grasshopper or ant?

             You may remember LaFontaine's fable of the ant that strategically planned its food reserves during the summer in preparation for winter, and the playful grasshopper who ended up without food because it played all summer long. 

            Short-cuts don't always work, and it often takes hindsight to realize it.  We have taken many short-cuts on environmental and agricultural issues in favor of quick monetary gain.  Whether fracking, pesticides, factory farming or a host of other quagmires, the money comes quick, but then.....there is always always always an ugly hidden cost, and in the end it costs much more. 

            Take the recent dramatic drop in oil and gas prices, which almost immediately led to people buying fewer electric and fuel efficient cars.  While buying that less expensive vehicle right now, deferring getting those solar panels or better insulated windows, or delaying insulating your house, may indeed save you money this year, the long-term consequences are no savings.  Take the purchase of solar panels for example.  Payback is around 6-8 years.  That means that after 6 to 8 years your electricity will be free for the life of the panels, which is around 20 years or so.  So you get 12 years of free electricity!  And keep in mind that the cost of electricity keeps going up.  In addition you are helping to cut down on the pollution caused by burning fossil fuels, which contributes to the warming of our planet.  Win-win for all. 

            The hook?  It requires an investment and a short-term material sacrifice in favor of long-term environmental and monetary gain.   What's so bad about that?  You do the same for retirement.  You sacrifice something now for gain down the road. 

            Think like the ant, think long-term!

 

let's hibernate a bit

                  Yesterday I was dragging a bit.  When I spoke to my husband he replied that he, too, was tired.  Then my daughter mentioned that she was a bit tired.    We spoke about wintertime, that it's very cold outside, that people usually feel like holing up this time of year.  Many mammals in our latitude go into full hibernation and just sleep the winter away; plants go dormant as well.   We obviously can't do that.  But maybe, just maybe, we can slow down a bit, curl up with a good book and a cup of tea, catch up on some sleep by going to bed earlier and spending more time under the warm and soft covers.  It get's dark so early and it feels so good to be in the warm house.  Soon enough, when the days become longer, we'll burst with energy and a zest for life and action.  But for now it's a good time to enjoy the slower pace of life.  Let's hibernate a bit.

            

octopus consciousness

       Many scientists still do not feel comfortable attributing some sort of cognition to animals.  But all of us dog and cat lovers simply know that our beloved pets have a consciousness, albeit different from our's.  They recognize different people, know our character (whether we are kind to them or not), can make themselves understood (being bored, being hungry, hurting), and exhibit feelings (mourning when a close mate has died, or exuberance when you take your dog out to run on a beautiful day).  My daughter says her Betta fish watches her as she moves about her room.

            Maybe Paul the Octopus, who supposedly predicted many 2010 FIFA World Cup outcomes correctly, was instrumental in spreading the idea of octopuses' intelligence to the wider public.  I am currently reading Sy Montgomery's delightful new book The Soul of an Octopus.  It is quite amazing to find out that these animals, whose beingness seems so  much further removed from our's than even cats or dogs, recognize their keepers and distinguish between people they like (reaching out and tasting their skin with their suction cups - yes, they taste with their suction cups, and who knows what they are able to taste, hormones? medication in the blood stream? feelings?) and dislike (water squirting).  Octopuses are enormously intelligent and inquisitive and have been known to exit their supposedly tightly secured tanks to go explore.  They can go through extreme appearance changes in a matter of seconds, not only to blend in to their environment as protect against predators, but also reflecting their disposition, such as white and smooth when calm, or red and bumpy when excited.  Each octopus has a distinct character.

            It seems to me that we are slowly entering a new and more inclusive era of understanding the nature that surrounds us  - my daughter is into crystals and swears she can feel them pulsating.  Please revisit an earlier blog post spiritual cats.

why not indulge?

             I admit that I easily feel guilty when I indulge myself.  Not so much on the food side - I did grow up in a food culture and don't feel particularly guilty about some wine and chocolate here and there.  But when it comes to massages, pedicures, meeting friends for drinks or lunch, an hour of slow yoga in the middle of the day, just treating myself in general, I tend to feel a bit guilty about spending money on "frivolous" things.  But it is the frivolity, that it is unnecessary and special, that makes such occasional treats so worthwhile. 

            Whether it's an hour of reflexology, paint night (one of those wine & art events), or anything else that let's you know how much you appreciate yourself, is good for you.  The pleasure of feeling good about yourself, about feeling pampered and taken care of, is very soothing.  You are totally worth it!

library of things

            Perhaps a better way to understand the new sharing economy than using Uber or Airbnb's services (after all these businesses are for-profit) is through a "library of things." I really like the idea.  A similar principle already exists in the form of seed banks, from which you can obtain seeds as long as you bring back seeds from your harvest at the end of the season to replenish the seed bank.

            Libraries of Things go beyond lending books, movies and magazines, as a recent NY Times article explained.  They lend tools, equipment or things to community members.  The benefits are multifold.  For one, you as an individual won't need to invest in the cost of say an expensive 3-D printer to experiment with, or buy a pair of snowshoes for that once-in-a-while winter hike.  The investment happens at the community level, for which we all chip in via our local taxes.  At the same time an economy in manufacturing develops because less stuff needs to get made.  Moreover, access to such a library reduces the stuff you need to store and upkeep.  It is likely that you only use your hedge clippers or power drill a few times a year.  Why not borrow one from a tool library instead of buying a brand new expensive tool that sits idle most of the time, collects dust and takes up real estate in your garage?

            Along similar lines there are hour exchanges, where you get time, help and experience from others for services you need against time for your expertise, as well as babysitting services.  All neat ideas to explore sharing and meeting new people.

            

fidgeting is good for you

       I am not a very sporty person but because of all the noise about the importance of exercise I did some reading on the necessity of movement.  Our bodies are made to move in gravity, and the much-touted stand-up desk is not the cat's meow either if you stand still all the time.

            Our current computer based work culture condemns us to sit for long hours, yet our bodies thrive on perpetual motion.  Point in case - when your body aches you need to move more, not less.  As a matter of fact, as little as walking briskly half an hour each day increases your life span supposedly by about seven years.  The message of our overcompensating workout culture is to exercise vigorously at the gym.  But that is not necessarily the best answer, unless of course you just love it and thrive on it - everybody has a different need for type and intensity of movement.  Just don't sit for long hours without getting up and stretching often (long commutes are a killer...).  Kids fidget and want to move naturally.  Yet, we force them earlier and earlier to sit still.  Fidgeting is the body's natural way to signal its need for movement. 

            We contract lawn mowing, house cleaning and house maintenance work out, yet, this all makes for excellent exercise.  You don't need an expensive gym membership to move your body.  Joan Vernikos, who studied the effects of zero gravity on the body for NASA, concludes in her book Sitting Kills "Standing up often is what matters, not how long you remain standing," at least 32 times a day she recommends.  It is our interaction with gravity that's so important. The main message about movement is: continuously and gently, not seldomly but intensely.