A Different Climate Change: Friday - Move

It's Friday and you're still here? Thank you!

Kylie and Mattie are the two dogs that wandered up a while back  and eventually convinced my wife and I that we were there theirs. Most of the time, they bring a lot of joy to our home. Occasionally they bring a lot of destruction. They've even trained us to a point where we can choose joy or destruction.

They don't look much like Tasmanian devils...

If we take time to play fetch or take the girls for a walk, we choose joy. If we think we are too busy or too tired, we choose destruction (and sleeplessness).

Find it here

It's true with me too. Over the last few years, I have become an avid bicycle commuter. And life has been better. There is more joy and less self-destructive behavior when I ride often. There's also more stamina, more energy that I can use to stay caught up, to share with others. Movement gives me strength and resilience. Time on the bike gives me time to think and to solve problems rather than stew in them.

Find it here

This paragraph is where I will resist going on about metabolism, endorphins, and free radicals. There is a lot of research out there touting the health benefits of regular exercise. Just know that exercises helps you to be better prepared to face the world's problems.

Find it here

Move more. Turn off the screen for a little while  and get your blood pumping.  Work hard and tire   yourself out. Going to bed tired is so much better than going to bed wired. Let exercise be the first domino to fall in a very healthy chain reaction.

May you be healthy enough and strong enough to help others be strong enough and healthy enough.

[ To be fair, fetch and walks do make days better for humans too.]

Thursday's Topic: Be Quiet

Wednesday's Topic: Share

Tuesday's Topic: Appreciate

Monday's Topic: Smile

Sunday: Intro

A Different Climate Change: Thursday - Be Quiet

If you're just now joining us, this is number 4 in  5-part series. Unlike our normal focus on literal climate change, this series deals with ways to reverse the climate of fear and hopelessness that has been growing in our culture. Today's topic -  three times to be quiet

Be Quiet and Appreciate the World Around You

Mailbox guardian

 

4 o'clocks

Once in a while the yellow pops up.

 

You may see pics on this blog of bugs and flowers and lizards. If I had a longer lens you'd also see a lot more birds. If I had more patience, you'd see pics of the foxes in my neighborhood.) We have sparrows that nest in a cranny in a funny crook of our house. We have starlings nesting in a hole in one of our backyard elm trees. Few things feed my soul more than sitting on either porch with a cup of coffee and marveling at how much nature exists in our little slice of suburbia. No one ever says that Lubbock is a beautiful place, but it's pretty easy to find natural beauty here if you just sit quietly and watch.

Be Quiet and Work on You

The good life!

This one goes by many names: self-reflection, meditation, prayer. A rose by any other name... For me, it's reading, writing, and prayer. It's where I look at what I've been doing, what I need to do, and what I did stupidly and never need to do again. It's also where I refine the MIWB (Man I Want to Be) idea -a future ideal that I can strive for. It keeps me on track.

It helps me to be more empathetic and aware of those around me. Sometimes it helps me to be less of a moron. I have to be deliberate about it - to set aside a time and a place and to set aside other distractions that keep me from focusing. If you have no similar time in your life, try it. You may be surprised at what it does for you.

Hold Your Tongue Until It's Needed

 

This is a tough one, especially if you want to steer away from platitudes. Think before you speak. [SnagIt!] Ask yourself a simple question before you open your mouth: What effect will my words have? Will your words make the situation better, worse, or neutral? Is there a better way to get your message across? Will your words  produce positive change or just make a bad situation more volatile? Sometimes volatility is productive, but there are a lot of voices these days screaming hatred and doom. What are your words contributing to our cultural climate?

May you find some quiet and may we all benefit from that silence.

Tomorrow's Topic: Move

Wednesday's Topic: Share

Tuesday's Topic: Appreciate

Monday's Topic: Smile

Three Days Ago (Sunday): Intro

A Different Climate Change: Wednesday - Share

[Blogger note: please tune in next week if you are looking for bikes and electric cars. Thanks!]

 

This week's series is a little different from our normal Personal Carbon Reduction stuff. In light of living in interesting and often disturbing times, I decided to focus on our society's emotional climate. It's hard to watch the news or listen to co-worker conversations or log into your favorite form of social media without getting depressed. Rather than whimpering in a corner and hoping it'll go away, I thought it'd be more fun to become an everyday warrior and battle it. Today's episode deals with ways to share.

 

This looks interesting

Scenario 1: De-Clutter

Go home and check out all of your stuff. And really look at it. (Many of us no longer see the stuff that surrounds us.) Look with a specific thought - is there something there that you no longer use or appreciate, and do you know someone who would? Could it help someone get to a better place?

Find it here

Scenario 2: Surprise!

What unexpected thing can you do for someone around you? Who around you is down or hurting or struggling? What simple gesture can offer that person hope or relief or thankful surprise? What skill or talent do you have that can bless someone else? What resource do you have access to that they do not?

Here you go, SG!

Scenario 3: Time

I get it - you're busy. We are all busy. We choose busy-ness and then we lament our busy-ness. So, here's a tough question - who around you suffers because of your busy-ness? Whose life could benefit from a small amount of your time?

