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Downshifting is a term that is used in conjunction with voluntary simplicity. It's the practice of letting things go - work, money, stuff - in order to simplify your life and have more time to live the life you want.
Why is this green? Well, it's green because downshifters generally are committed to buying less and what they do buy they buy better and more naturally.
I was thinking about this concept of downshifting the other day while I was in the ocean with my six year old. I've been under the impression that I have been heading in the direction of voluntary simplicity/downshifting recently. And I suppose that I have been to a certain extent. But somehow, I'm not fitting in the time for the stuff I really want to do.
The ocean was very calm last Saturday. Too calm to boogie board very well, so my son and I put our boards up on the beach and just went in the water splashing around and talking. For the first time, I realized just how grown up my baby is. He had deep things to say. He had actual comments and questions to what I was saying. He kept looking up towards the lifeguard and saying mom - we're drifting away - we need to walk closer to the lifeguard. None of this would have happened a year ago in the ocean. When did this happen? When did he gain this maturity and how did I miss it?
Sure, changes like this in children are gradual, but I feel like I should have been seeing it before this. I've been changing my life, being more green, buying less stuff, growing some of my own food. But why haven't I added more purposeful time those I love.
Wow - can I say this post has gone where I didn't expect it to go. I had no intention of talking about this. I just intended to give you a new green term.
I suppose I need to downshift more or perhaps re-shift. Take the time that I now have because I'm living more simply and dedicate more of that time to my boys, my husband and my friends.
If you're practicing voluntary simplicity or downshifting, are you using your new time in the way you want?
More and more, I'm seeing how going green and embracing voluntary simplicity go hand in hand. I'm implementing things like simplifying my family's schedule so that we have enough time to walk or bike somewhere instead of jumping in the car or I have enough time to cook a decent meal instead of opening a box.
But we're getting ready to go on vacation, and I'm realizing how far I have to go until I've really embraced voluntary simplicity. Have you ever noticed how much stuff you end up buying to get ready for vacation? For me, it's always been a good excuse to buy a few pieces of my wardrobe I've been meaning to buy, get a new pair of comfortable (yet stylish) shoes for walking, buy a spare pair of sunglasses .....
I find myself mentally fighting the urge to buy stuff for this vacation. It's a big one - just my husband and me going away for our 15th anniversary. I needed to go out over the weekend and buy a new backpack because my sunscreen spilled in the one I've had for years. I've washed it in the washing machine a couple times and left outside to air out, but the smell is still really bad. Bad enough that I get a headache from it (I am fragrance intolerant). So right off the bat, I've got to buy something before vacation.
I went shopping for a new backpack and ended up looking in three different stores before I found the right one (the right one ended up being the exact same one I've had for years, just in a different color). In each of those three stores I found myself looking for things besides backpacks. Clothes. I don't need any new clothes. But I always buy new clothes before vacation. It's ingrained in me.
If anyone could have heard the conversations going on in my head as I held a pretty gauze top with embroidered flowers on it, they might have thought I'd been possessed by Gollum. The tricksey little gauze top did not win. But I wasted a lot of time looking at things that I had to then fight with myself not to buy.
I've been rather pleased with a lot of my efforts lately. But my experience this weekend helped me to see that I shouldn't be giving myself a medal anytime soon. Right now, voluntary simplicity is a novel concept for me. It's kind of hip, trendy. But if I'm going to truly embrace this way of living, I've got a lot of real changes to make and many of those changes need to be in my head.
Am I the only one fighting with myself to create the type of lifestyle that I want for myself and my family or are some of you struggling with learned thoughts and behaviors, too?
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Planning Your Vacation with a Green Focus
Green Term of the Week - Voluntary Simplicity
