finally

a "keep calm" poster i can appreciate.

via

no trash

i'm going to follow this project and thought you might want to as well.

since my oldest son was born 21 years ago (!!) issues surrounding environmental responsibility, healthy eating, parenting and living have been important considerations for me.  at times it veered uncomfortably close to obsession and at others i felt so overwhelmed by daily living and hardship that these ideals seemed like luxuries.  wanting to do and live "right" has caused conflicts in some personal relationships and led to frustration.  i have wondered many times why it has to be so.  

but like most things worth a damn, figuring out the how and why is a process over time and it is truly a privilege.  when something is difficult i want to stop looking upon it as unfair.  it's an opportunity to think more deeply and challenge myself.  all of the people and experiences and principles that i hold close to me are worth this.  

...

atchafalaya houseboat

i was up in the middle of the night last night. and i think it was meant to be.  i turned on the television and the documentary atchafalaya houseboat was on public tv. 

i am completely taken with this story. 

and i immediately ordered the book written by gwen roland (pictured above).  this is the story of a couple who set out in 1970 to live off the land and the water on a houseboat in the louisiana bayou.  the photographs were taken by cc lockwood.  they are spectacularly beautiful.  i grabbed these photographs from various places off the net but the ones on his site are so worth the look.

i will let you know more of my impressions once i start reading the book.  i am really looking forward to this.  but i also feel a little apprehensive because i have dreamt about living a similar lifestyle for some time now.  and sometimes i feel regret that i haven't just forged forward and trusted my instincts and ideas.  but regret gets a person less than a step.  and it can do a number on your head.  so i try not to listen to that little voice. 

also, as i've grown older my desire has turned from a true subsistence lifestyle  (it really may be tiring!) to just simplifying to the point where i own my own life.  where i don't have debt.  where i can spend a lot of time outdoors and i can take care of a healthy garden and do work that is enjoyable to me rather than do work just to earn a paycheck just to pay the bills. 

for me these thoughts are as basic as it gets.  because we have one life.  and we need to take this seriously.  to respect and honor the fact that we get to live.  and there are choices to be made about how to do it.  it is so easy to get caught up in living the way everyone lives around us. in living a sort of zombie existence.  in thinking our choices and lifestyle are a foregone conclusion.  in being afraid and not thoughtful and courageous.  the answer will be different for everyone but you have to ask yourself the question.

you have to have a sense of humor about this crazy ride.  and you have to accept all the twists and turns.  but in the end when you have that feeling in your stomach and that spark of enlightenment about what will make your life really mean something to you and to those around you, well, you gotta listen.

love, liane

life principles

when my friend molly was a teenager she wrote herself a credo.  and when she died this past spring her friends and family received copies of this credo.  since then and because of personal events in my own life, i have been thinking about what my credo might look like.  i considered writing one but  felt some self-consciousness about it.  molly's was beautifully melodramatic and superlative just the way a teenager's should be.  but i'm a wizened and worldly (insert wry smile) 40-something.  

then about a week ago i went to sleep thinking about this and when i woke up i wrote what i'm calling my life principles.  it's not poetic or dreamy.  in this way it fits with my frame of mind at this point in my life.  it's basic. and it's true to me.  

Life Principles

1. live in appreciation for and close to nature

2. produce my own food and buy local

3. do work i enjoy

4. have time to be creative

5. have time to spend with family and friends

6. always read. always learn.

7. be a positive force

8. stand up for what i believe

someday i imagine i might write a more creative version, when i am in a different spot in life, but right now these are a nice anchor for me.

if you have a credo or principles or any such i'd love to read them.  

with love,

liane