Natural Living Tips

Green living is becoming more and more fashionable - and will probably soon become the only way to live.

In the meantime you can begin to make your home greener and one of the ways to do so is by being more energy efficient.

3 Simple Starting Tips

1. Turn off the lights when you leave the room. And equally good, only turn on those lights you really need.
2. Change your light bulbs to fluorescent ones. The consume considerably less energy.
3. Unplug your computer, your dvd’s, cd players. Did you know they still consume electricity even when turned off?

Green living is becoming more and more fashionable - and will probably soon become the only way to live.

Some things that are not environmentally friendly are still cheaper (especially if they come from China - but that is another story), however the trend is for a change in this as well.

The change that is coming about is in part because of research and technical developments and also due to production techniques and volume.

So we will have many, and hopefully all our comforts and lifestyle needs covered under a green friendly umbrella. And the demand, which is the side of the equation the ordinary man or woman in the street controls, will be the driving force.

There are many more things you can do for a greener home, but this is a good starting point.

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“Going green”, “Eco friendly”, “environmentally conscious” and “living natural” are terms that are now part of our daily lives.

You hear about it on the news, your read it on magazines and newspapers and continuously on the internet. Even news services have a nature category.

Going green and living natural. It seems as if everybody is doing it.

But what does it mean?

It can go from a full scale change in life, going 100% natural and even be militant about it, to small continuous changes without affecting your quality of life except for the better. My suggestion is starting little by little. Rather like eating the proverbial elephant (at least I hope you don’t actual try the elephant).

Take food for example. You can increase your fresh fruit and vegetables intake. What sort of packing does it come in? Every day you have more green food choices - look for them and learn about them. Your proteins - the meat or fish you eat; they are being farmed. How are they fattened?

Or energy requirements. At home, with a little effort, you can reduce your electric bills just by turning down the air conditioner or heaters. A simple formula is: use what you need. Leave a little.

Can you afford to do it?

Yes you can. Just start with a conscious decision. At the end of the day that is all it takes. There is an enormous amount of information and consumer alternatives around, and there will be more each day.

Be creative. A British couple have recently taken their honeymoon in the US and paid their flight with recyclable aluminum cans.

Can you afford not to?

A few thoughts for you. How about your health? We really don’t know the toxicity levels we have or a clear idea of the long term effects. We do know that heart problems, cancer, diabetes and others are much greater than at any other time. Think about it.

What about climate change? The weather has always been unpredictable, specially long term but we must all be aware that something is going on. We hear the news, we see the images and many times we are right in the middle of it - and these are not just isolated news items. We are just not sure of the long term changes or the subtle effects that are happening. The butterfly effect must be overworked.

What about the next generations. Will they be able to see animals in the wild or outside a zoo. Or even worse in a book or on film?

What about energy sources. How renewable are they? What about solar power and wind power? Developments in these area are indeed amazing.

If you reduce your waste (and probably waist, as well), your bills will go down and so will your carbon footprint.

You can find many sources of information all over the place. Just give yourself a bit of research time and you will be able to live a little greener.

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Natural living has a very nice sound to it, especially now that more and more people are aware and even concerned about the environment.

But what exactly do we mean when we say “natural living”?

For most people the issue will revolve around recycling, use of renewable and clean energy, organic food production and consumption, as well lowering our carbon footprint.

It also relates to health. Health as in the individual, the family, a group, society, nature and the world at large.

A natural living choice should also include quality of life, and quality of life implies much more than the material side of things.

A lot of the information on natural living is based on recycling, energy, organic food and environment, and so it should. If we don’t solve these issues, the consequences will probably be catastrophic.

But sticking to the quality of life side of things, I suggest that a natural living choice should include more:

• the psychological aspects of the individual and the community,
• the family,
• the spiritual,
• the physical,
• the environment,

A slogan could be “healthy minds with healthy bodies”.

All life should strive for harmony and balance. A simple equation would be:

Body(Harmony+Balance)= Health

Simplistic perhaps, but with more than a germ of truth.

The US constitution states: “The pursuit of happiness”. It doesn’t guarantee happiness, but the freedom to pursue it.

So, my definition of Natural Living is.

“Pursuing a positive and satisfying existence, in a style that respects and seeks to achieve harmony and balance with nature, ourselves, and the future”.

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The best natural living example is bound to be … Cave Men. From the environment point of view, they didn’t have a choice.

But what about natural living from the psychological side?

Cave men sat around a fire and shared their meals. That is about as natural as can be. These were great forming moments - a time for education, for passing on traditions, for community and family bonding.

We have always liked to share our meals. We don’t really think that they are moments to strengthen ties, to learn and to teach, to share, to bond but there isn’t much difference with the cave man. Sure the noises and way of eating will be different, but the interaction will serve the same purpose.

We like to share meals, to eat together and exchange news and simply to have a good conversation.

I learned a lot from my great grand mother who was born in the 19th century; a bit of history, ethics, hard work. I learned to respect and admire others.

Have you noticed when you have friends over for dinner everybody begins to gravitate to the kitchen? Perhaps we are just doing what the cave man did.

The point is that this near unconscious behavior is as natural as they come.

The benefits are easily seen, especially for a family with children, more so with teenagers.

These are rare, and natural, moments that allow for:

• bonding
• problem solving
• passing traditions
• educating (about life, how to conduct oneself, ethics, etc.)
• humor and fun
• helping each other

And all these give a sense of security, of well being and family pride. It helps you and your family know you are loved and that you love others.

Above all it boosts your emotional health and that strengthens your body’s immune system, so overall you are healthier.

Learn from the cave man for healthy and natural living.

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