This is the next in a series about my attempts to find and live a Rule of Life. You can read the first post about my search here. I’ve also written about simplicity, faithfulness and generosity.
I long to live a just, faithful, generous, simple life in community.
When I say I long to live a just life, I feel that justice in two particular areas: ecological justice and social justice. When I say ecological justice, I mean that I want to be a good steward of the gifts of nature. I want to live in a reciprocal way with the land - where I give back instead of just taking. I want to make good use of the resources available to me, while leaving resources for others around me.
Part of what prompted our move to a smaller house on more land was a desire for a more ecologically just life. Our move will allow us to use fewer resources. Our current home is a ranch with one HVAC unit to serve the entire house. The thermostat is on the opposite end of the house from our bedroom, so I’ve been keenly aware that as empty nesters we heat and cool an entire house while only actively using a part of it. (I closed vents in unused rooms, but there was still waste.) Our new home is smaller, so there will be all around less waste. We will regularly use nearly every room, so I’ll feel better about the energy needed to heat and cool those spaces.
One shorthand I used to describe what we were looking for in a new home was “less lawn, more trees.” Our current home is about two acres and it’s nearly all lawn. Our new home has more acreage, but less lawn to mow. The way I see it, that’s good for the world and for us. Trees, shrubs and flowers can run amok and create both beauty and oxygen. I wanted a home that would have space for that.
The beautiful book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer contrasts the colonialist view of nature as a resource to be used/depleted with the Native American view of nature as one of reciprocity. I have spent too much of my life using the world’s resources without giving back, so I’m excited to learn to tend the garden at our new house. I plan to let the woods on our property run wild. I want to learn about composting and use the compost barrels on our land. In short, I want to give back more than I take. These will be new practices for me, so I’ll combine them with other small ways of reciprocity like limiting my use of plastics, choosing reusable over single use items and limiting my trips by car.
It’s a gift and blessing to be able to trade two acres of suburban land for four acres of agricultural/rural land. I long to be a good steward of the land by using some of it to produce food and beauty. I want to pay attention to the trees and plants to learn what they like, what they need, how to best care for them. I want our home and our land to be a place of peace and welcome for those to visit - a place of sanctuary for people, plants and creatures.
I am imperfect at living an ecologically just life. I take little steps like recycling and using reusable k-cups, but take a cross country flight to Seattle to visit my daughter. We are downsizing our home, but most of the vehicles we own are gas fueled, not hybrid or electrical.
I have a print in my bedroom with a Hemingway quote that says, “And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” It is challenging in our world to know and choose ecological justice. May I continue to learn the best ways to care for creation and may I implement what I learn.
What are the big and small ways you live an ecologically just life? Is this even a type of life you aspire to? How do you view your role as protector and consumer of the natural world?
Book Corner:
What I’ve Been Reading Lately
via Audiobook:
To Free the Captives by Tracy K. Smith
I’m enjoying this book’s Alabama references and the contrast between the experiences of the free and the freed.
via eBook:
Magical Midlife Meeting by KF Breene
This series continues to be a lot of fun. I like the enemies to friends plot line and the twisty turns alongside the romance.
via Library Loan:
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
This happens to be the second time travel book I’ve read recently. I’m not sure it can live up to The Husbands, but it’s an easy read and that’s about all my mind can handle at the moment.
May you notice the beauty our world offers us and may you have the grace and strength to honor those offerings.
Peace & Grace,
Shannon