Category: Environment

Living Sustainably: Five Easy Tips

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It’s a handful of low-effort, eco-friendly choices from Low Entropy eco-friendly volunteer writer Nour Saqqa!

 

When you hear bloggers, global organizations, artisans, and environmental activists tossing around the phrase ‘sustainable living’ enough times, you begin to wonder what it means and why you should care about it. 

 

Sustainable living involves becoming more aware of how your food choices, your clothing purchases and, among other things, your use of energy impact the environment. It means living in a way that reduces your environmental impact and supports both present and future generations. When you live more sustainably, you can improve your health, save money and feel happier.

 

Even though a sustainable lifestyle looks different for everyone, there are areas where you can reduce your personal and societal environmental impact. Here are a few examples of actions you can take to start living a more sustainable lifestyle today. 

 

  1. Replace Plastics with More Eco-Friendly Alternatives 

 

Replacing plastics may sound like a challenging task, especially since we all live in a plastic-filled world. But there are many alternatives — and it’s becoming easier to find them. Reducing your use of plastics can be as simple as replacing your plastic water bottles, straws, single-use cups and lunch boxes with ones made from stainless steel. Stainless steel products are not only much more durable than plastics, but are also free of toxic chemicals like Bisphenol A, also known as BPA. Other alternatives include glass, beeswax-coated cloth, wood, bamboo or cardboard that’s not coated in plastic. 

 

  1. Use Less Household Energy

 

Consuming less power at home is both good for you and the environment. When you dial down your electricity use, you save money and help reduce the number of toxins released into the environment. Using less electricity also means that you’re helping conserve limited resources such as water, fossil fuels, minerals, nuclear energy and natural gases. You can start by switching off appliances you’re not using — and that includes a tablet that you just left on your couch or computer desk. Other ways involve replacing your incandescent lights with LED lights and buying a more water-efficient showerhead. No matter how many of these changes you decide to make, any minor change counts.

 

  1. Use Your Bike Whenever You Can

 

Swapping your car with your bike can also be a great way to stay fit and benefit the environment. Cycling will help you feel less depressed and less stressed. It will also help improve your posture and joint mobility. For many, this mainly aerobic activity can also increase muscle strength, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness. 

 

Every time you cycle, you also help reduce air pollution, parking problems and the number of burned non-renewable fuels — and these are just a few of the benefits. Imagine if you knew them all. So, the next time you plan to go on a short trip, think of all the positive changes you can make to your health and the environment’s health just from changing your transportation. 

 

  1. Wash Clothes in Cold Water 

 

If you were just sick and slept on your bed, you should probably rinse your clothes with hot water. In any other instance, cold water is the better option. Cold water requires a lot less energy than hot water, and this means that you can save some real money by making this change. Cold water also helps your clothes last longer, and removes stains effectively. Clothes are also less likely to shrink, wrinkle or fade in cold water. When you choose to use cold water, the environment will also thank you because this action helps prevent more carbon pollution. 

 

  1. Upcycle Your Clothes 

 

Upcycling is an easy way to reuse what you already have by transforming it into something new. In the process, you also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and textile waste — waste that ends up in landfills and takes a long time to decompose or get rid of. By being more sustainable with clothes, you can make a difference. 

 

Choosing to live sustainably doesn’t have to be so challenging. And sometimes, the best approach is to start small. It can be as simple as swapping your plastic bottle with a stainless steel one or using less water when you shower. No matter what eco-friendly changes you decide to make today, it will be worthwhile for both you and all future generations. 

 

Do you have any ideas for easy, eco-friendly lifestyle changes? Like Nour says, every little bit counts! Share with us in the comments below or on any of our social media channels!

Too Hot to Handle

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Low Entropy Volunteer Writer Prateek Sur opens up about how climate change has affected his personal and family life, and how it pushed him to move from India to Canada.

 

There is no denying the fact that climate change is real. Having grown up in India and having stayed in a few different cities across the country that have varied climates, I can clearly say that the climatic condition has changed a lot.

 

I grew up in a city called Jamshedpur for the first 17 years of my life, and ended up enjoying all climatic and weather conditions. We used to have summers between mid-March and mid-June. Then the monsoons used to last from mid-June to the end of August. After that, in September and October, we would have the autumn season, and from November till mid-February we would have the winters. Lastly, from mid-February to mid-March, we would have the spring season.

 

But this weather pattern has completely changed now. It’s been almost 15 years now since I lived in Jamshedpur, but I visit every now and then, as my parents live there. Whenever I go, the weather is never what it used to be in my childhood. The summers are drastically longer; the winters have reduced considerably. The interim seasons of spring and autumn are somewhat lost or perhaps reduced to just a couple of days. Seeing this, I feel that climate change is indeed real.

 

After my initial 17 years in Jamshedpur, I moved to the city of Chennai in the southern part of India. The weather here was completely different from what I was used to in Jamshedpur. It was summers throughout the year except for mid-November to mid-January, when it used to rain heavily. I stayed there for five years and never had I ever experienced any form of winter there.

