A new name; a new look! This column is expanding its focus, because
living well means bringing environmentally favorable experiences to all
areas of our lives, including our health, our eating habits and
exercise plans, our prosperity thinking, our home and garden and our
spiritual experiences. Living our lives in a conscious manner can
bring meaning to our individual lives as well as being a model for
change on the earth.
I have been remodeling an eighty-year-old Southern California bungalow for the past several years. Much of my work has been on infrastructure, those necessary elements that cannot be seen at the real estate open house: the electrical, plumbing, sewer, foundation work, roof as well as rebuilding of damaged and poorly remodeled work of past owners. Now, I am finally to the kitchen, a room so chopped up from past remodels, with shoddy workmanship and inferior materials, that the only recourse was full demolishment.
The construction work is fine; it is the destruction that I abhor. In two weeks of removing all the old and re-doing the gas, plumbing, electrical, flooring and walls, I have been ill during most of the work. Even isolating the kitchen with barriers has not kept the fine dust from permeating the rest of the house and entering my body. It is an environmental illness, brought on by the toxins prevalent in basic home building materials.
My goal is a green remodeling. I hired a cabinet-maker who would provide cabinets with no formaldehyde and no toxins in the finishes. I am using low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, a wall finish made of earth plaster, ceramic tile, counter tops made of quartz crystal, and marmoleum flooring. The finished kitchen will present an environmentally green picture to the world.
I can directly trace my congestion and flu-like symptoms of the past two weeks to my surroundings. An environmental illness is loosely defined as a physical reaction to common components of a person’s environment, including chemicals, food, water and physical particles that result in symptoms relating to multiple organ systems and a general poor state of health. (See http://www.ei-resource.org/info.asp)
Even with my interest in living an environmentally friendly life, I find it challenging to integrate all aspects of this concept into my life. Often, I feel as if I am at the front of the curve and the daily demands of life often appear to take precedence over finding the most ecological alternative to introducing new ideas into my life.
Often, time replaces money as the most valuable commodity in my life. Yet, I am inspired by all those who are making a conscious effort to inform themselves and others of ways of living an ecologically friendly existence. In Internet searches for resources for writing this column, I find articles and ideas for the greening of our environment and shared experiences written by individuals who are interested in re-defining their lives.
It is as if we are reaching the critical mass of consciousness that it takes to make a paradigm shift to a new way of living. I find it all starts with a non-judgmental paying attention to my actions and decisions and making small choices that will ultimately lead to an environmentally friendly and balanced life. It is helpful to remember that our lives are a work in progress.
Archives 2006 
A new name; a new look! This column is expanding its focus, because
living well means bringing environmentally favorable experiences to all
areas of our lives, including our health, our eating habits and
exercise plans, our prosperity thinking, our home and garden and our
spiritual experiences. Living our lives in a conscious manner can
bring meaning to our individual lives as well as being a model for
change on the earth.
