Earth Hour, hardly noticed

Last night's Earth Hour nearly slipped by without any notice due in part to the way we live. Emery was busy with some outside chores until nearly 9 p.m. No electricity used. The days light fading in the sky but it was not dark out. It was humid, which seems to carry any light from near or far. I was cooking some eggs on the stove for a late supper, no electricity there.

The lantern light seemed very ordinary. The house was silent, except for the steady ticking of the mantle clock. Nothing out of the ordinary there. We chose long ago to walk this earth with a tender footprint for lots of reasons. Health is a big motivator for us and we feel that being surrounded by electrical current 24/7 is probably not the best for your body. We also avoid preservatives and chemicals in general in our food as much as possible simply because its been proven to not be good for you. So we opt to grow a big garden, have fruit and nut trees. And in other areas of our life, we just simply chose the simple way. Some of the reasons might even be spiritual. For us, keeping life simple allows us to walk away from the "keeping up with the Jones" mentality, since it is our goal, our intention and our belief that for us, it is best. We don't buy glossy magazines, watch the Home and Garden type shows on television, or read the blogs that are all about showing off the finery. Ignorance of what others have in comparison to what you don't have, is really bliss and helps keep the covetousness thing at bay and be content with having our needs met without putting wants first.

Then there are things like extra appliances. I don't see where the pay off to use a clothes dryer is more than the time I spend outside with the beauty of nature all around me, and the bonus is I am not using fossil fuel to dry my clothes. I have good arm muscles from stirring and mixing by hand, again no electricity used. If the electricity went out, I am not going to panic about having to make something without some gadget to get the job done. Laugh if you wish, but I don't even use a vacuum, I sweep. Of course we only have one area rug in the entire house. Carpets today are laden with chemicals in the manufacture of them, plus carpets hold dirt. No matter how much you vacuum, dirt will get into the pad under your wall to wall and then settle down onto the floor. As I type this out this morning, the computer, refrigerator and the freezer are the only electric items running .

I often hear people talking about how their children are so self absorbed. In their rooms playing games, on the computer chatting or watching television and for some, doing all those things at once. Wives complain about husbands tied to the television and husbands wish for a love note instead of credit card receipts from their wives. Its kinda pathetic that we have commercials telling us to have one meal together as a family so we can know what our children are doing. Spend more time with your kids, they really don't need more "toys" they need more time spent with parents. Conversation, interest... the things we all want and having fewer gadgets can take us to that place of personal interaction. And a life free from debts that strangle and suffocate.

Anyone who has known me for decades knows I have always been heading further down the path to simplicity from my teen years. From the moment I met Emery, I knew he would be the man to help me in this direction. From the get go, we thought about living in the country, and then when the children came along, we did the cloth diaper thing, the nursing on demand, back packs, cotton clothing, soft baby shoes when the majority were putting shoes akin to casts on their babies feet, health food, hiking, homeschooling and on and on. Hippie mentality. We have marched to our own drum beat for a very long time and in that there is freedom. It's not an electric drum that we hear, its the beating of our own hearts !

So really, its no wonder that Earth hour came and went without us having to change a lot in our lives.