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unplug magazine asks you to unplug from your current modes of thought and look at life in a new way, whether this means unplugging from our toxic consumer culture, mainstream society, the tv, or a limiting mindset. author megan prusynski explores life's alternatives and discusses activism, progressive thinking, and moving towards a "green" & sustainable life.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Living Your Ideals

Well, it's 2007. And as usual, I have a whole list of New Year's Resolutions. Who knows how many I'll actually keep, but my resolutions (and my goals, in general) over the past few years have a bit of a pattern: I want to live my ideals. I want to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. It's a constant struggle, especially because I have pretty high aspirations and I tend to dream big. In 2005, my boyfriend and I started eating organic food whenever possible, and have been shopping at the Farmer's Market and the Co-op ever since. This was also about the time he went vegetarian (after I had been veg for over 6 months), another milestone in lining up our lives with our beliefs & ethics. In 2006, our goal was to get a car we could convert to run on waste vegetable oil, a carbon-neutral way to power your car (from a renewable source). We got our diesel volkswagen vanagon and ordered a Greasecar kit, and now collect waste oil, filter it, and run our van on it. It's a work in progress of course (as any VW is).

In the spirit of bringing change in the new year, I've come up with a list of possible New Year's Resolutions that can bring your lifestyle in line with progressive ethics and sustainability. There's lots of things you can do to lessen your negative impact on the earth, and lead to a more positive impact on everything around you.

Get Informed by dedicating more time to reading up on local and world news (preferably from independent media sources) and researching issues you are concerned about. Then, put your knowledge to use by doing something about it!

Simplify your life and reduce the amount of waste you produce. There's many ways to do this, including going through your home & donating unused items to charity, repairing and maintaining the things you already have instead of replacing them, re-using containers, and simply buying less stuff. Another great way to add time to your day is to stop watching TV (I don't miss it, you won't either).

Support Causes you believe in whether it be volunteering for a local animal shelter or donating money to a charity organization. Use your skills to help organizations you support, or even get a job with one!

Change Your Lifestyle one bit at a time until you're living your ideals. Start changing your life and changing the world every day. This could mean dropping things like meat, high fructose corn syrup, or overly-processed foods from your diet. Or it could mean carpooling, walking, or riding your bike to school or work instead of driving a car. You chould start reading labels and buying sweatshop and cruelty free items. Simple changes can have huge effects!

Switch Your Lights to energy-saving bulbs (a la An Inconvenient Truth. Also switch your appliances when they wear out with energy-efficent models (look for the Energy Star logo, or come up with your own standards).

Speak Out and get more involved in issues you care about. Whether it's passing out leaflets, participating in a peace demonstration, or volunteering for a local non-profit, you can help change minds & support your community.

Be Picky when you must buy something. Look for products that use recycled or renewable materials, that are manufactured in green factories (or at least not in sweatshops), or that are Fair Trade Certified or Certified Organic. And whenever possible, but locally grown/made products from the people that produce them: you'll be helping your local economy and supporting small businesses & farms.

There are probably a million more small things you could do to turn your life into a manifestation of your ideals. These are just a few I've done or am working on. Please leave a comment if you have other suggestions to add to this list! :)

Happy New Year!