The conscious part started for me as I came to the end of uni and thought about what my adult life would look like. It’s easy to slide into doing exactly what is expected and usual with no consideration of why. One of the main things I decided was I really didn’t want to own a car. So my current flat is within walking distance of a train station, bus station, the high street, a beautiful park and most other things I want on a day-to-day basis. Which is great.
But the more I read about green/simple/minimalist/blah blah blah living, the further my current life seems from ideal and it makes me feel guilty. Which contradicts some of my hopes for living more simply.
Being aware of failings is good in that it pushes us to improve but for me it’s hard to find the balance between motivated and beating myself up.
Colleen said,
July 1, 2012 at 4:55 am
I think you are selling yourself short. Don’t let someone else set the standard for what is acceptable when it comes to green/simple/minimalist for you. Just figure out what works for you right here right now and make incremental changes to continue to improve. Rome wasn’t built in a day so don’t expect to change yourself overnight or set too high a standard that makes you want to give up. Slow improvement is better than no improvement, so just celebrate every forward step and forget about the ultimate goal for now. The only person you have to answer to is yourself and if you are making yourself miserable you are defeating the purpose of the exercise. You are probably doing better than 90% of the population anyway.
slowsimpleconscious said,
July 3, 2012 at 9:37 am
thanks for your kind comment, i am rather bad at beating myself up. it’s self-defeating because it puts me off doing more. but i do always take time out to be in the moment and find enjoyment in things as they are right now.