Ready to Save the World? Three Ways Your Local Weekly Newspaper Can Help!

In Building Blocks, we looked at six practical components we could use to help design a life of intent.  One of those components was increasing knowledge and awareness of your community and the world around you. This component incorporates the permaculture principle of Observe & Interact (see here for the list of other permaculture principles).

Here’s where your local weekly paper comes in!

Now, you’re probably wondering how seemingly mundane tidbits such as wedding and birth announcements or coupon inserts will lead to personal enlightenment and help you save the world!  However, here are three ways your local weekly can be a powerful and invaluable tool for doing just that:

1. What’s Going On in Your Community?

Obviously, a weekly reports local news stories, but of particular interest for our purposes are the civic association columns. They’re a really great source for news and insights about issues of importance to the people in a community. They also highlight activities and events that association members organize to enhance the quality of life for themselves and their neighbors.  Due to my schedule, I am not able to attend my association’s monthly meetings, so I look forward to reading about them in the paper (Bronx Times Reporter). In addition to the civic columns, I of course enjoy reading any articles about green initiatives, but really, anything reflecting the care, commitment and pride residents take in where they live or work is also of interest.

Last year I was thrilled to learn that a member of the Locust Point Civic Association (Chrys Napolitano), in conjunction with Stoneledge Farm, was starting a CSA in her neighborhood, one of only two operating in the northeast Bronx.  CSAs (or community supported agriculture) allow smaller, local or regional farmers to sell their harvests directly to consumers (for more information see Building Blocks – Health & Fitness, but in particular, Just Food's site).  Chrys has also begun writing a biweekly column called Food for Thought, where she discusses sustainable food production, gardening, and how, as consumers, we can be more mindful about our food choices.

I find these two developments to be very exciting, and are just a couple of the many things I’ve learned reading my local weekly.

2. Who and How is it Getting Done?

My local weekly also regularly features articles about the efforts of local officials to address various issues. These types of articles will help you to keep up with what they are doing year round, and not just at election time.  They are often your first and last lines of recourse in getting a matter resolved.  From initiating or passing legislation, to allocating or advocating for additional funding to jump-start a project or initiative, they play a critical role in helping a community to function effectively.  This is especially true of problems that are persistent or recurring in nature.

One such situation involved a battle between a community group (the Pelham Parkway Preservation Alliance) and the city over how many trees would need to be removed to make way for a major road repair and improvement project.  This story unfolded in the paper over a period of about three years.  However, through the determined efforts of both sides, a mutually satisfactory solution was eventually reached.  Many more trees were preserved than originally specified in the city’s plans, while also accommodating construction needs. And again, this is just one example of information I gained by reading my weekly, reflecting what's possible when different constituencies work together to resolve a problem. See? Contrary to popular belief, you can fight City Hall and your local paper shows that!

3. How and Where Can You Spend Your "Green" Locally?

My local weekly regularly features articles about existing or new small businesses operating there.  As I will continually emphasize, economics is a key factor in a community’s health and resilience.  Local small businesses can be significant drivers of employment and entrepreneurial opportunity (see Saving the Mom & Pops: Ten Ways to Support Small Independent Retail Stores and Keep Manhattan Vibrant), so a decision to patronize them is a great way to contribute to your own community’s vitality while also reducing your carbon footprint!  Many of the businesses written about are often family owned and have been operating in their neighborhoods for years, maybe even passed down across a generation or two.  The proprietors always express great pride and enthusiasm about the goods and services they provide, and why they feel you won’t be disappointed if you shop at their establishments. Their success in turn attracts new businesses, whose owners often cite this positive atmosphere as one of the reasons they feel they too will be successful.

Finally, you might not have considered this, but your local weekly is itself a local institution in need of your support! As is the case with mine, some of the paper's staff may have grown up or currently live in the community.  Additionally, in my area, membership in one’s neighborhood civic association entitles you to a subscription to the paper.  So this is a convenient and easy way for me to circulate some of my own green locally, support my civic association and access all the great information the paper contains.  Looks like a with intent trifecta to me!

