See entire September 14, 2011 newsletter
I admit I can’t quote too much poetry. I love to read it (sustains my soul) but only short, meaningful lines seem to stick with me, if that. I love the Persian poet Rumi because he has lots of two liners. My favorite: “Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” How could that not grab you in these days of mud-slinging and blame gaming? It runs through my head constantly. Maybe it’s because of those lines that another tape plays over and over again in my head about what I ought to be doing to sustain ME for a very long time.
You are about to hear my tape and please know that this one plays exclusively in my head and is no way a reflection of what I think YOU ought to be doing. Mrs. Green has honestly never been about that.
I ought to be pursuing solar. I don’t even have a solar water heater. What is up with that? Because I am coming clean, I am going to call this week and find out about what it will take and how much it will cost. Expect and hold me to an update. I believe what I write about and talk about – it doesn’t make sense to spend money and energy keeping water hot all the time for a two-person house. So I ought to find out what it’s going to take to make the change for this house – right? Mr. Green seems to think it’s really complicated but is willing to explore. At the very least, I will be contacting my buddies at GeoInnovation to get their advice and direction.
I ought to be looking into rainwater harvesting. To know better is to do better and I know better. I read about it, interview people about it and have seen various rainwater harvesting systems in action. At least I ought to know what I am talking about from first-hand experience – even if it is only to explain the complications and how to overcome them. Putting that on the schedule for October! Baby “ought- to” steps.
I ought to be eating even better. I am a nutcase when it comes to eating. The irony of being Mrs. Green is that my Mom told me I spit out anything green from my baby food days. (fyi – my siblings are all normal when it comes to eating.) I have made great progress since then but honestly cannot ever see myself chewing on broccoli or a celery stick in this life time. It’s a texture thing. But since seeing Forks Over Knives, and knowing I want to live to be at least 100, I ought to make more changes – quickly. Less meat, more fruits and vegetables, less and less processed sugar. Enter the Ninja! My hope is that I can sneak things like spinach and kale into my smoothies without really tasting them. I can almost feel my cholesterol going down as I write this. Target date to launch the smoothie experiment? Monday, September 19th. I still have to get protein powder from my friend Amie Sue and get fresh ingredients from the Farmers Market next Sunday.
I ought to be doing weight resistance training. How come it’s so easy to simply drop an exercise routine? At 60 years old, I know how important it is to add this to my almost daily 2 mile walk. Not to worry – I am on it! My friend Christina and I covered that on our walk this past Sunday. She is getting me the name of an affordable trainer and I am preparing to get my butt kicked and my muscles strengthened. I need to live long and prosper so that I can keep writing these newsletters and keep spreading the message of sustainability in every way possible.
And the tape plays on. I also think I ought to give myself a break. I have been making changes on a daily basis since Mrs. Green was born and I OUGHT to acknowledge this somewhere along the way. Stay tuned for “ought to” updates.