Week 3: HOPE — It’s a sneaky thing
Lesley of Sustainable Utopia so perfectly expressed the way I feel about “Hope”, as well as my personal experience of it, that I won’t bother writing about it, ha! Instead, I’ll move on to some Concrete Goals & Positive Actions, for “Hope, Week 3” of the 8 Week Challenge.
**I want to lose some weight, the whole Temple Remodel project is still underway, though it has changed. The earliest strategy has morphed a bit to counting carbs. A low carb diet has always been the best for me, in terms of how I feel & how I end up looking. Because of the circumstances of my life right now, this is a bit difficult to pursue in the way I’d prefer, but still do-able. The ultimate strategy for Remodeling the Temple is to recreate my whole relationship with food & eating, moving toward mindful eating instead of turning to food to fulfill other, more basic hungers. This is a long term, lifestyle issue really, so I’ll just stick to the immediate goal of weight loss for this post. But I cannot say that it’s going all that well at this time, though I do feel quite a bit better.
**I want to create a business, raising compost worms & harvesting the vermicompost. Creating healthy soil amendments from discard & food waste is just such a turn on for me! Haha, it is odd maybe, be decomposing matter is really interesting to me — creating zero waste, improving plant growing conditions, making it more possible (especially for urban dwellers) to eat more healthfully, increasing sustainability in a disposable-besotted-world ………. A worm wrangler I am, yearning to be unleashed!! But, I have no land. I have not got the monetary resources to even buy a pound of compost worms, & no place to set up on even a very modest scale. I’m not able to borrow money, from either institutions or the fam. And — here’s where despair really lies in wait — I see no prospects for gainful employment in my near future. In short — in this area of my life, I really …………….. i really feel hope less ……………… Still, I know that there’s a place for this, at some point in my future. I keep up with blogs & web sites on vermicomposting (here’s one of my faves), I price equipment, I plan for the start up business & its subsequent expansion, I’m determined to avoid whining. I’m not giving up; I just don’t see how the-way-it-is-right-now is going to become what-I-want-it-to-be any time soon. SIDE NOTE: The plans, & hopes, for such a business are still in process, though mostly unseen. Which is largly the way in which compost worms themselves go about their business, haha
**This is less of a concrete goal, is perhaps more ……. silken. I want to make continuous progress toward my many-lifetime goal of transforming into a bodhisattva, reaching enlightenment for the sake of the enlightenment of other sentient beings. I’ve written about this many times on MindMindful, so I won’t go into it much right here. Suffice it to say, that I will continue to examine my mind by meditating, writing, & avoiding excessively & OBsessively distracting myself from This Present Moment. I will continue my efforts at seeing myself in the behaviors & failings of others, & vice versa. I will keep on making my heart more open, even when it hurts, & when it’s veryvery frightening.
**And, I will keep on laughing, & helping others to find that giggle that trumps their frown. This goal is also not so concrete. More ……. like …… bubbles! In reminding myself & everyone else to look for the funny story in whatever situation they may be in, I will be aiding all of us in staying present, no matter the situation. This will help us all turn our minds from the habit that nearly all of us have: grousing about the circumstances of any given moment, rather than celebrating what’s best about it. Maybe we will all have a little more gratitude this way, &, if nothing else, we’ll all get to have an entertaining moment as we laugh the troubles off later.
And with this one I realize I’ve strayed into the Infectious Hope section, so yea for me!! Isn’t that hopeful, right there?? Snuck right up on me.
Related articles
- HOPE – Revisited (alternateeconomy.wordpress.com)
- The Worm Factory (romancingthebee.com)
- Vermi-Workshop and Friends of UMass Permaculture Zine! (umasspermaculture.wordpress.com)
- Vermicomposting: Composting Kitchen Waste With Worms (survivalfarm.wordpress.com)
- Vermicomposting – Composting With Worms (tinyoklahomagarden.wordpress.com)
- DIY Worm Compost Bin [Video] (lifehacker.com)
- The Boxwood Vermicomposting System (permaculturedesignreview.com)
- day 56: low carb diets (paperclipsuk.wordpress.com)
- The 8 Week Challenge (alternateeconomy.wordpress.com)
where would we be without our hope? i don’t even want to know
Metaphorical hell, I think:)
Every one of us needs Hope.. Great Post. ~Sue
Thank you! I agree: hope is like water to a thirsty being. Even just a little bit of it makes a world of difference, doesn’t it?
I think I’m falling in Love with you.
I look so forward to your every post. We’ve never met, probably never will (heck, we could pass in the streets and probably not know each other), and yet I feel very strongly that we’re kindred spirits. Keep doing what you’re doing.
I feel the kindred spirit thing too, for sure:) I live in Oklahoma — you’re in Gatineau, Canada?? Hard to pass each other on the street, haha But — some day, I’ll come up there. (if I’m wrong about where you live, please correct me:) BTW, your post about turning a pallet into a verticle garden: my daughter & I were talking about that very thing, that very day. Synchronous, eh?
I’m actually in South Western Ontario (About 40 minutes away from Detroit). The post about the pallet was actually a reblogg that I found through stumbledupon. I have plenty of room to grow veggies in my yard, but I love finding ideas that help people who don’t think they’ve got the space.
I bet that’s a beautiful area — lots of trees? & snow!? I think ideas for growing vertically, hanging on walls or fences, are important for urban dwellers to know about — the more people who are growing SOMEthing, the more “good” influence can be brought to bear on the agri industry; the better our food can be.
You’d be surprised about the snow. We had almost none this year. lol
You’re 100% correct about agribusiness. The only way we’re going to preserve biodiversity is by doing it ourselves. I’ve always said, if you’ve got room for a mug, you’ve got room to grow something edible.
Sounds like that should be a slogan ON a mug:) When I lived in New Mexico, I was briefly involved with a group — one of their purposes was to promote the idea of every household growing at least one source of food, a fruit tree, herbs in a pot, etc. I like mixing veggies & flowers in the same bed, pot, etc.
AWESOME post!
The DC
Thank you! I wish you sneaky hope too:)
I always have high hopes when being sneaky :P,and thanks,LOL! 🙂
The DC
LOL
Hope feels like longing to me. It’s in the realm of wants and needs where it’s possible to get stuck. When I was focused on my wants and needs, the universe gave me back exactly what I was putting out. Wants and needs on top of my wants and needs. Never ending. Thinking about having faith; faith in mine and other people’s goals, aspirations, faith in other people, myself.. life (!) I find that inspiring. Epic post, I enjoyed reading it and found it thought provoking, so thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thank YOU for sharing! Maybe you’d like joining in the 8 Week Challenge, & posting YOUR thoughts on Hope, Love, etc ………………. just sayin’
Great Hopes
HOPE LETS US BREATHE IN THE WORST OF WORST SITUATIONS. IT KEEPS US ALIVE
I like the way you put it: ……letting us breathe in the worst of worst situations. Well said:)
thank you MindMindful for your kind remark
I remember helping my dad harvest the composting worms when I was a preteen. He was an organic gardener and wanted to help others become the same.
I like your goals. I wish the best for you as you achieve them.
Thanks! I wish I could say I’d been helping my dad harvest compost worms,rather than having parents (& others) who look at me with that “Are you f***ing crazy??” look re harvesting compost worms ………..haha