What Does Living Sustainably Mean to You?

So, the APLS community is hunkering down and thinking about what it means to live sustainably (and you can, too, if you post before tomorrow). As a concept, living sustainably -- for me -- boils down to living in concert with my beliefs as much as I can, and giving myself a pass for the egregious infractions of my ideals that occur daily. You see, I do think that I ought to strive to live my life more simply, more in tune with the needs of the entire world's population, present and forthcoming, in balance with the planet. But I also know that to create any lasting change in my ownself, I need to relax and allow myself to make mistakes. I can only improve myself by changing one habit at a time.

That's really what sustainability means to me: figuring out how to do something small in my life (yes! Tiny Choices!), and to do it with fewer resources, more effectively, and more consciously. I recognize that I am very focused on personal change; note that I do also think that to live sustainably, it's important to be politically aware enough to share my views with elected officials and to vote in accordance with my beliefs. But the thing I can control the most? My actions and my attitude.

So that's my take on sustainability: trying to push myself as hard as I possibly can for as long as it takes to change my habits, and letting the rest sliiiiiide. As one of my eco-heroes said about feeding her kids non-local GMO craptastic snack food, and I quote, "Even if they were made from a combination of baby seals and methane gas, you would ALWAYS find Cheez-Its and Goldfish crackers in our cupboard." That's my kind of sustainable. Find the things you can change, that you can live with, and run with 'em. As for the rest? Know your choices, educate yourself so that you can embrace your inner seal-beater, and realize that we're all a shade less perfect than Mother Theresa.

Heck, speaking of perfection, forget Mother Theresa. I keep thinking about Yvon Chouinard, who, when offered a swag bag at an awards ceremony, demurred by saying, "I have everything I need right here." All I'm saying is that when I picked up my DC Metro Moms booty from BlogHer, I realized the core of my poser eco-self is this: I like stuff just as much as the next gal. Especially free stuff that I can give away to my friends! Just like if I'm at a party, I like to toss back a frosty cocktail or eat something horrendously unhealthy that I would never allow into my house. Velveeta queso, anyone? Hey, even in Little House on the Prairie, they got sticks of candy once a year.

All this imperfection is A-ok with me. I think it helps me to tip the balance in favor of simple living. 'Cause although I do love me some Rice Krispy holiday cookies in hues never found in the natural world, I do, in fact, want them to be scarce. I really do love the whole wheat, honey-sweetened lifestyle, and I want to hang onto it for the long haul.