Tag: simplicity

How to Change the World, Week 4

Happiness and sustainable deeds diary, 29th – 4th Feb.

This is the fourth week of my happiness and sustainable deed diary where I aim to write down one thing that makes me happy and one sustainable deed, however small, that I have performed each day for a month. This week I have been thinking about the role nature plays in bringing happiness to life. I was reminded of this poem:

I part the thrusting branches

and come in beneath

the blessed and the blessed trees.

Though I am silent

there is singing around me.

Though I am dark

there is vision around me.

Though I am heavy

there is flight around me.

Wendell Berry.

Monday 29th January

Happy For: Today I found it hard to find something that made me happy but seeing a whole length of clear water ahead of me at the swimming pool made me feel very grateful. Sustainable Deed: Buying loose vegetables.

Tuesday 30th January

Happy For: Productive and fun group work and the feeling of a shared success. The image of pink clouds floating above Uppsala. Sustainable Deed: Cycling to school.

Wednesday 31st January

Happy For: The first sunny day in a long time, escaping class and finding animal footprints in the snow.  Seeing a set of freshly developed photos and remembering events from the past few months. Sustainable Deed: Attending the first meeting for the proposed Test Site for Practical Sustainability in Otaniemi Campus.

Thursday 1st February

Happy For: New friends and the sense of belonging that comes from spending time together. Sustainable Deed: Learning how to fix the breaks on my bike at Unicornshki, Helsinki’s Female and Gender Variant Bike Group.

Friday 2nd February

Happy For: Swimming, the movement in my legs and arms. Being looked after by Benjamin and Maria when I didn’t feel well. Sustainable Deed: Mending a ripped skirt and Maria’s cloth bag.

Saturday 3rd February

Happy For: Talking to my family and getting to see my grandparents faces on video. Sustainable Deed: Using hand-me-down winter boots.

Sunday 4th February

Happy For: Talking to Vanessa and being transported to Montpellier for half an hour while walking along the frozen coast of Helsinki. Sustainable Deed: Limiting the amount of water I use to do the washing up and clean the kitchen.

How to Change the World, Week 3

Happiness and sustainable deeds diary, 22nd – 28th Jan.

This is the third week of my happiness and sustainable deed diary where I aim to write down one thing that makes me happy and one sustainable deed, however small, that I have performed each day for a month. This week in class we discussed what makes a change maker. On a fundamental level being able to make change requires that your basic needs are fulfilled. I believe with that privilege comes the responsibility to effect positive change in what ever way we can. Tim Jackson talks about change in ‘Prosperity Without Growth’ as something that can be

“…expressed through the way we live, the things we buy, how we travel, where we invest our money, how we spend our leisure time. It can be achieved through our work. It can be influenced by the way we vote and the democratic pressure we exercise on our leaders. It can be expressed through grass-roots activism and community engagement. The pursuit of an individual frugality, a voluntary simplicity, is considerable.”

While governments and businesses can change situations, I believe the only person we can truly change is ourselves and by doing so we may also inspire others. Dorothy Day said “the greatest challenge of today is how to bring about a revolution of the heart – a revolution which has to start with each one of us”.

Week 3:

Monday 22th January

Happy For: Finding the courage to speak from my heart. Sustainable Deed: Eating leftovers.

Tuesday 23th January

Happy For: An interesting discussion with classmates, realising what peer teaching was all about. Sustainable Deed: Taking a bread ‘heel’ instead of cutting a fresh slice in the school canteen.

Wednesday 24th January

Happy For: Feeling inspired after watching nature documentaries at the Nordic Culture Centre. In one film I liked how a man who creates mountain bike trails in Denmark explained that his aim is ‘not to change nature, but to enhance what is already there’. Sustainable Deed: Picking up street rubbish (and recycling it!)

Thursday 25th January

Happy For: Hearing a songbird for the first time this year. Sustainable Deed: Making sure I only boil as much water as I need.

Friday 26th January

Happy For: Being able to cycle again now the snow has melted and trying new Finnish dishes with Maria (Karjalanpiirakka with egg butter). Sustainable Deed: Using a handkerchief rather than tissues to deal with my cold.

Saturday 27th January

Happy For: Lazy mornings, eating breakfast on Maria’s rug and discussing the value of sitting on the floor. Sustainable Deed: Reusing old packaging to transport my lunch.

Sunday 28th January

Happy For: Seeing Aino, our 3 year old friend in Quaker Meeting and having the opportunity to share her sense of excitement at the simplest things. Sustainable Deed: Turning down the temperature of the fridge.