 

For the last 10 years, I have been living in Mumbai, which also has pretty much the same weather as Chennai. It has summers year-round, with monsoons coming in from June to August. The monsoons are when the weather is the best in Mumbai, as you don’t feel the enormous humid heat. However, the rains are so intense that during the monsoons you’ll be forced to stay indoors for most of the day, as the roads will get clogged due to waterlogging.

 

I’ve also stayed in a number of other cities, domestic and abroad, albeit for shorter durations. However, it has almost always been in the tropics.

 

One very prominent thing that I’ve noticed all through my life is the increase in the summers and the intensity of the heat. We all have heard about how, due to the greenhouse effect caused by pollution and the enormous amount of carbon monoxide we’re producing year-round, the Earth’s temperature is increasing slowly and steadily. The ice caps in Antarctica and the Arctic Circle are melting at an alarming rate. That is causing sea levels to rise, and there will come a day in the next 70-80 years when the coastal cities will be submerged in the oceans or seas. A city like Mumbai is one of the top five that are facing this impending elimination from the face of the Earth.

 

The heat levels in Mumbai used to be at a year-round high of 42 degree centigrade in the 1990s, and now it has gone up to 48 degrees centigrade. It is predicted that, in a couple of decades, the maximum temperature would exceed 50 degrees centigrade.

 

This is one of the reasons why I am planning to move to Canada, possibly Vancouver. I have been an advocate of living in my country all my life, but the climatic conditions in Mumbai are growing unbearable. On top of that, the amount of pollution that we’re living in never seems to lessen.

 

For my family, I would like to live in a better climatic condition. Climatic changes are affecting my family adversely and I would love to lead a better life where I can have peace of mind in a place with cooler weather.

 

In closing, I would like to emphasize that climate change is real. We, as a human race, have all the facilities and technologies to improve it. The only thing needed is the will to stand up and change ourselves and our ways. The sooner we do that, the longer our generations will survive. We have to understand that nature and climate is not something that we have inherited from our ancestors; rather it’s something that we have borrowed from future generations, and we need to preserve it so that our grandchildrens’ grandchildren can also enjoy the benefits of the environment.

 

How are things where you live? Let us know in the comments below or on any of our social media channels!

From Jamshedpur

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Low Entropy Volunteer Writer Prateek Sur shares details of his childhood and surroundings in Jamshedpur, a small city in India, and how they both shaped his life and career.

 

The place where I grew up had an enormous effect on the way I think today as a mature adult. I grew up in the city of Jamshedpur, which is in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It used to be in the state of Bihar, until November 15, 2000 when the state was divided in two.

 

Jamshedpur is one of the very few planned cities in India, and the reason for that is it’s an industrial town. Two of the biggest companies in India, Tata Steel, and Tata Motors, have their biggest plants in this city. The entire district is a goldmine for minerals like iron ore, coal, copper, bauxite, etc. That’s primarily the reason why numerous industries were established in Jamshedpur and the adjoining cities over the past 100-plus years.

 

Growing up in such an industrial district, you invariably end up knowing a lot about minerals that are hidden deep inside our earth. You end up having a fascination for geography and minerals. That was probably why I loved the subject the most when in school. Even though I didn’t end up pursuing it as a career, I still have a fascination for the geography of the varied places I visit and read about. My wife always asks me what I do with that unnecessary information about a place that I might never end up visiting in my entire life. But I find reading books and watching shows about the lifestyle of varied cities from across the world helps me understand how people from different places behave, and what good things I can pick from their culture, which I can then incorporate into my life. I find pleasure in that.  

 

Also, I am a Bengali by birth. Bengalis are known to be readers and thinkers. That’s probably why, when I am on the public transport traveling to work, I am the only one who’s reading a book to while away the time while the rest are all glued to their smartphones. I enjoy reading a lot more, and I credit that to the zillions of books that I’ve read growing up. My dad is a voracious reader, and all through my childhood, I saw him reading a lot of books, which inculcated in me the same habit. This also resulted in me having a better hold on the English language and its grammar than any of my friends in school and college. That’s why I ended up being a writer, while most of my friends are either engineers, doctors or businesspeople.

 

Bengalis are also known for their inclination towards creative arts. In every Bengali family you will likely find that the son or the daughter is either enrolled in a singing or a dance class, or learning how to paint or play some instrument. My mom was a great singer and has a bachelor’s degree in music. She got me into singing as well, and I completed a bachelor’s degree in music as well. To this day, I enjoy singing songs and playing the keyboard whenever I have time. Plus, it is a great way to add life to the crowd during house parties.

 

In Jamshedpur, I was Bengali growing up in a predominantly Hindi-speaking society. This resulted in my Hindi being impeccable. That, coupled with my flair for writing, has led to me composing numerous poems in Hindi.

 

My parents were both bankers. Thus the value and importance of money were always instilled in my psyche, right from my childhood. I knew that money was important, and that it was a driving force to having a good life. They instilled in me the sense of wanting to be independent and the urge to make it on my own, without any nepotistic favours. I managed to do that, and I am proud of that fact. Whatever I do, I try to never short-change myself or my work.

 

Also, apart from music, my parents had a huge love for movies. That was passed onto me as I watched numerous films a week right through my childhood. I was watching and re-watching films not just from India, but across the world. That helped me develop a taste for good cinema. I managed to couple that with my love for writing, and today I write movie reviews for a number of print and online publications in India.

