One of the prerequisites for downshifting and leading a more sustainable life is for us to slow down. According to Jonathan Porritt, “Speed is the enemy of sustainable living”. When we opt for speed, then we tend to prioritise convenience over and above sustainability and this inevitably results in our consuming more and caring less [...]

About 18 years ago, I consulted a Complementary Therapist for the first time.  I had decided to take a different route and try out what was for me an unknown and unexplored alternative to the conventional medicine I had always relied on in the past. Why? Because I was pregnant for the first time, suffering [...]

When you talk to a sustainable living enthusiasts, one of the areas your conversation may well turn to is alternative, renewable energy sources – solar, wind and wave power rather than using fossil fuels which we know can have seriously negative consequences. What happens when instead we focus on our own personal energy and think [...]

“What do you do that’s frivolous?” This was a question posed of me at a pre-Christmas party and caught me completely unprepared. In that moment, despite being ever so slightly under the influence of a rather delicious glass of mulled wine, I couldn’t think of a single thing! Well, how boring does that make me?!
I [...]

Since starting my downshifting journey to a more sustainable existence, I have become acutely aware of just how frequently other people voice their exasperation at “having to lead a seemingly pointless and unhappy existence.” I was one of those people a mere 10 years ago. So much has changed in that short space of time.
In [...]