Natural Living Tips

After a while certian phrases are repeated so often that they tend to lose their original intent.  Natural living could be one of these as the phrase begins to be used in political arguments or in existencial conversations.

In the first case it reflects a stand, an ideological stand, where many times anything and everything that doesn’t fit into the speaker’s view is categorized as unnatural.  Everything, and many times illogically, that is used as an argument from this point of view, will be presented as Natural Living.

In the second case, revolving around our existence, it is adds a touch of glamour to our conversations.  When taken to extremes the fine line between conviction and fanatiscm gets lost.

The risk in both cases is that it devalues the concept and limits any type of real dialogue - the type that allows the participants to learn and grow.

As I say in the title, “Natural Living is Healthy Living” is a statement that this morning made sense to me. It implies balancing our actions, our emotions, our food and the environment. The important word being “balance”.

We cannot stop progress nor should we want to. But we can administer and manage our resources so that quality of life includes health and nature.

In our typical Western view of life we tend to equate “health” with not feeling bad, while in fact it should be more than that. It should include all aspects of being human, the psychological, the spiritual, the physical, our relationships, our mission and everything that makes up our life and balanced in such a way that “health” is feeling good so we can pursue our own personal mission.

Natural living means living in concert with others, even if we cannot see them and do not know them.  If we waste resources, somewhere, sometime, somebody  will have to go without. And it could easily be you or me, or him or her.

Little by little the “them” and “us” mentality is changing.

Them can easily be us as well, so do onto others as you would have them do unto you.

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If you ask a hundred people what natural living is you will probably get a hundred variations on what it is. My point here is simpler and not necessarily living next to nature or just eating fresh food or even applying eco-friendly energy savings. It can be all of these but for this post the point is:
- Natural versus normal.

Natural come from nature and normal comes from norm. Many things can be both normal and natural but not everything that becomes normal practice is natural.

So natural living would be relating to life style and quality of life (versus quantity of life), from the point of vies of that which allows you to reach the end of your days and be able to state “I have done my best and it was good”.

Another way of looking at this is if you wrote your own obituary and looked at what your family could say, what your children, your spouse, your work collegues and anyone who with whom you had contact at any time could say about you.

And the best answer would be that you touched their lives and that left them being better for it.

This has certain implications such as making you a better person, thinking of others but finding and living for your mission in life.

It would mean natural relationships, making a practice of respecting and taking care of the little things in life - all the resources that are available, balancing your life.

This balancing would have to include the spiritual, the physical and the psicological. Your emotions, your actions, your work ethic.

In the final analysis leaving the world, and this definately includes nature and the ecology, other people, better for having passed through this life.

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We all want to do our part to protect the environment, but without a large paycheck, that can be seem difficult, if not impossible. But doing your part doesn’t have to be hard. Small steps add up to a big difference, you just have to know which ones to take.

Use less water.

Saving water is all about small steps, here are a few that will help save big.

• Shut off the water while you brush your teeth
• Take showers that are a minute or two shorter
• Only flush the toilet when you need to
• Only run full loads of laundry and dishes
• Buy from sustainable producers. These are farmers, ranchers, and other producers that use techniques that pollute less and use less water. You can do some research online or ask at your local organic market to find these products.

Use less energy.
If you don’t have the money to buy a hybrid car or convert your house to solar power, you can make a big difference with small changes.

• Buy energy efficient appliances.  They may be more expensive, but make up for the increased cost in lower energy bills.
• Unplug chargers when you’re not using them.  Cell phone and other chargers use up powers even if there’s nothing attached to them.
• Put devices with remotes, like T.V.s, VCRs, and stereos, on a power strip and turn it off when you’re not using them.  These devices use a lot of power to run the remote receiver even when the device is off.
• Walk or ride your bike for short trips.
• Buy local products. It takes energy to transport food and other products across the country. Buying local not only supports your local economy, it helps them use less energy.

When it comes to saving energy and water, it’s a great idea to get the kids involved. You can even make it a game. Have them track how much water and electricity everyone is using. You can compete to see who uses the least water.  You can often count on your kids to help keep you on track when given the task.

Reuse.
Most of us know the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle, but when we work on conserving, we often leave reuse out of the picture. While you can often find tips on how to reuse common products from other people, what you need most is creativity. With a little thought there are many items around your home that can be reused – toilet paper holders can be used to sow seeds for the vegetable patch. And old yogurt containers can be cut into strip to make plant labels. Old food jars can be refilled with homemade foods or can make great impromptu vases.

Use environmentally friendly products. When you go to the grocery store, you probably see more and more “natural” or “eco friendly” products every time.  There are generally two big problems with these products: 1. Just because they’re more natural than regular products, doesn’t mean they’re entirely natural. 2, They’re often expensive.

If you want inexpensive, natural, safe products, why not just make them yourself. Vinegar is a great way to clean and disinfect glass and other surfaces. Need to remove stubborn stains? Just add some baking soda to your vinegar cleaner. Some quick searching online will lead you to hundreds of other natural safe home-made cleaning products.

We all knowing that going green means better for the environment, but it’s also better for you.  Conserving resources also helps save you money, which is something most of us are happy to live with.

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You can always do more.  You can give more love, play a little more, work a little more, spend more time with the family. There is always room for improvement and the Japanese way of improving just a little every day, will always produce better results than trying to apply massive changes - the principal of continuity.

And the same philosophy applies just as well to living green, no matter how green you may consider yourself.  At the end of the day it is the little things in life that make it worthwhile and give value.

With a little effort and perhaps small sacrifices you can be a little bit greener, benefiting yourself and making the planet greener and healthier.

Principal of continuity attitude:  Give a little and leave a little for the others.

Use less: water, electricity, gas.

• Cut down your shower time
• Washing and cleaning. (You also save on detergents and utility bills).
• Cut down on waste and use alternative materials (less plastics).
• Save energy by unplugging appliances when not in use.
• Look for energy efficient (Star Energy) electrical products - there is a wide range of appliances available.

Green alternatives:

• Natural products, if you can grow some of your own food you will be way ahead of most of the western world. You can also look for fresh and organic produce.
• Garden, go native.  Choose local and native varieties (from grass to plants) as they have adapted perfectly to local environment and this means less additional water and nutrients.
• Transport: One small step is by pooling and when you are able to go for a new car look for the most energy efficient car you can find.

With a little imagination there are many things you can do, and the wonderful thing about all this is that by following the principal of continuity, everybody wins both by saving money and from the green angle.

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