 

Finally, my love for living in the big cities emerged as I was growing up in Jamshedpur. It’s a very lousy town, to be honest, and the city shuts down pretty much by 8 p.m. I couldn’t hang out with my friends late in the evening if I wanted to, as nothing was open. It was during those years that I made up my mind that I wanted to live in big cities. Starting from going to college in Chennai to living for almost 10 years in Mumbai, and now being in the process of shifting over to Vancouver – I have always preferred big city life. The germ of that infatuation began to grow during my childhood in Jamshedpur.

 

In closing, I would like to say that where someone grows up has an immense effect on the way they end up living life as an adult. Right from the society within which they grew up to their parents’ backgrounds, to the city they grew up in – everything contributes to that person’s overall growth. All these things from my childhood have slowly and steadily impacted my adult life. You are a sum total of all that you’ve seen, felt and learned in your childhood.

 

What has stuck with you from your childhood? What environmental factors have shaped your life? Share your journey with us at a Conscious Connections meeting or in the comments below!

Optimism, By Design

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Low Entropy Volunteer Writer Amara Camacho shares five ideas to boost the positivity of our home environments and, in turn, ourselves.

 

When it comes to boosting one’s mood, we often forget how great an influence our home environment is on our overall being. We keep relying on outside sources to make us happier but fail to consider that it begins right at home, where we start our day from and, essentially, end it. 

 

If there’s one thing that I’ve gained from spending the majority of my time at home as a result of the pandemic, it’s that small changes can make the greatest difference. Here are five tips that can make your home environment a positive influence, and even a mood booster. 

  • Increase natural light and sunlight at home.

Do you ever notice how much happier we get when it’s summertime, the day’s longer and the sun is peeking in through our windows? Natural light at home increases productivity, encourages higher levels of energy, is a source of vitamin D and generally helps to improve your mood. One way of increasing natural light is by simply opening up your curtains, blinds or screens, and allowing the sunlight to enter your space. However, this may not always be an option, or the weather forecast may not be to our liking, which would require us to turn to other sources. There are options to install light bulbs that emit natural-looking light or make small purchases of sun lamps that mimic sunlight. 

  • Declutter and recycle. 

The environment you surround yourself with at home, like your room, the living room or even the kitchen, are major influences on the state of your overall being. By decluttering and recycling, you’re not only creating a cleaner space, you’re also disposing and clearing out the clutter that is no longer serving a purpose for you. This act will allow you to rejuvenate, cleanse and have a sense of starting over. It will give you the opportunity to detach yourself from materialistic attachments that might be holding you back from growing or discovering new things. Additionally, recycling these possessions by donating them to thrift stores or those in need will also be a great chance to contribute and help the less fortunate. What’s important to remember is that decluttering doesn’t mean being a minimalist. It’s taking away things that are cluttering your space, making you sad, irritable, lazy and anything but motivated. 

  • Create designated “focus” spaces.

Now that you’ve decluttered, you’re probably wondering what to do with your new (or old) space. Creating focus spaces is vital in maintaining a balanced lifestyle, which then also nurtures a balanced mood. If you work in the same space you sleep, like in your bedroom, it mentally confuses you. It might make you less productive and feel less motivated to get out of bed. It’s important to have a division between home life and work life, especially at a time like this, where so much work has become remote. Designated spaces at home for work, rest and play minimize distractions and temptations to partake in irrelevant activities, while keeping you focused and positively influencing your mood. 

  • Satisfy your five senses.

What’s more fun than decorating your own home? Sometimes, indulging in a fun and no-rule activity like decorating can actually make you feel better and brighter. If you spend most of your time in one space, it would be a great relief if you loved it too – like the things you smell, see, feel, consume and hear! Make your home, especially your bedroom, appealing to you, because if you like your environment, you’ll be more content. Have your walls painted in a colour that calms you, adjust the smell by buying scented candles,and play the music that you love. The adjustments are all up to you, but satisfying your five senses will boost your mood when you’re at home and even as you leave it to begin your day. 

  • Share your goals and intentions with the people you live with.

It’s great to follow these tips and I’m sure it will help immensely to boost your mood. However, if those you live with do not support or create a similar space as you, it can be challenging for any of these approaches to serve their purpose. It might even be more challenging, the more people who live with you. Have a conversation and start small. Talk about what’s good and what needs improvement. Share your goals and intentions, because what you think might be beneficial for you might also be beneficial for someone else. It’s always important to consult those you live with so that you can reach an ultimate solution that benefits everyone. 

 

Your environment is crucial to your overall being. By starting at home and following these simple tips, you can make the greatest impact on boosting your mood!

 

Sources: 

https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-does-your-personal-environment-impact-your-wellbeing

https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-you-can-create-healing-environment-home

https://sustainability.ncsu.edu/blog/changeyourstate/benefits-of-natural-light/

 

How do you shape your environment to improve your mood? Share your interior design tips with our community on our social network platform, or on any of our social media channels!

The Meaning of Community

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Low Entropy Volunteer Writer Grace Cheng tells us all about community – what it means and why it’s the bee’s knees.