I hope you are beginning to see that there's far more to your local weekly than meets the eye. It is a huge window allowing you to observe who, what, where and how things get done in your community. As you get into the habit of reading it, you will eventually begin to see how you can connect and interact with your community in ways that are personally meaningful.  Caring about something is far easier when you’re familiar with it, and making good or better choices, including those related to the environment, are ultimately a natural consequence of caring.

Changing Your Intent

Observe & Interact: What You Can Do Right Now!

1. If you already read or are a fan of your local weekly, give a shout-out here or on Facebook. Not yet acquainted with your local weekly? What are you waiting for?! Check it out and report back!
2. Leave a comment here or on Facebook, about one thing you learned about your community that you didn’t know before, or an activity that you have or will participate in as a result of reading your local weekly.

Happy reading!

Three More Building Blocks: Spirituality, Philanthropy, Arts & Culture

In last month’s five-part “Living With Intent” series, we looked at three underlying philosophies for creating an eco-intentional lifestyle: permaculture, cradle-to-cradle and feng shui. Then, last week we looked at three basic building blocks you could use to expand on that foundation and begin creating your own unique approach to living with intent. This week we’ll look at the remaining three (spirituality, philanthropy and arts & culture).

1. Spirituality

Let me be very clear in saying that it is not my intent to prescribe, in any way, the manner in which anyone chooses to pursue his or her spirituality. Whether that ends up being through formal religious affiliation and worship of whatever denomination, or one’s own personal practices or observances, that is best left up to each individual to decide.

However, what I do want to emphasize is the need to realize and understand that there are consequences to the actions we take, and we need to give them our mindful consideration, as much as possible. A spiritual base helps us to do that by infusing our thoughts and actions with a sense of moral respect and regard for the wellbeing of others and the world around us.  When coupled with an impulse towards service, you have a very powerful tool for building a life of intent.

2. Philanthropy

Philanthropy can be thought of as the material manifestation of one’s spirituality.  Unlike organizations in the private sector, consider the almost impossibly, contradictory imperatives under which non-profits (and more recently, social enterprises) typically operate:

1. they address problems (both locally and globally) of often staggering magnitude or dimension, such as the alleviation of conditions associated with issues like poverty, the environment or injustice, to name just a few
2. as a result they have limited discretion in the selection or make-up of the "markets" they serve, as dictated by their underlying missions
3. particularly in the case of non-profits, they have relatively modest or uncertain sources of revenue, without benefit of market driven forces to ensure their ongoing viability, in order to meet the first two challenges!

Non-profits and social enterprises are often at the forefront of building, repairing and sustaining community. Therefore, supporting them affirmatively acknowledges and makes tangible the spiritual principles by which we aspire to live, and is an inherent act of intent. 

3. Arts & Culture

Finally, we come to arts & culture. Now, you may not have previously thought about the arts as being particularly green or sustainable, but they are an extremely important component of eco-intentionality. For one thing, cultural organizations and institutions are themselves often structured as non-profits or social enterprises, the significance of which we just looked at in the preceding section.

Additionally, as I have continually pointed out, economic health (see Center for an Urban Future’s "Creative New York", 2005) plays a critical role in a community’s vibrancy and resiliency, and the arts deliver that in spades. Earlier this spring the Municipal Arts Society’s (MAS) hosted Arts Forum: Building Resilience Through the Arts.  MAS President, Vin Cipolla noted in his remarks that

Arts and culture unite communities—they provide the glue that brings neighbors together and are a key ingredient in the recipe of neighborhood pride, cohesion, economic activity and vibrancy,”  and that artists regularly “. . .cross disciplines, foster neighborhood growth, activate creativity and engage in social activism,”

You can view video of the full panel discussion here.

But most importantly, as McDonough & Braungart have also noted (see Living With Intent - Part 3: Cradle-to-Cradle), deprivation and austerity only get you so far.  Such an approach has little to offer in the way of long-term motivation or incentive for most people.  The artist, on the other hand, provides society with beauty and delight, which are far better incentives for keeping people happily engaged with the world around them.  Additionally, the unique perspectives that artists bring to living can also offer creative solutions to the persistent problems and challenges we face.  For this reason, more than anything else, I believe arts & culture to be as green a tool as any we might typically think of as such, when it comes to creating a life of intent.