Here

Scenario 4: Mirrorizing

Let's turn it around a bit. What could someone do for you to help you through dark times? What would strengthen you, lift you up, and help you carry on? Now, who around you could benefit from the same?

Simplistic? Maybe. Ridiculous? Probably. Unrealistic? Definitely.

May you find your own ways to offer hope and resilience to those around you.

Tomorrow's Topic: Be Quiet

Yesterday's Topic: Appreciate

Monday's Topic: Smile

Three Days Ago (Sunday): Intro

Minimalism sidebar: Do smartphones go to heaven when they die? (updated)

[Dedicated to Annie Leonard and Free Range Studios]

Yes, I know. It's sacrilege. I am thinking of giving up my smartphone.

The Phone Call Is Dead

 

My IC chip is going out. I did some looking. I can get a very basic flip phone for $49.99. And I could knock our bill down a bit by dropping data on this line. I could walk away from a lot of distractions, save money, and possibly get closer to finding a little simplicity.

We could also afford some things we've cut back. (I could ride a scooter legally!)

But I'd be giving up a lot.

Blogging and sharing blog posts would be much tougher.
Giving up the talk-to-text feature and the ability to take and share quick photos would be huge.
Instant weather forecasts I would miss.
A big one would be giving up the National Bike Challenge - no ability to use the tracking app.
Constantly having a novel, a bible, a camera, and youtube in my pocket has really spoilt me.

But here's the big question - is it cruel to disconnect yourself from your smart-phoned people?

Is life a little harder for others when they can't reach you so easily, can't group text you, can't share contacts?

It's probably a moot point - I am an info addict, but I keep looking for ways to simplify, to de-clutter, and to live within our means. Is this one of those ways?

May you have better grasp of all this than I do.

BTW, I want a smartphone like this one rather than the one I will end up with. Check it out! (I really suck at minimalism)

 

Fairphone on the Verge

 

[4/8/2016 I got another smartphone with a better camera, snagit!]

A Little Advice About Stuff and Things

[Advice I wish someone had given me over and from the time I left high school (or maybe earlier)]

Stop looking for stuff to buy. Start looking for things to do.

I get it. We are human beings. We have big brains. We have opposable thumbs. When brains and thumbs get together, we start wanting. We want lots of things. And when we get those things we start looking for new things to want. Eventually, lots of us end up buried in things and stuff.

That's me. Absolutely buried. And I spend lots of time worried about what to do with all the stuff. Especially all the broken and neglected stuff. And it just keep breaking too. It's a monster that seldom lets up.

Monday I had a really crappy day. And it refused to get better. I went to bed early because I wanted that crappy day over. I got up Tuesday with a residual crappiness hangover.

I went to coffee and got to see Knippa, Grizz, the Canadian Knievel, and JB. Some of the crappiness melted away. Then I headed to work on the bicycle. After 3 miles I had a moment. I was riding down a long, paved alley - you'd be surprised how peaceful those can be. As I rode along I heard a lot of honking. I looked up and saw a few hundred Canadian geese flying over. I stopped pedaling and coasted. I was in a trashy alley in a Texas panhandle town on a garage-sale bike, and it was magical.

Yep, I know it sounds crazy, but time with good people, appreciated moments, and small accomplishments bring a lot more peace and joy for me these days than things do. And there are fewer monsters involved.

May your wealth be in experiences and may they not be covered in dust.

PS. Watch The Story of Stuff already!

Mesquite Hugger Opposites Day: Lots of Free Stuff or Pursue Minimalism?

Yesterday was a day of much inspiration in the Mesquite Hugger office complex. Besides the Treehugger article about carbon-eating gardens and a really long Endless-Sphere thread about the validity and controversy over the Storm Ebike, my brain was also kharmic-ly b*&^%-slapped by two more articles. These two were about the stuff in our lives.

The first came from Keith. He and I have both been busy lately, so we mostly communicate by sending each other cool articles. He definitely won this round. I don't post them often, but I follow articles about dumpster diving. They always seem to play into the epidemic of food waste. Well, he sent me one about a guy in Austin who dumpster dives behind non-food retailers. It mentioned finding lots of profitable stuff for resale and for building cool stuff like electric mini-choppers and electric skateboards. And it dealt in financial numbers significant enough to put a Mesquite Hugger family member or two through college. (Wowser!) It's a long article, but definitely worth the read - and a little too inspirational for a guy who loves alleys like I do. It came from Wired magazine. (Don't quit your day job!)

The Pro Dumpster Diver Who's Making Thousands Off America's Biggest Retailers | WIRED

 

While reading it, I could just picture the mountains of cool stuff one could garner for virtually no money. My dreams of minimalism slammed into the stony mountain of stuff!

 

Then I ran across an article on Green Living Ideas that offered me a bit of help.

