Simplifying Life - Mark II

Aril

Hello virtual friends:j:j
After a manic month I am hoping to resume the fettling of my house. Have restarted by freecycling the small person's trampoline and old bike. They're big items and it feels rather splendid to be moving them onto new homes.
This month for me is one full of family birthdays and over the years I have earnt myself the title of family birthday cake maker. I only do a Victoria sandwich nowt fancy but the birthday person gets to choose the flavouring. I love doing it...it gives me such pleasure and is such a little thing.
It was the small person's 11th birthday yesterday:eek::eek: I asked him a few weeks back what he might like and he couldn't think of anything that he wanted. He ended up with what I would think of as a real traditional selection- a marble mat, a geode [he collects crystals, a big bag of stamps from Oxfam [another collection], a couple of old Beano annuals [again from a charity shop], an airfix model and a large crystal growing kit. Guess what he and his Dad have been up to this afternoon!!!! I've now got various jars with various coloured liquids lined up on my window sill!! I asked him last week if he would prefer a shop bought cake this year for a change as I've only ever bought him one for this 5th when we were away on holiday. He looked at me as if I must be having a funny five and said without hesitation " a homemade one please". I was secretly dead chuffed:o
I've spent this last week reading a book called "When we were young" by John Burningham. The collection has evoked a whole range of emotions within me as I've gone through it ...some very funny, some very disturbing and this one from Kofi Annan which I found very thought provoking. I hope you enjoy it:
"At times in life, it's not other people or events beyond your control that hold you back or get in your way. Your own attitude can be just as big a problem.
At school in Ghana, Africa, I was one of a group of boys who sat on the floor of our professor's office for a weekly lesson in "spoken English". One day, the professor put a large sheet of white paper on the wall. The paper had a little black dot on the right-hand corner. When the professor asked "Boys, what do you see?" we all shouted together : " A black dot!" The professor stepped back and said, "So not a single one of you saw the white sheet of paper. You only saw the black dot. This is the awful thing about human nature. People never see the goodness of things and the broader picture. Don't go through life with that attitude".
Life teaches you lessons in surprising ways and when you least expect it. One of the most important lessons I ever learned came from a sheet of paper and a black dot. They may seem like small things, but they were enough to prompt big changes in my outlook on life."
Aril

mary43

Hi Aril - what a lovely passage from your book.Makes so much sense of the way we sometimes view things.
Your 'small person' sounds such a delight.............his birthday looming and no list of 'designer' this that or the other, electronic games that cost the earth. Oh if only more children were like that.
Most of the youngsters we've cared for in the past have that 'designer' 'I want' element but I do remember one lad who was a particular exception and would spend hours trailing round the charity shops for clothes and games of some sort. We were in the Red Cross shop one day and ended up sitting on the floor with a board game making sure 1) we understood it and 2) all the relevent pieces were there. The old gentleman serving in the shop took our photograph without us realising and said it was such a pleasure to see a 14 year old having 'quality time' with who he thought was the boys Mum and was so easily pleased. I still have the photograph and it means a lot to me.

Well, things on my home front are getting in a serious need of de-clutter. I can't believe a year ago I was getting rid of stuff and now feel I've got to start all over again. Got rid of Dads stuff.......now I'm cluttered with Mums that no-one else wanted ! OH is painting the front room (will be a long job I just know it) and that'll give a good excuse for some thinning out of 'stuff' ..........once mums affairs are totally sorted my little den will need a thorough clear out -once more ! As will my head at this rate. We were talking about holidays this afternoon and I looked for the Travelodge receipts I'd had printed out(my printer defunct!) I knew I'd put them with the brochure but can I find them ? Can I heck as like ! I know I put them somewhere 'safe' (always fatal in our house)........methinks the only way I'll find them is to take my memory stick to the computer shop and have them printed out again ! That way they just may turn up. I was so mad with myself for being so disorganised. The filing cabinet is in dire need of sorting out along with so much else but its been one of those years where other things seemed to have got in the way - yes, here I am making excuses - but its true.
Foster daughter called this afternoon and I've asked her help -once I can get to grips with getting rid of some of mums paperwork(she'll help me with that -what to keep what not to etc.) I can start on the rest. At least photo albums are sorted and fam.history files........it's just other stuff thats accumulated. I've been doing some cross stitch -need to find something to put all the threads in -heaven knows I've got enough boxes.
So..........this week I'll try to do at least some of it. No sense trying to 'take on the world' as they say............little and often............:o
You sound such a peaceful/calm person Aril............how do you do it ?

mary43

Still trying to 'de-clutter' my head and everything else.

