http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-problem-with-excess.html
The Problem With Excess
I’d like to step away from the waste issue for a few moments and talk a bit about the larger picture in general. Not to worry, I’ll be getting back to waste-lite tips soon enough, but with the holidays upon us and everything swirling about in a state of mad chaos (you know, family, friends, expectations, resolutions, and trying to figure out how to get cranberry stains out of your favorite white shirt) I think a little “step back and take a deep breath” thinking may be in order.
What makes us happy? Is it our family, our friends, our experiences, our things? Ironically, and I say ironically because after all I am not the “stuff” guy, I’d say it’s all of these things. But with the caveat that moderation in all things is key. Anything to excess can be too much no matter what it is. Here’s what I mean.
Let’s start with family. Most of us love our family (I said most of us) but let’s be honest, everyone has at least a few family members that are a bit tougher to deal with than others. Family is key to our happiness (in my opinion anyway) but as with everything, in manageable doses. So if you’re sleeping on the couch this holiday season because your wife’s parents are staying in your bed, just remember, this isn’t permanent (hopefully) and you love her (and potentially them) and this too shall pass. Everything in moderation.
Moving on to friends, the holiday season can become overwhelming on the friend scene. How many parties are there and can we make it to this one in time after that one and will this person be slighted if we don’t bring a gift and who are these people anyway? Let’s not forget that friends are just that, friends. These are the people who should understand that your sanity is more important than any gift or party attendance and will hopefully cut you some slack should you not be there on time or with the right thing in hand. Everything in moderation.
Experiences are in many ways what defines who we are. They are our memories, our stories and in some cases our legacies. But having said that, let’s remember that none of us can do everything. It’s OK to miss out from time to time. We are allowed to say, “I know I should be heading out to see so and so but I’m exhausted and just want to sit at home and read a book.” While the holidays should be about spending time with others, it should also be about spending time with ourselves. Everything in moderation.
Stuff. Well, my guess is that if you are reading this column regularly, you know my position on stuff. Stuff can make you smile, make you feel good, make you happy, but in essence it is fleeting. Sure we want to show the people we care about how much thought we put into getting them a gift, but do we need to inundate them? Many folks this time of year, especially kids, get so many gifts that it’s a veritable “happiness” overload. And just like a sugar high, the crash afterwards can be extremely tough. So go light and thoughtful on the gift giving this year. Everything in moderation.
There are presently 6 billion people, give or take a few million, inhabiting this little planet that we call home. When there were 2 billion, excess wasn’t as much of a problem. Now it’s overwhelming us. As the numbers grow, and grow they will, the problems of excess become exponentially problematic, and then some.
So this holiday season, I wish you joy, happiness, peace, food, water, shelter, comfort, safety, knowledge, health, and most of all, moderation.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
Dave
Dave Chameides is an environmental educator, freelance filmmaker and regular contributor to Care2’s Healthy & Green Living. He also writes alternative fuel articles for Edmunds.com and maintains the blogs 365 Days of Trash and Achieving Sustainability. While he is presently saving all of his trash for a year to better understand his environmental impact, his main focus is sustainability through education and he believes that with knowledge all things are possible.
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12 comments
add your comment »'Moderation' is the key word in our celebrations. (Or maybe it's just common sense.)
Moderation in spending - gifts between family and friends tend toward the book and/or DVD variety. If they don't become part of the collection when read or viewed, they get passed on and often wind up in a library.
Food in moderation - I don't need 10 extra pounds to get rid of because there were 10 boxes of chocolate tempting me.
Decorating in moderation - no need to put lights on everything (including the dog). A tree, some greenery on the front steps, and I'm done. And it will be used and reused until it all falls apart.
Remembering the spirit of the season - the Salvation Army and the SPCA get an extra donation this time of year. And the bird feeders get some extra suet and fruit and sunflower seed treats.
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I WHOLE HEARTEDLY AGREE WITH THIS ARTICLE!!! 8 THUMBS UP FOR THIS AUTHOR!!!
I LOVE THIS WEBSITE FOR SHARING IT'S AWESOME INFORMATION WITH THE PLANET!!!
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I partially agree with Don P, but I think things will be more drastic. Our population growth rate simply isn't going to become manageable through humans taking steps to make it so, because most humans don't believe there's a problem, or don't care. Most religions command their followers to have lots of children, and most humans believe in one of those religions, and science and reason certainly aren't overtaking crazy religious thinking currently.
The only answer is for mother nature to forcibly trim our numbers, through disease and famine. There's only so much arable land, fresh water, food, and other essential resources to go around, and this planet doesn't have enough of them for us to support 10+ billion people in a sustainable way, without causing massive global climate change leading to a breakdown in the natural systems which make the planet livable for us. Rising sea levels will destroy most of our cities, global warming/cooling will cause temperature shifts making many places uninhabitable, and if those things don't get our population under control, nature will find something else to throw at us. We simply aren't smart enough to predict all these things, and then get enough people to agree to do things so that we can all live peaceably.
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Thank goodness! I am not alone.
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If there is a way for me to connect to people and let them know how much better it is for everyone...let me know. Homemade gifts are the best...there is no stress in our family, only time together...it is better then you can ever imagine.The children of the future would grow up wanting to be creative, wanting to give to others, and hopefully, not wanting so much in material things...maybe eventually even doing away with early heart attacks! Thank you
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I am fueling the ranks of those who chose to did little in the kaos of the season. Enjoyed making more charitible marks in our society at my leasure, putting together a shipment of lightly or non-used pans for a young adult (whom I have never met) so she can explore her culinary ambitions and making some phone calls to say Hi and I Love You!
Great article. Thank you for reaffirming my holiday. The madness of the season losses the REASON.
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I definitely have to agree that I find the pop up petitions intrusive.
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Anybody else feeling like these e-mail messages are excessive (once a week was less overwhelming than these daily ones and that the pop up petitions are intrusive?
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Thank you for your article and concurring with a family mantra of ours, "Moderation"
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In my younger years I had hoped that education, good sense and replacing religion with science could save us from the "population bomb". Now I realize that this will not touch 3/4 of the World, and that the quarter who will decide to not over-propagate the planet has within it a greedy group that needs the World to have a poor class that will do grunt work for their mines and fields. Unfortunately the answer may be in some as yet unrealized chemical such as a phyto-estrogen that lowers birth rate to one sustainable for the planet. There appears to be such things in plastic bottles. Then for better or worse capitalism will implode. I hope we live through it.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Rohatsu, if Inti Raymi, Shabe-Yalda, or whatever you celebrate and blessed belated Ramadan....
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