The arts are truly the spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down!

Three Building Blocks of Intent: Health, Knowledge & Skills

Figure 1

In last month’s five-part “Living With Intent” series we examined three underlying philosophies for creating an eco-intentional lifestyle: permaculture, cradle-to-cradle and feng shui. This week we’ll turn our attention to several basic building blocks you can use to expand on that foundation to begin creating your own unique approach to living with intent. Obviously, there are an infinite number of blocks from which to choose and as many ways to combine them. However, I’ve chosen six, as illustrated in Figure 1, that I believe will be particularly useful for this purpose.  Three are described below (health & fitness, knowledge and skills) and then, next week we'll look at the other three (spirituality, philanthropy and arts & culture).

1. Health & Fitness

You have only to read a newspaper or turn on the television to be inundated with the latest news of the obesity and diabetes epidemics, as well as the associated cardio-vascular conditions plaguing today’s society.  However, we can each take steps to avoid or reverse that trend for ourselves by increasing our dietary intake of fresh fruits and vegetables and reducing processed foods and red meat, which all tend to be high in fat, sugar and salt. Does this mean we need to eliminate all traces of these items from our diet?  Of course not!
However, a more healthy balance among them is probably needed.

Several alternatives to the supermarket, for purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables, include farmers’ markets, participation in a community garden or CSA membership (community supported agriculture).  As community based solutions, they're a little more environmentally friendly and have the added benefit of helping to strengthen local/regional economic systems.  Here in NYC, Just Food and GrowNYC are just two of the many organizations providing information about these and other aspects of the local food movement.

Getting more exercise is also critical to improving our health.  Did you know that gardening, besides being a valuable skill and just plain fun, can also be a great form of exercise? Yup! All that bending, digging and hauling soil around gives you a real workout! This is another great advantage to participating in a community garden, if you can.

Alternative methods of getting around town, such as cycling or walking, can spice up a drab exercise routine, while reducing your carbon footprint.  With the growing popularity of bike sharing programs across the country, cycling is becoming an increasingly viable option for many more people.

As for walking, you can pretty much get started whenever you want.  It doesn't really require any fancy, expensive equipment, or special expertise.  All you need is comfortable clothing and a good pair of sneakers, and it can be suitable for people of all ages and various fitness levels.

So put on your walking shoes or hop on your bike and check out your local green market! Or. . .do something else.  As long as it gets you out of the house and moving!

2. Knowledge

They say knowledge is power.  Whether it’s increasing awareness of what’s going on in your community, learning who to turn to for help if you need it, or gaining a better understanding of the public policy, laws and other regulations impacting your neighborhood, having this type of information will help you connect and figure out how to get more involved.

3. Skills

Knowing how to do things goes hand-in-hand with knowing what's going on. It also supports personal and community resilience.  I'm sure you’re probably saying to yourself “I’m already on overload. My brain can’t take in one more thing!”  And, unfortunately, in today’s information intense society, there always seems to be something new to learn or figure out.  So where to begin?  The list below is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a good starting point:

Figure 2

These skills would be great to have under any circumstances, but are particularly useful in the wake of a catastrophic events or situations where critical infrastructure or power/energy sources have been disrupted or have failed altogether, over extended periods, as in Hurricane Sandy.  They will allow you to begin meeting in part, some of the basic necessities of daily living a little more quickly. The good news is that you don’t have to learn all of these things yourself!  You can build a network of other people who have the skills you lack.

Therein lies the strengthand beauty of community— helping and supporting one another, AND the essence of what it means to be resilient— the existence of mutually beneficial inter-dependencies among community members.

