Here we go. It’s 9:30pm on New Year’s Eve. My kids were determined to stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop, until one by one they began dropping like flies and asking to go to bed. They were exhausted from the day. I have to admit that I was surprised by their eagerness to sleep. They had been talking about ‘staying up’ for the past couple of days. But Mother Nature took over and they could not keep their eyes open. My husband and I even tried to watch a movie together but being the early to bed early to rise person that I am, I decided to head up to bed and get in some last minute typing before the end of the year. So, here I sit contemplating my commitment that I made in my previous blog. If you don’t recall or you have not had the chance to read it; I made a New Year resolution to give up 26 things or habits in my life throughout the coming year. The idea is that I would take two weeks to test out either ‘giving up’ or ‘changing an old habit’ such as cell phone use, alcohol, coffee, etc. Then I would integrate this new lifestyle change into my life for the rest of the year. Deciding to change something or give something up every two weeks for a year ends up being a total of 26 changes. My inspiration came from the idea of living the life of a Mom of Light. I had done some major inner reworking of my emotional life throughout the year of 2009. Now I feel the push to continue to express these inner changes on the outside into the physical. Since, life on my insides has gone through a major upgrade this past year it only makes sense that I continue to have my outer world reflect what I am feeling on the inside.
Here I sit ready to announce to you my first 2 week resolution…Drum roll… For the first two weeks of the year 2010 I will be completely transforming the way my family shops for household products and food. We will consciously answer the following questions before we buy an item. Do we know where this product is coming from and does it match up with our beliefs? Meaning, does that new rug that I want so badly at Target come from a place that honors human existence? Is it made of elements that are non toxic and earth friendly? Are the people that make the rugs treated fair and just? For short, what is the ‘story’ behind that rug that I want so badly? In order for it to enter into my home I need to consciously know that it has been made honoring the people that made it and our environment. Not only people, but animals too. Are the animals treated humanely? Are they given the best life possible before they give their life to be food on my plate? I will ask these questions before purchasing all food and household items. I feel ready for this new challenge. Like an athlete, I have been training this past year learning about many of the concepts that I previously speak about but have never put it all together to perform in the big leagues. I have dabbled in the ideas of non toxic, earth friendly, fair trade, organic, and free range but have never made a commitment to live my life completely on the other side. But the more I speak of how we are all connected and that my web of life is intertwined with yours the more I realize that everything we have, do, and consume effects us on many different levels. It is the ‘circle of life’, so to speak. What the pig eats, I eat. The energy that is used to raise that chicken is the same energy that I am a part of. The elements that make up that rug that I want will enter our home and be in our environment touching our lives (on many levels) forever. If I want to live a life free of fear, sickness, anger, and darkness then the items that fill our lives must come from a place of the higher energies of conscious living such as love, peace, honor, and light. I am that which surrounds me and that which surrounds me is me. For these next two weeks I will fully embrace the desire to become a conscious consumer. In the end aren’t we all supposed to “Treat others the way you would want to be treated?” So, this is my initial attempt to follow the path of a Mom of Light. Let’s see how I do.
And Happy New Year (2 hours early)!
1 comment:
This is a great idea, I admire you doing this. I read a book called Animal Vegetable Miracle a few years ago, about the author, Barbara Kingslover and her family's committment to eating only locally grown and produced, in season, meats and produce. She gives a wonderful testimony to the necessity of this way of life and the impact that we can all have in making similar choices, for example, on the energy crisis alone should we each decide to eat this way even one day a week. This is just one aspect I know in what you are doing--just a thought. You should look into local cohorts in your area, your family can actually buy a share in a farm and you and the kids can actually harvet the things as they come in season. I know families who have gone in together and bought cows from a local farmer and split the meat, as one cow would be alot for one family. Brian and I have thought about doing this, we should actually do it here , I know that they have farming cohorts here, too. AWESOME, good luck!!!
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