Slowly (steadily) turning green
October 1st, 2007I cannot remember when it started. Maybe the turning point was shortly after I started on my first job eleven years ago, when I explicitly told my wife that although I had one of the most prestigious degrees in France, I would not go for the associated prestigious careers. Instead of using my position to get the highest paychecks, I’d be using it to get the best quality of life possible.
For the next five years, this did not prevent us from leading the factory-standard life of five days work a week from 8AM to 7PM, week-end excursions with the car to get some fresh air, buying an apartment, furnishing it with IKEA junk, etc.
Still, we managed not to buy a new car. Maybe that was a sign.
Then six years ago, we decided we’d buy a house. We did not want to end up with a lifelong mortgage (because I did not want to pursue afore-mentioned career), so we had to buy cheap. Cheap meant far and crumbling down.
Then we decided we’d renovate the house ourselves, because it was much more fun learning new skills and doing outdoors work three days a week rather than working overtime to pay craftspeople we’d be shouting at over the phone.
Then we decided we’d renovate the house using only traditional and eco-friendly materials, mainly because the resell value would be higher, also because they were easier to handle and recycle, and a little because we did not have to worry about health hazards.
Then we decided we’d grow stuff because it was new, interesting, easy and delicious. We’d grow stuff the organic way because we did not want to handle poisons –I know I am careless about washing things– and because we did not have that much time to do the spraying anyway.
Meanwhile, I left a job because of peak-oil concerns.
Meanwhile, my wife started a local services business (computer help, training, installation, maintenance) which drives deep roots in the local community.
Then I decided I’d rather ride my bicycle to the train station in the morning instead of driving the van.
This spring, we bought a wood.
Now I am wondering whether I’ll be asking my new boss two days of teleworking a week or if I’ll negociate downshifting to a 75% part-time (or both).
Now I am making up for lost time reading everything I can find on sustainable living, permaculture, organic farming, local food systems, local initiatives, local networks.
Now that we have almost lost sight of the monotonously straight young-urban-professional road we are leaving, this slow green turn gets more and more fascinating as we discover a brand new world with every new step we take. The world looks different. Life looks different. There’s no telling where we’ll be going next.
Stay tuned, because here is where I’ll be telling it.
What a fascinating road you have taken and I am going to enjoy watching as you make new turns. There ARE different ways of doing things - and I so admire you for bravely forging ahead.
Moving to Germany has changed my life too, albeit in a smaller way. Had I stayed in South Africa, I would have stayed in a full-time work in order to massage an enormous mortgage, and left my children to be raised by someone else. Here, there is no-one else, and I am learning that it’s possible to raise my kids AND work, and do each well (the housework suffers a little, though).
Yours was a bold choice of life too. Letting go of the housework is part of the cultural change, I think. This is why we have dark-red weathered terracotta tiles in the main kitchen/living room and dark brown weathered oak furniture. It pushes the need-to-clean threshold a lot further, leaving time for more important things (like watching kids grow up). Maybe we could call this strategy ‘organic household maintenance’.
I love the idea of simplifying and “greening” your life as you have. I certainly care much more about quality of life than I do about money (or I wouldn’t be a teacher!). I don’t get the point of being wealthy and not having time to enjoy it.
True. It reminds me of another thing I have decided long ago: I have no guarantees that I will ever live to retirement age, nor that there will be any pensions left when I retire. Therefore, I choose to enjoy my free time right now, instead of postponing to when it’s too late.
Although we talk a good game about wanting to be green, you are much farther along the path than we probably ever will be, but such an inspiration, who knows? At least I’m living in farm country now.
Welcome to farm country!
In addition to living more lightly on the earth, you are probably discovering that a more green lifestyle is a much less stressful one. I have been steadily working my life towards more and more “green-ness” as well.
Now, if I can just let go of the deep anger that arises within me as I observe the people around me who are progressing lemminglike in a destructive path towards becoming less and less green: building 5000 square foot houses for two people, driving Hummers and Suburbans, eating fast food. If only they were only killing themselves, I wouldn’t care, but they are selfishly dragging the rest of humanity right along with them. It makes my blood boil.
The low-stress part reaches beyond the going green process: once you decide life is about living and not about money, everything is so much simpler.
I feel more pity than anger at the ‘bad guys’, but I try to stay indulgent: to a Somali farmer, I am still the equivalent of a hummer driver.
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