After the Laundry, the Laundry

This spring our dryer knob broke off, forcing me to return to the old-fashioned, solar-powered clothes dryer. Tell you the truth, I am actually enjoying hanging each and every garment, towel and sheet out to dry on the clothesline. And then taking them down, one by one, and folding them before I even bring them inside. Hey, it solved my problem of dressing my family out of a huge pile on the living room floor 3 or 4 days a week. And I find that the mundane begins to take on a meditative quality.

The laundry is what initially inspired my exploration into the relationship between sustainable living and personal well-being. A book aptly titled, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, has been suggested to me -- once by a good friend and once by my yoga nidra teacher. It's about the paradoxical journey of enlightenment; enlightenment not as an end goal, but simply an experience. Try to attach to it, and it quickly eludes you.

I have yet to read the book, but every time I hear the title, I say yeah, and after the laundry, the laundry! At times I feel the everyday beckoning of household chores - clearing the clutter, cooking the meals, weeding the garden, and of course, doing the laundry - is all too much. I hate maintenance. And yet, it simply must be done if we are to live sustainably.

Okay, so I have no answers, folks. But here is what I tell myself:

Some days the laundry is easy, even mind-clearing. Other days it's damned near impossible and it just ain't gonna happen. That's life -- it's made up of ebbs and flows. Just go with it. Try not to worry about the laundry getting done, or the enlightenment coming on. Instead trust that it will, in its own time.

Love,
Jess

Growing in tight spaces

People have lots of excuses for not growing their own food. Mainly, time and space. Time and space, by the way, are illusions. True, they seem real. Then again, that's the definition of an illusion. I invite you to think about it next time you experience deja vu.

I used to think I was too busy earning a living to grow my own food. I left most of the work to Ben while I recuperated from slaving at my day job. Then, I found myself suddenly without a job and a lot of restless energy.

I also found myself with little desire to go back to the way I had been living. I wondered about the possibility of becoming independent of a single source of income. I wondered if I could grow and preserve enough food to at least take a chunk out of the grocery bill. My mind was opening to the possibility of living the life I had been dreaming of.

So I doubled the size of our garden. You've heard of Square Foot Gardening... well, I'd like to introduce you to a little concept called Square Inch Gardening, a method of growing many plants packed closely together. This highly efficient method of gardening works so well because it emulates how plants grow in nature.

We're packing them close this year. With 900 square feet of vegetable garden, we don't have a problem with space for growing food. However, we do have a problem relaxing and finding time to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

I'm almost finished planting and my back is a little sore. I used to be a very tight person, physically and psychologically. Although I am much more open now, I am still learning to let go a little and let nature take its course. Through yoga I have discovered the way to relieve tight spaces is to make more room for them.

Today I will honor my work's purpose -- cultivating life --by relaxing into those tight spaces. After all, the purpose of life is to enjoy it!

Much love,

Jessica

Committ to renewing your energy

I loved Neesha's "Improve Your Outlook" video blog on Yoga Today this morning. Improving our outlook for more than 30 minutes at a time involves a commitment to renewing ourselves. Day in and day out. Sustaining ourselves means moving our bodies and cleansing our minds as we fill ourselves up with thankfulness. How will you fill up today?

water under the bridge :: water through the drip system

With all the anxiety I've been feeling, I thought I'd post a way that seems to work for dealing with some of it.

Albert Ellis wrote about a concept called Unconditional Self Acceptance (USA). He describes the difference between self-esteem and USA, and why unconditional self-acceptance is needed for sustainable mental health.

Self esteem is based on accepting -or liking- ourselves for our successes and good deeds; and not accepting ourselves for our shortcomings.

Unconditional Self Acceptance is the idea that we love, or accept ourselves no matter our actions and outcomes. We still judge our actions to be either good, bad, or somewhere in between, but completely holding off judgment of ourselves as human beings. So, you always love and accept yourself. No matter what.

I just spent two weekends trying to install a watering system for a garden we tripled the size of this year and I screwed up - over and over - costing money and time, both of which are in too short of supply. And every time I screwed up, I would swear like a soldier; a vocabulary of vileness that I would kick a student out of school for. All aimed at myself! Calling myself a slew of terrible names that would make a child cry.

And then each time, I would catch myself, and would look at the mistake again and see what I could learn from the situation. Getting mad at myself sure doesn't help; but learning what to do differently with a clear mind sure can.

I could have saved myself $30-$40 bucks and a full afternoon of work had I started the project with a better plan. And next weekend, I will have to spend the Saturday and another $30-$40 to finish it.

I really, really want to be pissed off at myself. but it just wouldn't do any good. Not a bit. So... whatever, live and learn, C'est la vie. Change your mind.

Sometimes, in order to have a sustainable mind - you have to tell it to shut-up and get back to work, because you can sit there and swear at yourself all night - but you've got people waiting for you to love them back... including yourself.

Ben

Optimism, pass it on!

