Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The Small Things

Have you ever stopped to enjoy the simple things in life? Those things out there that were considered wondrous long ago but somehow lost their glory. I know our friend Devin will sometimes spend hours marveling at trains. Not the machines themselves, but the routes they travel and the fact they are there to be ridden at all. As for me, I find cups to be beautiful things. Liquid can be quite unruly when it is not contained. How do you keep it off of your pants and passing into your mouth in an orderly fashion? I will tell you how it is done...with cups my friend! Cups! They are so simple, yet so powerful. Straws are good too, but they are rarely found without cups.

I also enjoy democracy. It just feels good to share your opinion with the world. You know you are right about everything, you just need to get your message out there. So when you find a way to do it, there is much satisfaction. I had an opportunity to make my voice heard the other day, and it felt even better than I thought it would. I filled out a survey from my student senate about how I want my school to change or stay the same. One question in particular was interesting to me. The question was whether or not I would like to see more vegetarian and organic options in the dining halls and other food vending areas. I normally would have marked the response indicating something like indifference, but without hesitating I marked the option indicating extreme interest instead. I was already rather impressed with what I could eat in the dining halls being a vegetarian, but there could always have been more. It was exciting to convert this experiment into voting power. Sweet, sweet voting power.

Devin and I are not the only ones doing these sorts of experiments you know. We are not clever at all. I have heard tell of some other, possibly more interesting experiments going on out there. One woman is carrying her garbage/waste around with her for a month. That will teach her to waste less I bet. (Don't worry, I am told she was allowed to use and flush toilets) The intensity of her experiment is a few notches above my own, and for that I commend her. Another man tried to go a week without using the internet. That sounds less intense, but I bet it caused more frustration overall than I have had total this last month. You might want to scoff as well, but I don't see you doing it. (In fact, you seem to be on the internet right now) On the other hand, there is a man who is trying to live entirely on the internet, relying on virtual communities to stay sane for a week. I don't know why he would do that except for kicks. I don't know of anyone who holds the virtual realm in higher esteem than the real realm, so he is not proving anything as far as I am concerned. But he is still doing a time-bound lifestyle change, so we have something in common. These little experiments are useful I think. Well, for myself I KNOW they are useful. I have learned many things, thought in very different ways and felt lasting changes instilled in me. These are the types of things we all want in our lives. I am telling you all it takes is an idea and a small amount of determination. We would ALL be wasting less if we would just carry a plastic bag around for one month. Or a week. Probably even a day.

I have recently enjoyed a few restaurant outings and social events that challenged my ability to stay meatless. I think their frequency picked up here at the end for me. But they are hardly worth mentioning because I am getting so good at them these days. I might even miss the legitimate reason to order the funky new 'boring' item instead of my usual meat items. I have so many more left to explore.

I am supposed to write again on Thanksgiving day. The day this all ends. Devin and I should probably both write about our first time back with meat, but whether or not any writing happens at all is yet to be seen. I mean, it is a holiday. I hope you all have better things to do than read this blog on a holiday. You read this at work, right? When your boss isn't around. Yeah, thats what I thought. A special thanks to those who read this in their precious personal time. But to everyone, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

1 comment:

Devin said...

It's true, I must confess.. The "T" makes me immensely happy. The small things make the world turn. I am a fan.