 

To me, a community is a group of people who have learned how to communicate openly and honestly with each other. Their relationships grow closer when they share their emotions in moments of celebrating, mourning and rejoicing. Community is made up of both feelings and a set of relationships. Members of a community have a great sense of trust, belonging, safety and caring for one another. The treasured feeling of a community comes from shared experiences and histories.  

 

As we know, life is full of ups and downs, and I thank my community because they have always been there for me in times of sorrows and in times of happiness. My community has taught me to appreciate life more. In times of happiness, we have celebrated together and patted each other’s backs, and in times of sorrow, we have consoled and healed each other.  

 

My community has helped me to build a strong personality. It has given me the heart to love, care and be kind. I have learned the value of community, and they are the ones who carry me when I have fallen, comfort me when I am lost, laugh with me, care for me and walk with me. I learn from my community each day and my gratitude for them only increases as I discover more about myself. My community means the world to me.

 

Community addresses our most fundamental needs in that we want to be loved, we don’t want to be alone and we want to know that we belong somewhere. Real communities give us this sense of home, this sense of family, this sense that these are my peers, this is my tribe and this is where I belong. In this group, we are accepted for who we are. A community gives people a sense of shared identity, that we are together. The sum is larger than the individual parts. This shared identity matters because it takes the group beyond individuals in one-on-one relationships. Many of us express our interests, ambitions and goals through people we spend time with, and community becomes part of our identities.

 

A community is more than a group of people living in the same geographic zone. Communities can be anything from a physical place where people connect, to a virtual space such as social media, to private community groups. Communities put like-minded people together who share similar characteristics and interests. Every community has specific rules and regulations to meet its needs.

 

A community offers a sense of spirit, character and pride that increases the health of its members. 

Being part of a community can make us proud that we are a part of something greater than ourselves.

 

There are many benefits to being part of a community:

 

  • Support: Being part of a community allows us to give support to one other. Supporting each other can help us feel good about ourselves. We live such busy and stressful lives, there is often insufficient time to assist others when they are struggling with their mental and physical wellbeing.
  • Influence: Community brings empowerment. When we feel empowered, we have a sense of control, allowing us to have a positive influence and make a difference to our community members.
  • Sharing: When we share our ideas with others it can stimulate our growth in knowledge and insight, as well as innovation. 
  • Reinforcement: Having a community can reinforce our spirits through us motivating one another to build a positive experience and a sense of togetherness.
  • Connection: A community can help build valuable relationships, connections and a sense of belonging.
  • Resources: Community is a great resource for knowledge.
  • Passion: Community allows us to share ideas that we are passionate about.  

 

Communities play a critical role in every part of our lives. We have communities in our friends, our families, our jobs, our neighbourhoods and other places. We can find community in sports teams, artists, food, music and entertainment. Having a sense of community unites us and gives us a sense of togetherness. It can give us opportunities to connect with people to reach our goals, and make us feel safe and secure.

You know where you can find an awesome community? Riiiight here! If you’ve read enough of these, you probably saw that coming. Still, click on it and join! You heard what Grace said! It’ll be great!

Never Give Up

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In one magic moment, near some orange trees by the Caspian Sea, Simin Ghaffari – now in Low Entropy’s work experience program – discovered a source of resilience and gratitude within the horrifying violence of war.

 

When I was 24 years old, my country, Iran, was war-torn. My father was an army officer, and my fiancé was killed after he delivered a speech in his class. We had a lot of difficult times with money, work, etc. I was so broken inside and so deeply depressed that I had no hope at all. At that young age, I had suddenly become responsible for taking care of my mother and my six siblings. 

 

Wherever I looked, people were suffering from the war and trying to bring about a revolution, especially the people from the south and west of Iran. All of these people took refuge in the rest of Iran and Afghanistan. Iran had become a refugee state, especially to the north, by the Caspian Sea.

 

In that same area, I had my little cottage, which had a garden filled with orange trees. A day before Nowruz – the first day of the spring season – began, I went to my cottage with all my family members. Would you believe it . . . our decision to leave that day allowed us to just narrowly escape missile and suicide bomb attacks.

 

I had a long walk by the Caspian Sea and was crying to myself. I was angry at the blue sky and nature. I couldn’t see people suffering and the weather changing into a beautiful spring at the same time. I found myself standing in my yard, tired of my life and constantly wondering how much more I could handle, when I noticed that the gardener hadn’t cleaned the yard at all. He also hadn’t cleaned a portion of the building where the wall and house were partially broken.

 

Amidst the debris, I saw a plant with tiny flowers smiling brightly at the sunshine. The flower knew how to grow up in that messy, cement-laden area. The flower rose to greet the sunshine and it seemed like it had grown almost a meter from the last time I had seen it.

 

At that moment, I realized something: if this little plant could fight for its life, then why should I not do the same with mine? I felt ashamed of myself. I felt ashamed to consider myself weak, to be displeased with nature and, above all, to be angry at God’s will. Soon afterward, I started to clean the area. Once it was done, I touched the plant and I exclaimed magic in my native Farsi language:

 

“Mojezeh!”