How can you go about getting the necessary training to boost your knowledge and skills?  Well, there are many options available.  For highly technical skills (e.g. medical or the trades) a rigorous, formal, degree or vocational program might be necessary.  If you are building on existing skills, a certificate program or workshop may fit the bill.  For skills like sewing, gardening, or basic composting, informal classes (or series of classes) will probably be fine.  Many local organizations and governmental entities often sponsor free or low-cost events providing such instruction.  Join their mailing lists to keep abreast of their activities.  You can also visit your local library and research topics of interest.  Finally, quiet as it’s kept, your local weekly newspaper is an invaluable, tool for getting the 411 on these and many other things going on in your community, and I’ll be discussing it in depth in a future post.

These first three building blocks have been of a practical nature.  The next three speak more to several psychological aspects of creating a life of intent.

Stay tuned and see you then!

Living With Intent - Part 5: Closing Thoughts

In this five-part series, we've looked at three, very diverse, design philosophies that can help support your pursuit of a life of intent. They vary in cultural and geographical origins, disciplinary focus, and even the length of time they've been in existence. Permaculture, its founders Australian, is relatively new, having only emerged about 40 years ago. It focuses on better ways to steward the land. Cradle-to-cradle is even younger, emerging about 20 years after that.  Its founders bridge backgrounds from Europe, Japan and the United States, and they've rethought the ways in which things can be created, used and then discarded.  Finally, feng shui originating in China, is quite ancient, but still has much to teach us about the intersection of human beings, the built environment and our activity within the spaces we occupy.

However, those differences not withstanding, these systems still share a common thread— their emphasis on holistic approaches to living that compel mindful consideration of our relationships to the land, other people, and the objects we use daily. They also offer opportunities to rethink those relationships outside of our immediate spheres of influence. Rippling outward, in ever widening circles across time and space, our regard grows to include our neighbors, communities, and the world beyond.

Expanding our frame of reference in this way, helps to make it easier to reconnect and internalize those relationships, even when remote or distant, in more productive and meaningful ways. The impulse to preserve and protect now becomes a natural extension of this evolving perspective, rather than a chore or set of tasks we must continually remind ourselves to complete or check off of some list. Our actions become deliberately positive (or intentional) rather than arbitrary or incidentally destructive. With this shift in focus, we also shift towards a life of intent.

We've set the “foundation”. Now, we’ll begin to learn more about acquiring the building blocks and other materials to “frame up” our structure.

Thanks for accompanying me this far.  I hope you'll stay on to help with the work ahead!

Living With Intent - Part 4: Feng Shui

So far we've discussed "permaculture" and "cradle-to-cradle", two design philosophies to help us begin living with intent. This week we'll look at feng shui.

It's Not Just About The Furniture!

Feng shui is often popularly thought of as a means of rearranging the furniture in order to enhance one's luck or fortune. However, this is only a superficial view at best. Instead, feng shui can be more properly and easily understood as an ancient Chinese design discipline, itself arising out of the even older discipline of the "Tao" (pronounced DOW). Translated, this means "way" or "path". Taoist principles guided thinking about the universe, nature's rhythms and man's place within that context. Feng shui, literally translated, means "wind" and "water" and emphasizes balance (yin & yang) and the mindful awareness of nature and the physical objects (including furniture!), that exist within our interior and exterior environments.

The Flow of Chi

According to Chinese tradition, "chi" (pronounced "CHEE") is believed to be the universal force or cosmic breath possessed by all things. Chi flows through all spaces, whether it be your apartment, home, office, back-yard, a park, etc, and must be properly managed, so that it moves neither too quickly or too slowly. It's speed is governed by both the presence of the natural elements of earth, water, fire, metal, wood as well as the arrangement of physical objects within a space, such as the aforementioned furniture. Adjustments to enhance that flow are known as "cures" and help to optimize a given space to better support the physical and psychological well-being and resilience of its occupants.

