Intentional Living
We affirm and support the interdependent web of all life.
— Unitarian Universalist Association, Seventh Principle.
Walking our talk. It’s hard. It’s so much easier to zip around the corner to the local chain supermarket and pick up some mangoes for the potluck — so what if the mangoes come from so far away that it takes three trucks, a gazillion gallons of gasoline, and a bazillion pounds of freon to get them here? Not to mention what the truck is doing to the road — and what the road is doing to the tires, which will end up in some landfill… sometimes you just don’t have time to shop responsibly. We recycle… usually… We’d really like to buy a hybrid car, but they are still so expensive — and besides, we’ve got the kids… compromise, compromise, and compromise again.
To repeat Julia Cameron’s idea expressed at the beginning of this Intentional Living section of Northlake’s website, you don’t have to revolutionize your life to change the world! A small change in course — just a few small changes in lifestyle (and maybe one big one, just to feed our souls) — can make a profound difference in the quality of our lives, and the health of the planet, ten years from now.
So we share stories, have compassion for our failures, pass on tips, encourage each other, and never, never give up.
- Stop junk mail.
- Reduce telemarketing calls.
- Use a clean detergent — one that does not contain phosphates which contribute to algae blooms, Liquid detergents are generally phosphate–free. Check that label!
- Bring a coffee mug to work! Encourage others to do the same.
- Carry your own fabric tote to the grocery store instead of taking home “paper or plastic”.
- Print on both sides of the paper. If your work computer doesn’t support this format, ask why. Many do!
- Discourage hard–copy handouts at meetings. Set an example!
- Use discarded printer paper for scratch pads.
- Don’t run the water unless you are rinsing something (brushing teeth, shaving, washing dishes, washing hands).
- Don’t wash your car in your driveway or street — that water, laden with oil and chemicals, bypasses our wastewater treatment plants. Use self–service car–washes instead, where the runoff is collected and treated.
- Use low–flow shower heads.
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