 

So what’s the moral of the story – never give up. The plant taught me that lesson by fighting all odds and coming out victorious. I went home and encouraged everyone to stand up and clean when my mother started cooking. I let strangers come inside to use our washroom and water and shared food among us.

 

Since that day, I promised myself that, no matter how hard life became, I wouldn’t give up.

 

Every spring since then, I renew myself and try being one with nature. I have become a minimalist and actively promote peace. I also devote a lot of my time to nature photography. Above all, I am thankful for what I learned that day. I now understand the creator more and am thankful for the message I received that day.

 

Since then, whenever there have been many ups and downs in my life, I don’t get flustered, and I don’t ever give up.

 

Connect with Simin and others at Low Entropy’s community site, any of our social media channels, or simply leave some positive vibes in the comment section below!

A Place You Love

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Low Entropy Volunteer Writer Daniel Wilkens takes us on a walk through a secluded, beloved place.

 

We are surrounded by chaos. Threats of job loss gnaw away at our feelings of security. We are bombarded with images of unrest and upheaval. Our very lives are threatened by a disease that seems determined to hunt us down – an enemy we can’t even see.  

 

These factors and hundreds of others are fixtures of our current society. These stressors take a huge emotional toll. They suck out our spirit, deplete us of our internal resources and erode our confidence. They rob us of our ability (or our perception of our ability) to protect ourselves and our loved ones. 

 

It’s never been more important to find a way to ground ourselves, to take a step back from the madness. ‘Getting away from it all’ is a cliché – but regaining focus can sometimes mean literally and physically ’getting away.’ Think of a place of fond past memories, a place of happiness or solitude – a place that’s important to you personally. I’m going to suggest that one way to stay sane in a crazy world is to frequent a location that soothes you. Of course we need to follow whatever current health and safety guidelines are required, including masks and our ability to social distance. Be smart and safe. But when possible, think about a place you love and go there. 

 

The Delight of Discovery 

 

There are a lot of places I hold near and dear. The one I’m thinking of right now is a tiny beach on the south coast of Lake Erie, Ontario. By ‘tiny’ I mean a few hundred meters of shoreline at most. It’s not pristine or perfectly groomed. It doesn’t get the attention of the bigger stretches of sand like Port Stanley or Nickel Beach. The narrow access roadway leads down to a parking area big enough to accommodate six cars. While some parents bring their kids on a hot August afternoon and a few hardy locals make the trek down to walk their dogs, it is definitely secluded. It’s not remote, but it’s not overrun either.

 

Sometimes traces of humankind are all that’s visible. Holes may dot the sand-scape where beach umbrellas sat, shielding their owners from the searing sun. Small canine footprints follow smaller human footprints wherever they wander. More often, it’s nature leaving clues behind. Seagull tracks, raccoon tracks and possum tracks are evident at water’s edge. Tracks of coyotes or skunks will lead to a half-eaten fish, its final resting place a shallow scar on the dunes. Even mice or voles can leave their mini prints in the silky wet sand of a May morning. Every set of tracks tells a tale if you care to read them. 

In the summer it is a hot spot, scorched grasses waving over sizzling sand. In the late fall the storms come, howling their rage and lambasting the pier with sky-scraping waves. The winter is quiet and white, ice stretching out well into the bay. In the spring it smells fresh, the water still freezing cold for those anxious enough for summer to give it a splash.

 

The delight of discovery knows no seasons. Driftwood is strewn and scattered, twisting into magnificent art forms. Flat stones call out, begging to be skipped. Beach glass is everywhere, polished by tides and glinting in the bright orange light. Fossil shells have stories to tell, feathers and bones do too.

 

I had a period where I visited almost daily for a few months and I thought of it in my head as a place of familiarity, a place of sameness. Which it is, in a fashion. But more than that, it is a place of perpetual change. When I did finally make the association between this tranquil getaway and constant flux, it was almost a revelation. The relief I feel when I visit comes not from predictability, but from the anticipation of seeing something new.

 

This short stretch of water meeting shoreline is always in motion. Not just season-to-season as you might expect, but day-to-day and minute-by-minute. It’s never the same twice and I find that very reassuring.

 

Identify, Embrace, Energize

 

Your place of comfort doesn’t have to be as dramatic as a hidden, wind-swept beach. It can be your usual park bench, a historic clock tower, a fountain in the city square or a favourite old chair. Places that can be visited safely and privately. What’s important is to identify these places and embrace their potency. A place you love is a place of power, of rejuvenation and regeneration. A place you love is somewhere you can go and reaffirm to yourself, ‘I know who I am’ and ‘I feel stronger now, I can face my challenges.’

 

Think about a place you love, and go there.

 

Where would you go? Let us know in the comments, or take the very short journey over to a special place that Low Entropy has created for our inclusive and supportive community and share your memories and experiences!

Lessons Learned from Gardening

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Does the simple act of growing plants also help you to grow as a person? Low Entropy Volunteer Writer Robert Thompson was curious to find out, so he chatted with two family members about gardening and how their experiences might have affected their personal development. 

