Natural Living Tips

Natural living has a nice ring to it. There are many organizations, businesses, web sites, articles and people that

There are also many ways of practicing it.

1. Nutrition: Consuming it; Producing it
2. Health: Alternative medicine; Herbs; Antioxidants; in natural form or supplements
3. Environment: Eco- consciousness; Active participation; Recycling; Reducing waste
4. Energy sources: Solar; Wind
5. Lifestyle: Family; Consumer
6. Sharing, writing, working, filming, talking.

There are many ways of looking at natural living depending on the degree of involvement, participation and even creativity.

The interesting thing is that it is a fact of life today because people are aware of it; there is a positive attitude towards nature and our relationship with it; it is an emotionally charged subject; there is fear of “nature’s revenge” if we continue the way we do.

At the same time we have to accept that synthetic development (to coin a phrase) has brought material quality of life and is an economic consideration in our society.

Having said all that, what do we mean by “natural” and by “living”?

• Natural: “free from artificiality;” “in accordance with nature;” “relating to or concerning nature;” “functioning or occurring in a normal way;” “existing in or produced by nature;” “not artificial or imitation”; “being unprocessed or manufactured using only simple or minimal processes;”
• Living: “pursue a positive and satisfying existence;” “the experience of being alive;” “the course of human events and activities;” “condition of living or staying alive;” “inhabit or live in;” “be an inhabitant of;” “lead a certain kind of life;” “live in a certain style;” “in its natural state and place (not mined or quarried);” “still in existence;”

Natural living would have to take into account these definitions, but above all it must come under the umbrella of “Harmony” and “Balance”.

So after all that, how does natural living sound with this definition?

“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 term Eco-conscious has become quite popular now. And so there is a growing risk that it will be misused and become another marketing success.

There should be no problem with an ethical use of the term “Eco-conscious” but the probabilities are that many non-green products will try to benefit from it. In other words it can be used to manipulate people into buying things under false pretenses.

There is a growing awareness that we have to start changing the way we treat ourselves and the environment.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with material things, at the end of the day they are developed, produced and used to make our lives better. The point is that they are all tools to be used for something, and not an end in itself.

Some natural resources are non-renewable, but we keep on wasting them as if tomorrow never comes. The waste and disposal attitude of our society complicates matters and is usually based on cost, profit and comfort levels.

Attitudes are difficult thing to change, but they do. Sometimes what is needed is a crisis to force the change. But the best way of changing attitudes is to open our minds and break away from reacting in the form of habits.

A natural life is possible once we change our attitudes.

If you look back forty or fifty years ago, the ordinary household did not have all the conveniences we have today, and the idea is not to turn back the clock, but perhaps we can learn form them.

Fifty years ago the term Eco-conscious, or green, hadn’t been coined, but in general terms (there are always exceptions to every rule) life was lived in greater balance with nature, basically because there weren’t as many options as today.

Old clothes were reused as cleaning cloths instead of paper towels. When cold, people put on another layer of clothing. The house was lit at night with the right amount of light, and bulbs were turned off when not needed.

The food was fresh and varied. Cooking was an event in itself and mealtimes were family times with less stress and more bonding opportunities. This had the added benefit of strengthening the family and providing a healthy environment - which has now been shown to reduce health issues, such as heart disease and so on.

If you look at some of the benefits of eating healthy and varied food, companionship, family relations and community spirit, you may notice that the levels of diabetes, heart disease and stress, was much lower than today.

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Modern medicine has shown enormous development but somewhere along the line it has lost touched with the human being. The bedside manner, the holistic view of the patient appears to be a thing of the past in scientific medicine. I am definitely not against modern medicine. I wouldn’t have survived if I was, but then I wouldn’t be here either if I hadn’t combined the two. (Its a long story to do with an accident and a head on crash with someone driving on the wrong side of the road).

As an amateur student of history I have always been fascinated by Renaissance and the period following the end of the Middle Ages. Apart from the wars and power struggles, the idea of “universal” men like Leonardo Da Vinci and Roger Bacon has always struck a chord in me. Today we have experts in everything. People specialize in their subjects but for the most part are ignorant of anything else. This way of looking at things tends to be simplistic. (This is a good place to state that I am not an expert - or want to be).

I suppose it is easier to look at an organ, and not at the person. Easier to treat, study and develop practices or medication for the symptom and not the person. In previous times, in all societies, health was seen and treated as an integral part of the person and not as a damaged part.

The good news is that there is a growing tendency to return to the wisdom of those who came before us. I am seeing members of the medical profession studying modern medicine and alternative medicine. I am sure the results, including preventive medicine, will be reflected in greater natural health.

Any type of extreme is self defeating, be it religious, scientific, ideological, medical or whatever, as it pre-judges and limits any real growth.

Change is always with us and it looks as if the pendulum is swinging back. What I like is that it is carrying the benefits of modern medicine with it.

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Over the years I have dabbled in natural health and living in balance with nature. This meant being conscious of pollution and trying to avoid causing it. But it was all a half hearted affair.

I would turn off the lights when leaving a room. Separate, from way back, the different types of waste. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, with a few exceptions - like spinach…

When the children began to arrive, breast feeding was the order of the day as were linen nappies. We make our own muesli and cereals. We have five hens and six quails for our egg requirements.

All in all a reasonable state of affairs that would have probably stayed that way except that nine years ago I was on the receiving end of a bus coming the wrong way.

After months of agony and slow recovery I came up with a terrific bone infection which I took home with me from the hospital. A sort of going away present, and very persistent as well.

The colossal amount of pain killers and worse, antibiotics, started to reap its benefits and I was beginning to go down hill.

But after the storm the sun shines.

Two very important things happened.

The first is that with the help of alternative natural remedies my body managed to overcome and eliminate all the after effects. This was based on a series of juices and recipes involving all sorts of things, such as garlic, broccoli, - spinach- , lime, ginger and various others. Natural remedies came to the rescue.

(I am looking them up as it has been a while).

The other good thing is that I suddenly found myself with a lot of time on my hands while bedridden for so many months. I started thinking, which wasn’t a bad idea.

This is the short version of what I came up with.

Living in balance with nature is more than the physical side, whether it is the food we eat, the care we take not to pollute or even alternative products we use. What makes it all fit in is to search for the overall balance.

We are more than our bodies, let alone individual organs and body parts. We are more than our minds, than our psychological make up, more than our spiritual side. More than our capacity to love and relate.

We are the sum of all that and the result is larger than expected.

Living a natural life is the adventure as long as we see ourselves a whole persons and living in balance with others, including the surrounding world.

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