Plus side - found my Travel Lodge receipts.......they were with all the other printing I'd had done........looked in that file once or twice but couldn't see for panic ..............lol

MIL's birthday pressie all done and arranged in the shoe box I'd covered in pretty fabric so that'll be a bit more out of the way -need to get some ribbon to tie round it.

Grandsons birthday pressie arrived so just need to get some wrapping paper for that

Maybe when I come back from the 'birthday visits' I can get stuck into clearing out stuff before I disappear underneath it all.............lol

Hope you're all ok and having a stress free time:j

ceridwen

Having a steadily busier time here chez ceridwen Mary....

Anyways.....the "In Transition" film - that is: the film about the Transition Town Movement has had its technical problems ironed out and will be shown online throughout the day on:
- Friday, 12 June
- Saturday, 13 June

to give everyone a chance to see it for free before it goes off for its final final "polishing-up" for general release to the public...

...but...as you're my (virtual) friends on here - then I give a link to Rob Hopkins' post on his blog about it and the link to the film is on there and will be "active" throughout the day on those 2 days above:

http://transitionculture.org/2009/06/08/your-chance-to-see-in-transition-the-emerging-plans-for-its-release-as-well-as-an-appeal-for-help-in-finishing-it/

Reet...I'll go and polish up my tiara for that there online premiere now then....;):D

ceridwen

:beer: The online premiere of the Transition Town Movement film "In Transition" is now available as we speak for people to watch for free until the end of this Saturday. Go to

http://transitionculture.org/2009/06/11

and the post entitled "please take your seats ladies and gentlemen the online screening of In Transition starts now" and the link is in that post.

So - one collective bow being taken - welcome to our World - come and join us...

I watched it yesterday evening and was smiling/laughing/crying my way through it - but basically smiling:D

Like all else - its a work in progress. This is version 1. Version 2 is now in process of being made. So - come and see the original now.

ixwood

From the organisation that plans to save the world, you'd think they'd be able to get a video online on time!

I'm not impressed with transition and permaculture people so far. I like the ideas, but in practise they all seem to want to flog you stuff. Courses, books, this case study and that. And none of their sites actually have much useful information on it. Just big up each other, themselves and make money.

Every time I go to a site and if they're begging, or offering rubbish at over inflated prices, I bin them. The transistion dude was begging for donations over a £1000 to help finish the video.

And they're all too doom mongerish for me. We all know, the future could be tricky, but these guys really seem to revel in it. They want to live simply with less consumerism and seem to see the potential issues as a way to try and make it happen.

Some seem to want the economic situation to stay bad and have a new age of being poor, but happy.

Maybe I'm being too cynical, but that's myn percpetion of it all so far.

ceridwen

Well.....actually....I thought that far from "doommongerish" that the overall feel of the film was quite "party-ish" in some ways. As Rob Hopkins says - words to the effect of "more of a carnival than a protest march" and that is what the film felt like to me to some extent and what being in this can feel like sometimes. My sense of humour gets "tickled" sometimes thats true. I was somewhat amused by the process of "divide actions into 4 segments - dreaming/planning/action/celebrate" - at an event I was at and the person saying this turned round and said "that means its pub for drinks for anyone wanting to at the end of this - to do the "celebration". On sitting thinking about that concept - I decided that thats actually pretty much the process I follow personally anyway in my own life - I dream of what I want personally and try to visualise the future I want/I plan how to get there/I take the necessary action and then celebrate if I manage to get whatever-it-is okay.