 

What does gardening mean to you? That’s an interesting question because of the wide variety of answers it could produce. To some, gardening is a pleasant hobby, while to others, it is something more – a passion, or even a vocation – but to most people, it is somewhere in between. I decided to ask a couple of my family members what their thoughts were on gardening. My mother is somewhat new to gardening, while my grandmother has many years of experience, so I thought it would be interesting to see the similarities and differences between the answers they give.

 

Firstly, I wanted to get a clear picture of just how much experience each of my family members had with gardening. 

 

My grandmother has been gardening since she was just a young kid, which means she has some 40-50 years of experience! Originally, she focused on flower and landscape gardening, but in recent years she has also been having fun with growing her own vegetables. I do not know how her skills have developed over the years, but she seems to be something of an expert now. 

 

On the other hand, my mother is much more green (unlike the plants she grows). Historically, she has not had quite as much success making plants grow as my grandmother has, but she continues to put in an admirable effort, which is starting to pay off. She started gardening about five years ago in an effort to make the backyard look better. Since then, she has also started to grow a lot of potted plants. 

 

I noticed that, although they had different reasons for getting into gardening in the first place, they actually enjoyed it for largely the same reasons. 

 

Both of them talked about how gardening gives them a great sense of peace. This sense of peace is apparently derived from two main factors. First is the fact that gardening allows one to immerse oneself in nature, which has been proven to have a soothing effect on almost everyone. They also both mentioned that gardening allows them to take their minds off of other problems. Being able to forget about all the stresses of one’s life and focus entirely on caring for plants sounds quite therapeutic indeed. I suspect part of the reason people have such an easy time doing so is because of the aforementioned connection to nature. Gardens tend to not have very many of the objects that you might associate with stress, such as computers or paperwork, while your own house almost certainly has these items in places where they can easily be seen and remind you of work, taxes or whatever else might be getting in the way of your peace of mind. 

 

In addition to being an excellent stress-reliever, it appears that gardening can help with personal growth, as well. My mother and grandmother talked about what they have learned from their time gardening, and, despite their large differences in experience, their answers were incredibly similar. 

 

One of the most obvious attributes you can learn from gardening is patience. Plants do not grow overnight, but instead have to be gently coaxed for weeks, months, or even years at a time. My mother can be an impatient person sometimes, and I have noticed that she occasionally becomes frustrated by the apparent lack of progress that is being made in her garden. I initially hypothesized that this trait might be one of the primary reasons she has not been as successful a gardener as my grandmother, rather than the fact that she does not have as much experience. After thinking about it some more, however, it seems to be that, to a certain extent, one of those things is a product of the other, rather than them being mutually exclusive. 

 

Another attribute that my mother and grandmother both talked about was perseverance. From what I had seen, gardening came very easily and naturally to my grandmother, but she contradicted my expectations by talking about gardening as a process of trial and error. While I hadn’t expected her to be able to magically do everything perfectly, I was somewhat surprised by the amount of mistakes that she made. But rather than focusing on the quantity of mistakes that were made, I think it is more helpful to see what caused those mistakes and what was done to avoid repeating them. One mistake that my grandmother tended to make was putting plants in places they would not be able to survive (for example, planting something that needs a lot of sun in a shady area). As it happens, this is the very same thing that my mother talked about when I asked her to talk about one of her own failures. I suppose there aren’t too many ways that you can mess up while gardening, so I wasn’t particularly surprised by this. Anyway, the aspect to focus on is not the mistake that was made, but rather what happened next. Both of my family members had the determination to try again after making a mistake: again, and again, and again. Just like wild weeds become incredibly resilient, we too can become resistant to failure. Gardening is an excellent activity to help cultivate that resilience because, as mentioned before, it is generally a low-stress activity. This means that you won’t feel as overwhelmed or scared of making mistakes as you might while doing something like playing a sport where you could feel pressure from teammates or opponents.

 

My mother mentioned one other point which I found to be interesting. She talked about how she spent a lot of time trying to grow flowers because she likes how they look, but unfortunately it was nearly impossible to do so given the climate of her yard. She tried for a long time, but was unable to keep them from dying. Eventually, she came to realize something which I took careful note of because I found it to be applicable to much more than just gardening. “Getting plants that will be able to thrive in your garden is much better than getting plants that you like but won’t be able to survive in your garden,” she says. This is really quite profound because it uses gardening as an analogy to explain a very important concept. Sometimes, we have to sacrifice things that we like because they won’t fit into the bigger picture. For example, someone might really enjoy candy, but that person will have to choose to not eat candy every day because being healthy is more important. By looking at the grand scheme of things, sacrifices like those will always be beneficial to you in the end. 

 

Gardening can be hard work, so I think it’s important to mention that it can be very rewarding as well. Of course, there is the fact that, by working so hard to make your garden thrive, you are creating a private paradise for yourself to relax in. Additionally, it’s possible that the fruits of your effort might literally be fruits (or vegetables)! Finally, there is the sense of pride you get from seeing your garden: whether you feel proud to show it off to friends and family, or you simply enjoy it for its own sake. You won’t see any progress overnight, but when comparing photos taken over the months or years, it will be apparent and gratifying to see how far you’ve come.

 

What have you learned from your garden? And for those of you who don’t garden, are you interested in starting? Let us know why (or why not) in the comments below, or mention your favourite vegetable at a Low Entropy meeting!

