I’ve written about values many times in the past 11 years. Being clear about and honoring your values can go a long way towards living intentionally.*
A deeper values dive in the past 18 months has resulted in an increased focus on my health, my relationships, and my impact on the environment.
Magic happens when you find those values overlapping, such as in the center of a Venn diagram. That center is the sweet spot where I find myself today. It’s the place where I get to protect my health, and the health of our planet, so my kids can hopefully experience the same or better quality of life on this planet I have.
In addition to posts on values, I’ve also dedicated numerous posts to the topics of recycling, minimalism and ethical consumption. You may recall the 2018 experiment with a year-long clothing shopping ban. In 2019 I conducted another year-long experiment related to single-use plastic packaging.
Flash back to my life in Boulder, CO in the early 1990’s. I didn’t use paper towels, I recycled religiously, and I felt like I was “doing my part” for the environment. Flash forward to 2010 and you would have found three hybrids in the garage, as well as recycling bins. In 2015 we kicked things up a notch, minimizing our lives to reduce our carbon footprint. It wasn’t until 2020 though that felt like I was truly matching my intentions with action.
In 2020 time spent at home became time for action: training through the Climate Reality Project to become a Climate Reality Leader, completing the Beyond Plastic Pollution Course taught by former EPA Regional Administrator, Judith Enck, and attending my city’s sustainability conference. In addition, I’ll begin training in January 2021 to become a recycling ambassador for our county.
Feeling like I’d learned enough to share with others, I finally started a local sustainability group in September. This was a group I’d been threatening to start for over a year and it felt GREAT to get it off the ground!
It’s said we need 1 billion climate activists to change the current trajectory of our planet. In 2020 I signed myself up.
So why am I sharing all of this? Well, after much thought I’ve made the decision that in order to create time for all of these new endeavors I am shifting away from writing these posts. I’ve enjoyed sharing information with you all over the years and having these posts captured in this blog allows me to continue to do so. I just won’t be sharing any new information via this blog. Thanks for letting me pop into your inbox for the past 11 years and thank you for your support as I honor my values by shifting my priorities. ~ Andrea
*In past posts I have shared my Values Worksheet that I use with my clients. More recently, I learned about a values exercise created by the Minimalists ( https://www.theminimalists.com/v/ ), which I appreciated. Whether you check out my values worksheet or theirs, I invite you take some time to get clear on what you value as we transition out of 2020 and into the hope offered by 2021.