The Ba-gua: A Feng Shui Tool

The Ba-gua: A Diagnostic Tool Used in Feng Shui

The "ba-gua", is a key feng shui tool that helps practitioners evaluate a space, the components within it, and their effect on the flow of chi.  As you can see in the figure, it is octagonal in shape.  In fact, literally translated, ba-gua means, "eight trigrams".  I've listed the names of each trigram or "gua" and their primary attributes below:

1. LI: Fame or Reputation
2. KUN: Marriage & Commitment
3. DUI: Children & Creativity
4. CHYAN: Mentors & Travel
5. KAN: Career
6. KEN: Knowledge & Spirituality
7. CHEN: Family
8. HSUN: Wealth & Power

As you can see they govern many aspects of our lives.

Our Modern Lives

Obviously much has changed since these practices first emerged centuries ago. In our modern lives, technology has helped to mitigate many of nature's impacts. For example, at one time careful consideration was critical for siting a building in order to take advantage of prevailing breezes or winds for good ventilation or cooling. Now we have air conditioning! However, technology has its limits and in some cases has contributed to the very problems we now face. That same air conditioner can consume enormous amounts of electricity, which in turn contributes to other adverse effects on the environment.

Bottom line: whether we call it feng shui or sustainable design, members of the building and planning communities, as well as governmental institutions are beginning to recognize the importance of incorporating principles, also found in feng shui, when designing modern structures, neighborhoods and cities for both commercial and residential comfort and health.

Utilization of the "environmental services" provided by nature such as trees and other plantings, the sun, wind, rain, etc. can provide options to traditional infrastructure, that are more cost-effective to construct and maintain. And, as we saw with Hurricane Sandy, critical infrastructure in the built environment often fails, either during or in the wake of catastrophic or disruptive events.

Why Feng Shui?

Feng shui focuses our attention, not only on what or how we construct our spaces, but also on how we feel while spending time in them, and how well our activities are supported while there. With its recurring motifs of balance and reverence for nature, feng shui, is well suited not only for a transition, but for maintaining a life of intent.


Next week will bring us to the final segment of the Living With Intent series.  At that time, I'll wrap everything up and summarize why I believe combining the three design philosophies of permaculture, cradle-to-cradle and feng shui equals something greater than each one of them individually, for creating mindful lifestyle change.

See you then!

Living With Intent - Part 3: Cradle to Cradle

Last week, we discussed "permaculture", one of three design philosophies to help us begin living with intent. This week we'll look at "cradle-to-cradle".

Cradle-to-Grave: A Dead-end Process

You've probably heard the phrase "cradle-to-grave". From a design standpoint, it suggests a process by which an object has a discrete beginning and then moves inexorably towards a definitive, but final end, at which point it is discarded, to be buried or "land-filled", and never seen or thought of again. The philosophy of "cradle-to-cradle", on the other hand, asks us to envision a process that can be infinitely continuous. Under this scenario, while an object may still have a discrete beginning, its particular form and purpose at any given time is temporary! It is designed in such a way that at the end of its first "useful" life, it can either be recreated, or. . .used as "food" for something entirely new and different!

Like nature.

Birth of a Concept

Cradle-to-cradle was conceived by William McDonough and Michael Braungart and outlined in their book "Cradle-to-Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things". McDonough, an architect, noted that at various points in his life, he was fortunate to be exposed to different cultures (the Japanese and the Bedouins or two such examples) where simplicity, elegance and intelligent design were prominent features. Braungart, a native of Germany, related that he began studying chemistry around the time Germany was just beginning to consider the impact of pesticides and other chemicals on the environment. He would go on to to focus on environmental chemistry. The two met in the early 1990's and discovered they shared in a belief that industry could transcend the notion of being "less bad", and instead aspire to operate with fully positive intent. As McDonough and Braungart termed it, to be "eco-effective".

An Object's Life-cycle

To be mindful of an object's entire life cycle, rather than just the relatively short period we ourselves will use it, is to begin to ask some of the following questions:

• how was a product made and distributed in the first place?
• how will it be disposed of when we are finished with it - is it durable enough to be used by somebody else when we no longer need or want it?
• how and what is it made of - can it be easily recycled, or. . . even better, "upcycled" - that is, made into something new, of equal or greater value?