Sustainability, Interwoven

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Low Entropy Volunteer Writer Joelle Chia didn’t just learn how to crochet – Joelle learned how to knit together a plan to tackle social, economic and environmental sustainability issues on a local level.

 

When you hear the word “sustainability,” what first comes to mind? Sustainability is a word that has been increasingly used in the past 10 years. It has been used to describe the phenomenon of electric vehicles and new forms of energy, and to uplift environmental causes. In broad terms, sustainability is meeting our own needs without endangering future generations’ ability to meet their own. Although the concept of sustainability is not new, it is becoming abundantly clear that living sustainably is not something we should do, it’s something we must do. However, this concept doesn’t just apply to the environment. Social, environmental and economic sustainability all play a role in creating a sustainable world. Over the summer of 2020, I was able to witness the effects of these three pillars of sustainability and draw a personal conclusion.

 

The world produces more than 380 million tonnes of plastic every year, most of which end up as pollutants that enter the oceans and elsewhere in the natural environment. This large phenomenon translates to a smaller scale when looking at a local community. One day, I decided to take a walk through downtown Vancouver. As I stumbled upon different neighborhoods, it was entirely too common to see plastic waste lying around. Plastic bags, bottles and packaging flew down the streets as cars whizzed past, polluting the local atmosphere throughout. And as I walked back to the train, I passed an area of Vancouver that was notorious for its large homeless population. The buildings were decayed and stale lights casted an eerie glow on the faces of those slumped in corners. It was then that I asked myself, “Is there a way for me to relieve these issues firsthand, with the resources I already have?” 

 

And so, together with a group of nine like-minded individuals the following summer, we decided to target leading environmental and local issues for a government-funded project. Two topics we decided to simultaneously address were homelessness and plastic waste. The goal of our project was to upcycle plastic bags into crocheted sleeping mats, which would then be donated to homeless shelters. By doing so, we would be able to transform typical single-use plastic into reusable sleeping mats. Over the course of two months, we hosted a plastic bag drive and brought in over 1000 single-use bags. Each of us learned to crochet plastic bags by tying bags together to, essentially, create “yarn.” In the end, over 30 mats were created and successfully delivered to a homeless shelter in the Lower Mainland.

 

When we visited the shelter to drop off sleeping mats, I was touched by the stories of those who regularly visited the shelter. Many individuals were just looking for a warm meal or a place to stay the night. Social and economic sustainability include basic necessities that can be accessed by all in order to keep themselves, their families, and their communities healthy and secure. Seeing the homeless shelter show enthusiasm and appreciation towards the sleeping mats made me evaluate my own life, and be grateful for the small things in life that were easily overlooked. Thinking back to that evening when I walked through downtown, economic and social sustainability standards were not met. However, now that my earlier question was answered and I was able to use my resources to instill sustainability in the local community, a glimmer of hope shone through. 

 

In order for future generations to thrive and meet their needs, all pillars of sustainability must be met. Human well-being and the well-being of society are integral to what sustainability stands for, and they are both important aspects that should not be cast aside. So how can such a huge concept be applicable to a single person or small crowd? To me, sustainability is a lifestyle. Whether it be buying green products, donating to local charities, reading up on world events or even just recycling, all these small changes to one’s lifestyle can change the world for the better. When I took on the project last summer, my goal was not to “fix” all the problems I saw. Rather, I wanted to create positive change by encouraging a sustainable mindset for myself and those around me. By using resources that are already available, we can generate new perspectives, and eventually the issues of our world could subside as we learn to live in harmony. 

 

What kind of changes have you made to move toward sustainability? What might you do in the future? Let us know in the comments, on one of our social media platforms, or at a Conscious Connections meeting!

Outside-In

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Low Entropy Volunteer Writer James Phan wonders if, by saving the planet, we aren’t also saving ourselves as well.

 

What if environmental recovery was presented as the surface-level goal of waste reduction, with self-development as its profound depth? 

 

There are two ways to approach our manufactured waste dilemma. It seems the most popular dialogue involves media blaring about environmental impact, because our ecosystem is grand but fragile to human destruction. We are inundated with messages of humanity irreversibly damaging eco-diversity and climate patterns, threatening our food and resource sustainability, as well as our medicinal and technological development, all the while creating uncertain health outcomes.

 

The alternative dialogue is about you. 

 

What does focusing on becoming the best version of yourself have to do with reducing waste?

 

Reducing waste challenges the way you think about you and the world. Environmentalists and the heroic alike understand that thinking big is valuable – it’s important to envision greatness – but that’s only part of the equation for achievement. To create sustained progress to save the planet, it’s about starting small with what you have now: this relies on your ability to develop your thinking and align your behavior. Treat the habit of reducing waste as a stepping stone for expanding self-development, for a good cause. Anyone can grow from it.

 

The billions of us humans are energy-hungry from birth. There are so many factors contributing to our wastefulness that we’ll explore, with the goal of self-improvement on the way to a less wasteful you. You are not to be shamed for having wasteful habits, but we are all responsible for creating positive change.

