2019 Lent calendar, Week Four

My theme for Lent is low-carbon living. I'm working on climate justice this year, so I want to get a better technical understanding of the best practical changes to make in my life.

At Lent I allow myself to be slow, simple, and thoughtful. I spend time each day in focused study and prayer. And I choose something to temporarily reduce or cut out of my life, as a reminder that what I truly need is the nurturing of Spirit. And I also observe Lent as a time of creative action, acting on what I learn.

March 24, 3rd Sunday of Lent-

1. Journal queries: What have I learned so far from my Lenten fast and study? What is the next step to take?

Ground myself in optimistic hope for the future, and become more open to the best actions to take.

March 25-
2. Mini-Retreat:

It's Spring Break, and I have the week off from teaching. Today I want to spend time reading, meditating, and writing about the directions life is taking me.

March 26-

3. Study low carbon-living: Read Chapter 6: Taking Charge of Electricity at Home- from the book Cooler Smarter: Practical Steps for Low-Carbon Living, by the Union of Concerned Scientists

The third biggest cause of emissions for the average American in the U.S. is our various electical appliances and devises. We can cut back by knowing which are the biggest hogs, and also knowing where our electricity comes from. Things to do, in order of effectiveness:

1. Switch to all LED bulbs.

2. Buy a more efficient regrigerator.

3. Wash clothes in cold water.

4. Use a clothesline to dry clothes as often as possible.

5. Turn tv and other devises all the way off with a power strip switch, and let computers go to sleep mode.

March 27-

4. Fasting: Week four- I'm continuing to fast from carbon, by not heating my office, as a reminder that I need to take bigger steps soon. 

Now that spring has officially arrived, this is no longer a very big deal, so I'm adding a new challenge: I'm fasting from using my dryer for anything I can possibly dry outside.

March 28-

5. Banner: I'm still working on a banner to attach to my bike.

March 29-

6. Study Permiculture: I'm taking a free online permaculture class from the Permaculture Womens Guild. This week we've covered whole system design, and my assignment was to make a list of every component I want to include (or already do include): Vegetables, fruit trees, clothesline, ducks, an edible hedge, new heat pump, and new appliances.

March 30- 

7. Read Stoic Philosophy:

From the Philosophy for Change website, by Tim Rayner:

"If we are to meet the challenges of the 21^st century, it is vital that we learn to think differently about change. It is necessary to find ways of making the genuine possibilities of whole systems change apparent. This entails cultivating the courage to look beyond the limits of what exists today, and the resilience to hold to our line of sight against the depreciations of the status quo. We need to devise a new horizon of coordinates to enable us to think differently about the present and to transform our trajectory into the future. 

None of this is impossible. The human mind is a plastic medium with a natural facility for change. The Stoics took this to reflect the divine origins of human reason. ‘Heavenly things are by nature always in motion’, Seneca explains from his exile in Corsica. “Look at the planets which light up the world – not one is at rest. … How silly then to imagine that the human mind, which is formed of the same elements as divine beings, objects to movement and change of abode, while the divine nature finds delight and even self-preservation in continual and very rapid change” (Letter to Helvia, 7). Seneca’s submission amounts to simple common sense today, as we struggle with uncertainty and risk. Whatever history records, we would do well to cultivate the spiritual levity of the Stoic sage, and learn to find “delight and even self-preservation” in a world of continual change."