One example that immediately comes to mind is that - many years ago - when I was having to struggle VERY hard to buy a home for myself and didnt know if I could even manage it at all ever...thats precisely what I did: I literally sat there and visualised myself walking up the garden path and turning the key in the lock of my front door and going in cooking my dinner etc (and tried not to tell myself off for being "ridiculous - theres no way you can afford a house")/planned to do what I could to "fight" my way towards having one and did what I could (saving etc) in the practical action front and then celebrated when I had finally got it. So - that makes sense to me.

The main attraction I think of the T.T. Movement to me is:
- that I meet other people who "get it" (ie that life isnt going to continue exactly as it has for the last few decades one way or another and why it wont) and, incidentally, have a lot in common with generally.
- realise that we need to plan for the future - rather than sitting there taking the personal stance of "I'll shut my eyes and pretend...and it will all go away"
- its a revelation to me personally to start trying to work together "in community" with other people to try and live my life and "protect myself personally" from the worse aspects of how-it-could-be if we dont plan/prepare
- I can see that life could actually be a lot better than it is right now (errr....well...a few years ago before things started "crashing" round our collective ears). I like the thought of working together more communally/learning old skills/partying to celebrate our achievements.

I sit there sometimes thinking "But I want what I PERSONALLY want" (like we all personally do - if we're honest with ourselves) and having to accept that things may not be quite that way.

I sit there sometimes thinking "Hmmm....thats a bit eerrrr...."unusual" shall we say as a way of going about things" - but "oh well....give it a go...and at least people are being a lot nicer to each other than one gets in much of the Big Wide World - as we are all trying to work collectively together on this"

Its a social experiment - on an increasingly large scale. Its not perfect...none of us are perfect...I personally am very far from perfect...but at least we are trying:D

I've learnt the lesson over the years in my own life personally that its a pointless waste of time to try "shutting my eyes and ears" to the way things are and how my life will be if I just sit there playing "Lets Pretend everything will work out just fine - with absolutely no effort on my part". I've learnt on a very personal level that that simply doesnt work - and my own personal life is one heck of a lot better (errr...and more financially sorted out) precisely BECAUSE I sat and faced the (often uncomfortable) facts - so to me its very logical to think that way at a society-wide level as well...

(PS: My perception of the money issue is that - okay the appeal is there for anyone who can help fund the film - but then..it has to be paid for somehow...those that can afford it help...those that cant - ie me - dont. The only money issues I've noticed here at the grassroots is that a hat gets left for people to put in contributions towards the cost of hiring the room we're having that particular meeting in...if its one that has cost us money to hire...perfectly fair enough. The rooms are cheap (if we have to pay at all) and I calculate out that my share is probably about £1/£2 towards the room hire...I think I can manage that...But...thats not obligatory...people lob in more if they're on a good income and anyone who was unemployed obviously couldnt afford anything at all towards it....)

ceridwen

On said very different tack.....in case Mardatha starts worrying about Mary43 again - because of her absence.....

I've had a letter through today (by snailmail) from Mary explaining....ie to put it in a nutshell...broadband problems...which could be of a somewhat lengthy variety....and one or two other "bits and bobs" (of a non-personal variety).

She asks me to give her love to everyone.

mardatha

I was just sitting here idly wondering how she was !
re the TT thing, I'm too solitary a person to do things that way...but I do agree that life isn't going to go on as we know it and things are already changing. I think we need to bring back old skills, look at the Victorian Farm - that only just touched on skills we have lost, but there are many more. And not just skills - attitudes and expectations as well. But I would rather sit up my hills and learn and absorb as much as I can on my own....
anti social old bat

westcoastscot

I'm with marthadartha on this one, while i applaud the ideas/efforts of the TT movement, if we all in our way moved towards a more simplified life, taking steps to meet our own needs as much as we can, as a society we would get there in the end.
We would appreciate those skills that we don't have, and have valuable skills of our own to trade - either for goods or money. We'd all be healthier and wealthier in areas that really count, and each would have a sense of personal fulfilment that had nothing to do with how much £$cash we accrued.
oops! my soapbox slipped out there :-)
have a great day,
Pauline