 

Emotional intelligence

 

Listening to yourself in a non-judgmental way is a skill you can pick up anywhere at any point, and it can do wonders to your sense of fulfillment and mental health. Have you heard of emotional eating or emotional shopping? We’re living in a society where addictive activities are increasingly tied to our emotions. This kind of addictive behavior more easily ingrains itself in us when we lose touch with our own emotions, but when we recognize and accept our emotions – thus improving our emotional intelligence – we’re more able to reduce waste through awareness and control of our consumer habits. 

 

  • Pause and reflect. The next time you feel a craving to eat or shop, gently ask yourself which emotions are taking jabs at you. Is there more to your hunger or desire, like frustration, despair, inadequacy, sadness or other types of distress? What’s the discomfort level like, where do you think it’s coming from, and why is it coming from there? Take your time with this. Remember, it’s okay to not be okay. Buying and eating may be ways to numb yourself from the emotional truths that feel too shameful to be heard.

 

  • Breathe. Humans love impulse by default. It’s higher-level thinking that takes a bit more effort. With breath control and exercises, you’ll be able to access this level of cognition more smoothly and efficiently. When you feel your next impulsive urge to consume, try taking a minute to focus only on deep breaths, in order to clear your mind and calm the emotions bouncing off of its walls. 

 

  • Track your cues. This world is shared, but your perceptions and triggers are uniquely yours. Everyone has their own triggers for emotions which, in extreme cases, relate to trauma and addiction. The moment something excites or provokes you, analyze what might be causing this, such as images, sounds, words or environmental cues. Understanding the sources of your triggers will help you control your exposure to them. After all, willpower isn’t infinite.

 

Marketing Awareness

 

You know who knows emotional intelligence really well? Those who manipulate it. Let’s look at consumerism through a marketing lens. As much as I am a nerd for marketing strategies, especially for the beautiful creativity involved, there are established practices that are morally questionable. The innocent definition of marketing is to propagate news of a product or service so that a business generates capital via purchases from, hopefully, loyal customers. Over time, marketing evolved to be science-based for faster and bigger sales. Some marketing targets your emotional vulnerability. Self-development, then, is about increasing your critical thinking to be aware of marketing techniques like the ones below:

 

  • Question the new trend. General Motors CEO Alfred P. Sloan created the concept of planned obsolescence to change the economy. When people had everything they needed, people stopped buying, which meant less revenue. So his marketing team persuaded the masses to always want newer models of his cars by including features that would make the old, still-working ones feel inferior by comparison. These days, it’s still all about the latest phone or fashion, superfood or trend.

 

  • Question the beautiful. If you can’t sell the product, sell the package. For example, sure, Sugarfina confections use higher quality ingredients for their candies, but do you think they would sell at luxury boutiques if it wasn’t for the pretty packaging? Consider what you’re buying: the display or the product.

 

  • Question your impulses. Returning to emotional intelligence, marketing agents know that almost all purchases are emotional purchases. We feel first, and then we justify with a facade of reasoning and logic. Think hard about what ads, packaging and displays are trying to tap into (besides your wallet). If it isn’t something urgent, then you can always delay your purchase and take some time to consider this.

 

Compassion

 

Improving yourself through reducing waste involves being connected to everyone and the planet, including yourself. Many compassionate people practice self-compassion and self-compassion breeds compassionate behavior. Without this foundation in you, it’s easy to be inspired to reduce waste at first, but then revert to wasteful habits. Mind these tips to help you grow spiritually while recalibrating your consumer habits.

 

  • Practice gratitude. The meal you just ate or the awesome new shoes you now sport, what went into their manufacture? The resources involved, the transactions, the lives. The waste. Expressing gratitude to all the effort and energy required to serve you will make you realize how awesome it is to be enjoying some things, yet also how insensitively excessive they might be. Plus, gratitude has been found in research to reduce stress, and improve sleep and overall mood. That’s a win-win.

 

  • Practice consideration. The more we consume, the more factories built, the more pollutants created, it all means more illnesses claiming lives. Check out articles about Cancer Alley, riddled with industrial plants. Read about India’s plastic waste crisis: after monsoon season, plastics in dumps fill with water and become breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes. Think of the impact you have as a purchaser, and how your decisions may be linked to someone else’s home, their family and their friends.

 

  • Practice self-love and care. By no means should you stop consuming all manufactured products that make you feel great. Definitely reward yourself for your accomplishments. But try seeking experiences rather than products sometimes. Another approach is moderation: to moderate indulgence is like caring for the future version of you. As an economist would think about opportunity cost, focus on what you gain instead of what you’re delaying, be it health, mood, money or time. If you can believe it, I refused an on offer of Vancouver’s wholesome Earnest ice cream one evening; the timing just felt off, even for ice cream.

 

Your attitude and knowledge empowers you to curb erosions of our home planet, while armed with emotional intelligence, consumer awareness and compassion.

 

By now you’ve  probably noticed that this isn’t your typical article about saving the planet using 20 hands-on eco-friendly tricks. I want this to be a reminder that we’re not just reducing waste for the sake of the planet and our health, as true as that is. In the end, it’s about saving our humanity.

 

If you were to give up one thing you regularly purchase to help reduce waste, what would it be? Let us know in the comments below, or on any one of our social media platforms!