We just returned to California from a trip all over the country. We visited 5 states in 10 days. I got to check Illinois and Indiana off my map of the US! We spent time with both of our families which was a blessing. We also explored new things like the cobwebby bookends, record collectors paradise, and juice bar heavens. Then we went to Texas to reunite with my kin. There's something about drinking a Shiner Bock at sunset on a lakeshore with your family that just makes you feel like the happiest girl on earth.
On our fast paced, jet thrusted travels we were exposed to all sorts of things. An airport and a subway station are a viruses dream. Germs get to travel at Godspeed around the globe. We picked up a little piece of God on the Chicago L and brought it back to Texas, now I'm in California still holding on to it in my cells. Pretty amazing if you really think about it.
I also couldn't help but take notice of the excess that happens in our world. My partner and I seem to have made our own little country here in our tiny home, the democratic republic of skipper, and when we travel to the foreign lands of say, the Midwest, or the South, we can be subject to a bit of culture shock.
I guess we've just gotten used to living so simply that waste seems to be a truly "bad" word. Like when I see disposable plates for instance... I realize the ease of not having to do dishes for a large group (or throw them in the dishwashing box)... But I just can't help but look at those little pieces of paper coated in a thin layer of plastic and wonder how many different things it could be used for. I picture a child in Africa bringing home fruit from a tree he has climbed over and over again all on the same little "disposable" plate. Or a woman in South America using that plate to dig adobe to build her family a one room home.
Here in the Democratic republic of Skipper, I realize we have chosen a life that is much different from others in our surrounding county. We sleep soundly each night on a double bed in a 8x16 foot trailer. We shower outside with a three gallon solar shower, and still have extra water at times. We have one pot and one pan for cooking. 4 plates. One table. One hand pump sink. One closet. One half milky mirror on the wall. And we get by, not only that but we actually do still have excess! We are still trying all the time to simplify. So much abundance is a wonderful yet overwhelming thing at times.
I challenge you, the reader to try to simplify your life a bit. See how good it feels to use one thing for its use. Be here now. Try to be mindful, you don't have to flush that gallon of fresh drinking water just because you peed on it! This world is crazy, and I'm probably a little crazier because I've found ways to deal with it that I think are working. We are all one global community. Share the love :)
Cool sculpture in Chicago
