earth and for each other.  Our journey through life always gives us opportunities to see how we are all One. Nature, the woods, sunshine, flowers, food, animals and humans all give us a chance to see how we affect each other. “Green living” is our opportunity to thrive as we all learn how we interconnect.

Read More