I was going to start this entry by apologising for using a disproportionate amount of references to popular culture in what is supposed to be a blog on sustainability; but then I thought that maybe I wouldn’t. Apologise, I mean. Be grateful: I almost called my blog “Living-a-‘Good-Life’-does-not-involve-listening-to-an-unpleasant-song-by-One-Republic-but-rather-embracing-a-more-sustainable-lifestyle.” Analyse that.
If my life to date was sold and reproduced as a television show, the opening conversation between TV Mom and I would go something along these lines:
Sophie: Mum, I’ve decided, I’m going save orang-utans in the Borneo Rainforest.
Mum: You want to go to Borneo?
Sophie: That I do! It’s called “thinking globally,” Mum; it’s rad.
Mum: I think you’ll find the end of that quote is “acting locally,” Sophie. There’s plenty you can do for the environment without swanning off to Southeast Asia. Your room is a pigsty– I wouldn’t be surprised if I found a few orang-utans climbing in between your coat hangers…
And so on and so forth, until probably the dialogue becomes too unrealistic and too full of animal-related puns for the average television watcher to endure, and compels you to switch over to Dating in the Dark.
Nonetheless, TV Mom has a point. Folks may prattle about doing big things and making significant changes in the world; but living the “good life” (as in, a life which brings individual happiness at either no expense to or to the benefit of the future lives of generations to come) can also be found close to home. For Goodness’ Sake will thus be dedicated to adjustments that anyone (that’s you and I!) can take to care for ourselves, our communities, and our Mama Earth.
With this in mind, I will next week pay homage to the trusty sewing machine. What’s that, you ask? Stay tuned…