This Guy is Pretty Darn Amazing

Read this. It will, hopefully, make you think a little bit today about the consciousness (or lack thereof) of the choices we all make everyday.

Well...

... I guess if my brother can reenter the blogging world after a notable absence, so can I. Life has been busy around here, but no matter what I'm doing, thoughts of simplicity are never far from my mind.

I'm thinking right now about the ways in which our conscious thoughts become ingrained habits, and what that means for my simplicity journey. For example, my recycling system is now a habit - something we just do without thinking much about it. So are my monthly (or more) trips to Goodwill to drop off donations. These things may seem simple, and they are, but they are also things that not-so-long-ago I had to concentrate on, think about, and even write about.

So I guess this is progress, because when I no longer have to think about these small tasks, I've then cleared some space in my mind to focus on other things - like my new business, and the book projects I'm working on, and my health, and my family.

Jumping Back Into the Blogging World...

So, if any of my few readers noticed, I've been VERY absent from the blogging world. I think I'm ready to start getting my feet wet again. No promises. We'll see.

I'm going to start with a post that I drafted back in January. I'm not even going to edit it... I'm just going to post it. I've been working on letting go of my perfectionism, but that's a topic for a future post.

Anyway, I don't have the link to Katy's blog post that I'm referencing, but if you want to check out a consistent and solid blog about non-consumerism, check her out.

Here's a glimpse into where my mind was at the beginning of January.

This post was inspired by Katy's post over at The Non-Consumer Advocate.

I'm proud to have finally made the transition from vegetarian to vegan a couple of months ago and I'm proud that my eating finally aligns with my beliefs. I'm proud that we keep the thermostat at 58 degrees and that I've learned how to layer my clothes and deal with a little chill in the air. I'm proud that I no longer work 60+ hours a week and know I never want to work that much again. I'm proud that I exercise and take care of myself. I'm proud that I've cut down on my consumption and that I've vowed to do the compact again, even if I'm only starting with a one-month commitment. I'm proud that I devote some of my time to working with kids who really need the love and support I have to give. I'm proud of the fact that I donate a lot to charity. I'm not-so-proud of the fact that we don't compost and that we don't recycle everything that we can. I'm not-so-proud of the fact that I drive too much and don't ride my bike when I maybe could. I'm also not-so-proud of the fact that I stopped tracking my spending and that I have a lot of student loan debt and that I don't give as much to charity as I know I could. And I'm not-so-proud of the fact that I don't volunteer and I bought too many new clothes and books this last year and that I went to Wal-Mart three times even though I told myself years ago I'd never go there again.