 

Minimalist Mindfulness: The 30 Day Minimalism Challenge

 

This article challenged me to do things like declutter my digital life, participate in a no-complaint day, and clean out my closet. It also encouraged me to downsize my beauty collection, but I wasn't sure if I should give up my soap, my shampoo, my deodorant, or my toothpaste. (My officemate would encourage me to skip that particular step.) Overall, however, if you are considering doing some kind of cleanse, a person could do vastly worse than this 30 day list.

 

So, what's it gonna be? Put on the snorkel and flippers in preparation for diving OR invest some quality time in cleaning out the old brain? Whichever you choose, may it help us all to have a better life.

Stuff - Choosing to live with less

There's a guy who joins us for coffee most days. Hypothetically, we will call him Joe. (It's fun, because his name really is Joe.) He is a self-proclaimed minimalist and strives to make sure that his list of worldly possessions will all fit in a duffel bag. He is young and single. The minimalist lifestyle appears to suit him quite well. The rest of us swilling coffee around the table are anything but minimalists - we all have mountains of stuff that we work hard at maintaining, stuff that often owns us. For example, there's a Dodge pickup in our family that feels more like a part-time job than a transportation tool.

I have to admit that I find the idea of less stuff has a lot of appeal. And I see a lot of media these days that indicates that a lot of you are also interested in having and maintaining less stuff. Tiny house and bicycle-as-primary-transport articles consistently bring in more readers to this blog - especially from keyword searches. And Joe makes some compelling arguments.

Over the last few days I have run across a number of articles that deal with less, and two of them have really had me thinking.

The first is a Mother Earth News article from Kyle Chandler-Isacksen. And it is the more radical of the two for this middle-classer. It challenges the conventional American dream in showing a life choice quite foreign to what most of us consider normal.

Choosing Voluntary Poverty

The second is a Lloyd Alter article from Treehugger. Lloyd is a Canadian architect/writer who writes a lot of articles on tiny houses, green culture, and green tech. And I enjoy his writing because it tends to enlighten me more than sell me a product or trend.

This particular article is a combination overview and slideshow that covers a lot of ground on the value (and problems) that come with less.

Why small is the new green

May you never stop questioning what you know, and may your questions lead you to a better life.

Added bonus link from Lloyd Alter to keep you pondering:

Let's get real about cute little wind turbines

Infographics? (Part 3) & Where to Recycle in Lubbock

Okay, I have teased you long enough. Here is the link to the whole infographic in all its glory!

 

The Truth About Plastic

 

And for those of you who would like to recycle in Lubbock, here are the city-operated locations an hours:

Lubbock Recycling Drop-Off Centers

(click the link for more detailed info)

(ONLY items properly prepared and sorted can be recycled!)

Hours of Operation
Monday-Saturday: 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
* Closed during City of Lubbock Holidays

Drop-Off Locations
Southside: 1631 84th St.
West of Avenue P

Northside: 208 Municipal Dr.
4th Street Exit From I-27, Follow Road Signs
(Across from Meadowbrook Golf Course)

South Milwaukee: 7308 Milwaukee
(73rd & Milwaukee, west of the Water ground storage reservoir)

North Quaker: 4307 Adrian Street
(N. Quaker & Adrian, north of the Water ground storage reservoir)

There are also a few non-city-operation locations in town:
Market Street - 50th and Indiana (South of building)
United Supermarket - 82nd and Frankford (Northeast of building)
Lowe's Marketplace - 26th and Boston (West of building)

 

May you reduce, reuse, recycle, and rejoice!

 

Did I mention that I love infographics? (Part 2)

So, the last post was pretty dang depressing, but what can we do? The same infographic offers up some helpful tips.

 

These ten steps are pretty simple. If you're new to this, pick one and work on it for a week. Step #1 is a  very easy one to start with. And you don't always have to have a bag with you. If it's a small shopping trip (just a few items) just carry the stuff. Sure, most Lubbock retailers will look at you as though you have lost your mind when you say, "I don't need a bag," but it's great fun to see the looks on their faces. Also, purses, pockets, backpacks, and messenger bags are a great way to avoid plastic or paper bags. Plastic 5 gallon buckets work great too, but you will REALLY get the crazy looks then.

Plastic Bucket Tip: Many Lubbock restaurants throw away large quantities of 1-5 gallon plastic buckets. These buckets are extremely handy, and they are free. Just ask the manager if you can have some. Most are happy to hook you up. (And the pickle smell will eventually go away!)

 

Step 8: If you're like me, a cheap b-----d who is addicted to caffeine, step 8 will really appeal to you. Many places in town will offer you a discount if you bring your own cup, especially if you purchased it from them in the first place. Yellowhouse Coffee (Buy LOCAL!!!), Einstein Brothers, and Whichwich are three places in Lubbock that offer this discount. And many other places (Sip-n-Dip Donuts) don't mind at all if you bring your own.

 

 

May your list of things that you are thankful for overwhelm you. (If you take time to read this, consider yourself on my list - Thank you!)

An Infographic for Modern Life

I guess my attention span

keeps getting shorter.

I love info-

grahics

which feature simple

fisher-price style

people.

Get out there

and shop!


Honey, we need a bigger house!

Have a great

day!