Frugality

Frugality can often be associated with meanness, which may be true in some cases, but I am left wondering about the state of the planet and our general lack of frugality. If we look at what we have done to planet Earth and to the lives of all the other nonhuman inhabitants we might consider that our greed is to blame.

While the Western drive for more, more, more, sweeps to engulf the East it would appear that Mother Earth is running out of resources and is now gradually warming. I read some research this morning that told that my diesel car, that I bought because I was told that it would be better for the environment, is now partly the cause of obese children.

Tonight in the UK is Bonfire night and that means that collectively we will throw tons of CO2 and other particulates and pollutants into the atmosphere. I am left wondering where frugality meets mindfulness and where meanness meets the act of Dharma or ‘right living’?

If we get away from the concept of frugality as meanness, that does not imply that people cannot be mean, but, if we consider frugality mindfully and environmentally we might just find a case for promoting frugality as a sustainable way of living. People who are frugal or who live frugally consume less. They eat much less, waste much less and perhaps spend less money on themselves. We could say that they have a smaller carbon footprint.

Frugality may mean spend less. Eating less food and meals cooked at home can save money energy and is actually healthier than take away, restaurant and ‘ding’ meals. The simple things such as re-using plastic bags by simply washing them out, taking those items that we no longer want to the charity shop or donation station. And, my favourite bug bear is that we throw thirty five percent of the food that we buy in the bin. Learning on how we can use and eat leftovers makes a phenomenal difference to our environment.

Suzi Lee – Bare bones traveller

Well worth a read Suzi explains in her blog how she travels around the world on very little and often nothing at all. She is a bare-bones budget traveler, getting around by hitch-hiking, taking local chicken buses and sleeping in cheap hostels or occasionally on the floor of kind locals.

Just looking at the current state of the weather should be enough to make us think again. We were promised that with global warming we would have cool dry summers and warm wet winters. There was also the suggestion that there would be an increase in wind movements and storms. Well, hey. It all seems to be happening right now.

We could take the view that the planted is here to be used and just say ‘Sod it’ and use the whole thing up – goodbye human being. Or we might consider our responsibility to those who have yet to come and to those non-human Earthlings that we share this planet with. We could all do so much more in every sphere of our lives if we choose to.

I guess the choice is the mindless walk into oblivion or the mindful walk into survival. If each person is a small drop in the ocean of universal consciousness then collectively we have an impact. If we see ourselves as a meaningless drop in the ocean of life then it is oblivion here we come.

For those Astrologically minded the Piscean age was about gurus and teachers and people needing to be told what to do. The Aquarian age marks a shift in which each individual becomes self determining and individually collectively responsible for what happens next. There is no long a ‘them’ out there who will make the decisions for us and make it alright. Try to be a drop in the ocean!

Take care, be happy and be frugal

Sean x

 

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