Consideration and response to these questions advances us a little further down the path towards a life of intent— which is to say, one that is not merely practical, efficient, or even sustainable, but is also regenerative. A lifestyle such as this also seeks solutions that take into account aesthetics, delight, and just plain fun.

In short, eco-effective design gives back as much or more to a system as it takes out, and does so with style, grace and humor.

We now begin to get a glimpse of how we might have our cake (or stuff) and eat it too!: first by asking ourselves what kind of stuff and how much of it we actually need in the first place, and then figuring out processes that give back as much or more in the way of resources as they take, in their creation and distribution.

As you can see this way of thinking inherently supports an approach to living that can be filled with joy and abundance rather than austerity and deprivation.

Still Need Convincing?

Then, I'll leave you with McDonough & Braungart's own words:

Consider the cherry tree: thousands of blossoms create fruit for birds, humans, and other animals, in order that one pit might eventually fall onto the ground, take root, and grow. Who would look at the ground littered with cherry blossoms and complain, 'How inefficient and wasteful!' The tree makes copious blossoms and fruit without depleting its environment. Once they fall on the ground, their materials decompose and break down into nutrients that nourish microorganisms, insects, plants animals, and soil. . .the tree makes more of its 'product' than it needs for its own success in an ecosystem [and this] abundance nourishes just about everything around it.

What might the human built world look like if a cherry tree produced it. (from Cradle-to-Cradle, p.72).

Next week, the ancient Chinese practice of feng shui.

Living With Intent - Part 2: Permaculture

This week we begin our journey towards intent by looking at "permaculture", one of three design philosophies I'll reference often in this blog.

Permaculture - What Is It?

Permaculture's concepts, principles and practices were co-originated in the 1970's by William Mollison and David Holmgren, both from Australia. The term "permaculture" is actually a combination of two words— "permanent" and "culture" or "agriculture". Mollison and Holmgren were inspired by the fact that in nature, eco-systems seemed to be interconnected and filled with abundance. They had also observed that indigenous cultures existed and functioned within such a context as well, and wondered if it might be possible to deliberately replicate these types of systems. In 1988, Mollison authored "Permaculture: A Designers' Manual" and Holmgren eventually went on to write about his experiences as a permaculture practitioner in his book "Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability".

However, while permaculture arose out of a desire to identify more sustainable ways to live upon the land, its application is by no means limited to that. Because permaculture's primary focus is on the relationships between elements in a system, rather than just the elements themselves or their characteristics, there is a great deal of flexibility in applying the principles in different situations. In addition to the farm or garden, it can also be utilized in the home, the office, organizational settings, or anything else where effective relationships are key. Extreme weather events such as Hurricane Sandy, have really driven home just how important strong relationships are to a community's overall strength and resilience.

Permaculture's Basic Principles

Listed below are the fundamental principles of permaculture, as described in Holmgren's book:

1. Observe and Interact
2. Catch & Store Energy
3. Obtain a Yield
4. Apply Self-regulation & Accept Feedback
5. Use & Value Renewable Resources & Services
6. Produce No Waste
7. Design From Patterns to Details
8. Integrate Rather Than Segregate
9. Use Small & Slow Solutions
10. Use & Value Diversity
11. Use Edges & Value the Marginal
12. Creatively Use & Respond to Change

Toby Hemenway, another permaculture gardener, describes a few more principles in his book "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture", 2nd ed, (pp. 6 & 7) that I think will also be useful for us to consider here, as well:

1. Connect
2. Stack Functions
3. Make the Least Change for the Greatest Effect
4. Collaborate With Succession
5. Turn Problems Into Solutions
6. Abundance is Limited by Creativity
7. Mistakes Are a Tool for Learning

We'll discuss these principles in more detail as we go along, but this will help get us started for now.

Why Permaculture?

Permaculture's inherent focus on collaborative, inter-dependencies rather than individualistic, autonomy, helps our thinking to become more community oriented, which is fundamental to living with intent.

Next week, we’ll look at the design philosophy of “cradle-to-cradle” co-developed by William McDonough and Michael Braungart.