Disrupting Systems with Daily Habits
I did it and I know you can to, if you want
I’ve been rebellious by nature since I was a child. And so when I am up against something I’m frustrated by or I want to change I think of all the ways I can disrupt the thing. As I deepened my relationship to Nature it became more and more clear that I needed to help disrupt certain habits I’d gotten into I knew were creating a negative impact on the Whole. As I continue to make decisions with my whole eco-system in mind, the better I feel about who I am and how I am contributing to the world.
The ways I have learned to disrupt systems with my daily habits (so far):
I built an internal connection with the world around me.
I come into awareness with myself and my thoughts for at least 20 minutes every day. I check in, feel my breath moving in and out of my body, I relax fully into the moment. This is not only a self care practice but it’s a community care practice. It’s been said that a person with grounded heart energy is able to positively influence a miles long radius of energy. Each of us is a node on a web and when we're up were up and when we're are down we're down. We influence each other in ways that we don’t understand! Erring on the side of love and connection is always the answer.
Stop buying stuff.
Truly though. I stopped spending substantially in 2023 and I'm never going back. Through this I learned so much about myself and how my consumerism was massively contributing to environmental and health issues all over the world. What I realized was so much of what I was buying could be modified into a sustainable item. For instances, using reusable towels instead of paper towels, or making your own cleaning sprays in a reusable bottle, making food at home everyday including condiments, breads, sauces, spice blends. I promise it’s easy easier than you think. This is also how we disrupt capitalism.
See if you can go one month without purchasing anything other than true life essentials. See what you can make last, you can do without, repurpose, or make! It’s amazing to me the skills I have learned from just saying to myself, “how can I do this without making a purchase” Some things that have happened for me from this practice is I started making my own: skin care, candles, cleaning sprays, spice blends, breads, cakes, condiments! When you stop and ask yourself simple questions about why and how you do what you do, and why and how doing something slightly different is better for you and in turn better for the Whole, I stopped buying. I can think of no greater impact on society than this.
Turf-Free lawn/garden.
I started turning our lot into a wild-mix garden in 2018. It’s been rewarding in ways I couldn't have imagined. One reward is easy access to build your relationship with Nature. I discovered so many new friends in my garden. Plants, animals, and bugs that have taught me so much and allowed me to begin to see the connection in everything. Wyrd wide web of life and connection. Our backyards and apartment courtyards are our daily access to Nature. We spend so much time and money traveling to see a wild world we could be cultivating on our own contribution. A space to enrich our lives through engagement and love of Nature and in turn ourselves, right outside our back doors.
Grow/Make your food.
Growing food from seed was somehow the single most intimidating and also most rewarding work I have ever done. Watching a tiny seed turn into food is truly mind blowing to me, still as a grown ass woman. Understanding the power of a seed and power of cultivating nutrients on your own for your being and others around you is a vitality unsurpassed. Additionally learning how to cook for yourself and the people you love is a language unto itself. Rewarding, healthful, and respectful of the resources we come into contact. A gentle practice of self care, which translates directly into community care.
Compost everything you can.
Composting is a gift back to the Earth which is a gift to yourself. I have tried to figure out composting for years. It’s funny how capitalism can inject itself into projects. I tried all sorts of boxes and bins - I stressed about “ratios” of dried bits and green bits, until I said, “fuck it”. This can’t be this hard. I designated a spot in our yard where all the yard clippings and compostable food go. It’s as easy as a toss over the decorative fence I made out of leftover wood pieces my neighbor gave me. It’s really that easy. Allowing Earth to have her resources back, to build your soil for your garden, it’s incredible to watch the ease through which Nature goes through the life death cycle right before your eyes.
What I know, is when these habits multiply by many, there is a large impact. How you live a day is how you live your life and so making daily habits high ticket items you can live more responsibly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit. How can each of us build impeccable habits out of our own lives in order to enrich this place?