Have you ever seen those billboards that say things like "Optimism, pass it on!" on southbound I-84 driving into Utah? Kind of refreshing, for a billboard.

I took a road trip to SLC last weekend with my sister and my daughter to see my mom for Mother's Day, and besides the long, boring-ass drive to get there... I saw those signs that I love and got to thinking, what if advertising were about spreading messages of hope and love?

I know, I know, advertising is about selling products. But, what if?

Yesterday I heard some encouraging news on NPR. The "Big Four" television networks are struggling to sell their ad spots. Seems the media moguls are unprepared to change in a time when media is changing faster than you can say 'Seinfeld.' Ads are cheaper elsewhere. And there are plenty of elsewheres willing to accommodate. Who knew?

I also heard on NPR that Public Service Announcements (PSA's) are up by about 20 percent across the nation.

What would you rather hear? Another lame Venus razor blade commercial, or a call to fellow humans to serve some higher purpose?

The in's and out's of teaching and parenting.

Momma's Day... sustainability... Giving thanks is assuredly necessary to maintain sustainable relations with all those we owe thanks to, and mothers are assuredly those that we owe thanks to.

I have been working all weekend on finishing up the school year. And as Jess and the girl are visiting the grand momma, I've been missing my parenting duties. A few thoughts on teaching and parenting...

I feel that sustainable parenting and sustainable teaching have everything to do with monitoring the inputs and the outputs of our mind-systems. Burnout is as real for a parent as it is for teaching; the difference is that 1 in 3 teachers quits within 5 years. Divorce has a similar rate, but you can't exactly divorce your kids. Inputs and outputs for a parent or teacher are about how much we get for how much we receive. The teacher complains about the pay and long hours; the parent, about the long hours and costs.

Those are not the only ins and outs of the system though, are they? To maintain balance of ins and outs, we need to monitor our minds; need to observe the observer. Working too hard for how much is coming in to replace it - that is close to a definition of unsustainable.

First, get better about the outs; more efficient. As a first year teacher, efficiency is what I work on the most. As a parent, I am still trying to figure out, what is efficient parenting?

Second, put good quantities of good quality in; yoga and meditation are miraculous methods for recharging the system.

SO, I am going to go do some yoga nidra while I wait for Jess to come home. Then, I have to get back to work for the next few weeks of school.

Thanks for reading - log in and leave a comment about how you monitor the ins and outs of your system

Ben

"Fake Plastic Trees"

By Radiohead

Her green plastic watering can
For her fake Chinese rubber plant
In the fake plastic earth
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plans
To get rid of itself

It wears her out, it wears her out
It wears her out, it wears her out

She lives with a broken man
A cracked polystyrene man
Who just crumbles and burns
He used to do surgery
For girls in the eighties
But gravity always wins

It wears him out, it wears him out
It wears him out, it wears him out

She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love
But I can't help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run

It wears me out, it wears me out
It wears me out, it wears me out

If I could be who you wanted
If I could be who you wanted all the time

All the time...
All the time...

Check out the video.

Chemical Romance

Just finished weeding and working some backyard compost into my flowering herbs and perennials. I'm thinking about covering the beds with newspaper or cardboard and mulch from tree-chipping. I've done this in the vegetable garden for walking paths between beds, and I'm a believer. Bind weed, bring it on!

Creating permanent beds and permanent paths in your garden is great for keeping weeds out and moisture in. It's a lot of work and I have spent hours prepping the garden in this way. But it's worth it.

I'll admit, I'm not above temptation to put chemical fertilizer and weed killer on the lawn and flowerbeds. Chemicals may be a quick fix, but they do far more harm than good.

Today, stop to think about all the ways you use chemicals, including household cleansers, food additives and pharmaceuticals. See if you are willing to try a natural approach to your problem. Your hard work will be worth it. You may even enjoy the process of doing it yourself.

Jessica

What is a Sustainable Mind?

May 4, 2009

Sus·tain'a·bil'i·ty n. -- The ability to maintain balance of a certain process or state in any system.

In an ecological context, sustainability is defined as the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future.

So, what is a sustainable mind? In our view, a sustainable mind is healthy and balanced throughout life's changes and challenges. You see, the mind is a system - and a system works best when it is sustainable.

The path to a sustainable mind is a path of mindfulness and prudence. We mind what what we put into the system and how we use it.

Picture a wetlands with birds, frogs, insects and fish living in harmony. A place where the water is pure and clean. And life is diverse and interdependent, at once. Just as a wetlands is paradoxically fragile and resilient, so is the mind.

As the introduction of industrial chemicals can pollute a wetlands for years, so the commodification of nearly every aspect of modern life, and industrial commercial sameness, deaden our minds to the possibilities life holds in its infinite variability.

Welcome to our fearless exploration into the sustainable mindset. We invite you to join us for conversation. So, please share your thoughts with us.

Peace,
Ben & Jessica