The Small Things

I am still kind of on the sick side and it is starting to irritate me! Last night I felt better until I tried to go to bed. Lying down was possibly the worst thing in the world because all at once I had difficulties breathing out of nose or mouth. I didn’t sleep much at all. So, today I am back to feeling downright lousy, and still have to go to work and talk for about five straight hours.

But enough complaining =)

On my computer I had two quotes taped to the monitor. One is about love, the other about “small things.” I put these on my computer over a year ago, long before I’d begun to think of eating locally or climate change or anything in regards to sustainability and organics.

The one about small things reads, “The small things of life were often so much bigger than the great things… the trivial pleasures like cooking, one’s home, little poems especially sad ones, solitary walks, funny things seen and overheard.” Barbara Pym.

I don’t know who Barbara Pym is; the quote was in a magazine I like to read. I cut it out and taped it to my computer, because I felt it rang completely true. It’s more often than not the small things in life that render me awe inspired, joyful, or even sorrowful. A sad poem can indeed cut me to the knees. A solitary walk can sometimes have the amazing power of motivation. Cooking often brings me satisfaction. A sunset, a field, a tree, a creek—any of these things has the potential to make me feel alive and well and happy. Things I buy rarely do this for me.

I talk a lot about the environment and eating locally, but this blog goes beyond those sentiments for me. It’s about looking at the small things, about bringing the important things back into my life, and ridding myself of the unimportant. It’s about making the best life I can—which I think involves simplicity, community and local eating a lot more than it involves a big screen TV, trendy clothes, or pesticide-covered fruit whenever I want it.

Eating seems like such a simple thing, but it is one of the ways we survive. It’s become so easy, so thoughtless, but as one of the key parts of our survival, a lot of thought and effort should go into eating—a lot more than the thought that goes into having the latest technology or having the most stuff.

A lot is changing for me currently—my boyfriend has a new job, which means we’ll be moving (likely) by the end of February. This puts a hold on some of the earlier gardening plans I had, and worries me a bit as I don’t know what kind of apartment we’ll be moving into. Even though there is a lot I don’t like about our current place, it has a lot of positives when it comes to walking, outside space, etc. I doubt we’ll be that lucky to find something affordable with that. So, I’m a bit worried about the future of my organic container vegetable garden. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how it all goes and hope for the best.