Daily writing prompt

Are there things you try to practice daily to live a more sustainable lifestyle?

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Mine will be an unorthodox answer. People will say composting, recycling, living off the electric grid, practicing spirituality, and only using electrical motors instead of fossil fuel. I am not against them, in fact, I love my home (read ‘Earth’) very much. I would very much like to see it thrive as we grow and not get affected by climate change. But practicing something daily to be like that can seem quite hard. Humans are a creature of habit, and as difficult as it is to break them, it’s equally difficult to make them.

I prefer meditation and staring into nothingness for almost 20 minutes per day. On top of that, I am trying to practice gratefulness and happiness. I believe that all these practices put things into the right perspective when you least expect it. If you are unhappy, try cultivating and drawing joy from any experience. Look at the positive side of the situation, think about how you can turn this to your advantage, and then plan your next steps accordingly. If you fulfill your plan gradually, you will regain the happiness you thought you had lost. Actually, happiness isn’t something you mine underground and stumble upon. You can create it yourself. It’s how you treat yourself with compassion, grit, determination, and positivity, that can make you happy. I usually take a bi-annual trip to intersperse my mundane life with sprinkles of happiness. Other times I read new things, or write on my blog (like now), or engage in quality time with my family.

Gratefulness is one such path toward happiness. Be kind to everyone, and especially your close ones, but not so much though that they walk all over you. Say thank you: express it more in action than in words. There’s a difference between being nice and being kind. By taking a harsh decision and ruffling some feathers, you can be kind too. Your kindness can spare others from the rude and unfavorable experiences they face on a daily basis. That same kindness will make you humble as others, and there will be a removal of the human ego. This kindness will make you grateful to the higher power, others, and yourself as well. Be a good person. Be grateful, be kind.

Meditation is the training of the mind to be in the ‘here and now’. We, humans, tend to get stuck in the past or ruminate about what the future holds for us. We forget about living in the present. We forget to observe and see where the situation is going. Future planning and envisioning are no doubt important, but that shouldn’t be where we reside. Based on the plans we make for a successful future, we should be fully present at the moment and work hard, not daydream about the possible outcome. That’s why any plan is divided into small targets. Before you know it, you have completed all the targets, and the outcome is achieved. As I said earlier, it is hard to focus on the present. I am trying every day to give some time to myself to meditate and just be present for around half an hour. Things will come in your life, trying to break the pattern. But that should be anticipated. We should build resilience and maintain this spiritual lifestyle to be more sustainable.

After months and months of low mood and bad experiences, I decided one day that I would like to have a routine irrespective of the challenges. While I managed to follow through with the routine for five days in a row, I have never felt more accomplished. Five days into it, and I felt renewed, refreshed. This makes my internal environment sustainable. “Charity begins at home”, they say. Once you make changes to your internal world, the external world around you will start to change too. You will find sustainable solutions.

I believe humans are not genetically wired to be industrially inclined – the majority are still looking for short-cut ways to accomplish things with the bare minimum resources and innovative thinking. If this is not sustainability, what is? When you connect with the universal entity through meditation, gratefulness, routine, and happiness, you will feel a pull towards Nature, and be imbued with a strong desire to protect it. Your whole existence can become sustainable, without the external physical or mental hassle. That is the ultimate goal of a sustainable lifestyle: to connect with Nature again. All you need is a sprinkle of practice, an abundance of willpower, a tablespoon of luck, and a pot of hope to get you through the difficult times.

PS. Composting is something I cannot get used to. Guess some habits are hardwired into the brain.