Have we Lost Our Marbles? Or is Just Life Too Complicated?

Lately, I’ve wondered if my rocker has gone askew or if I’ve gone off it entirely. Perhaps it’s because the world has changed so much and so very fast. The world seems to have “lost its marbles.”

The weather looms wanton and angry, viruses mutate unhinged, while certain madmen still hold reign. As a species, we still think and act by “tooth-and-nail” instead of collaborating and building a fair and just global society—taking care of our one audacious planet.

I believe simplifying our lives and working to understand different points of view can shift us.

Here are a few things I’ve discovered to simplify my life and focus on what’s important.

Duty to serve

I was recently called to jury duty and realized what an honor and privilege it is to live in a Democracy—the right to have a fair trial by a jury of people in my community. Locals, who may hold prejudices and assumptions, are asked to set them aside in their deliberations.

This is an excellent practice of letting go (for a brief time) of our preconceived notions. To see what it’s like to stand in both the defendant’s and prosecutors shoes.

To trust others’ opinions in the jury box. Serving our communities is a way to open the heart and mind to novel perspectives.

Imagine if understanding others through service was a path to building a sustainable world?  

Mindful consumption

What we purchase has unseen impacts on people and the environment that are almost always unaccounted for.

The Sustainable Food Trust can help understand “how our food production, distribution, retailing, and consumption are causing significant damage to the environment, to soil, to the climate, to biodiversity, to rural communities and to public health.”

They’re evolving a method for assessing the true costs and benefits of different food production systems and the implications for everyone.

All the other products we buy come from somewhere and it’s important to know the company’s production practices. Suppose a company has a reputation for having environmentally unfriendly practices such as dumping waste into water sources or contributing to the threat of overfishing.

If you can’t see the ramifications of what you consume, perhaps it’s time to take a closer look. Where is it made? For this reason, many ecologically concerned people make an effort only to purchase items that are supplied locally.

If you don’t need it don’t buy it.

Zero waste?

Is that even achievable? Once again, simplifying your life is a good first step.

Recycle and reuse what you can. Understand what your local waste management company does and does not recycle.

Check out Bea Johnsons’ book  Zero Waste Home:  The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life By Reducing Your Waste. She is the mother of the zero-waste lifestyle movement! 

Growing your own food, even a little, can minimize plastic use, petrol use for travel from the farm to the store and keep you enjoying the simplicity of the great outdoors.

The fact that you can simply make your own compost in your backyard from organic materials such as garden and food waste and other items means that you have no reason not to give it a shot for yourself!

Playful attendance to doing nothing

I recently came upon my grandpa’s marbles from the early 19^th century. The very ones I once got on hands and knees to bounce and bump around. They’ve taken many nicks in the shins, but they are still beautiful to behold.   

These are the very marbles I have not lost but instead have found. They give me a way to relax and play, to do nothing of great consequence. To dream and think about writing to you.

Find time to play and daydream… 

  “To do anything, it is first necessary to be doing nothing.” – Nancy Hale