July/August
2008
In this issue...
- Confidence
in Community: Building a Mutual Support Network
- Simple Living
Adventure. By Tess.
- Your exploration this month.
- Quotes of the month
- Want to comment or contribute?
- Teleclasses and personal coaching
News and Events
19th
July – National Cherry Day. Thanks
to Chris
Milton for
remembering my fondness for cherries and alerting me to
this event. Cherries, with their cheery colour,
glossy shine and fruity juiciness, are as much a
part of our British treasury of fruit and vegetables as
the apple.
But English Cherries are in a jam – in 50 years
we’ve lost 90% of our Cherry orchards and now import
around 95% of the Cherries we eat.
FoodLoversBritain.com has come to the rescue with CherryAid.
CherryAid is the campaign that unites all Cherry Lovers
– chefs, Cherry growers, producers of Cherry-based food and
drink, you, me –
to save the British Cherry.
Click on the Food
Lovers Britain website to
find locally grown cherries and other delicious real
food.
I’d like to introduce you
to a new online network – Pledging
for Change. Having spoken
with the founder, Karen Maskall, who oozes enthusiasm and
energy
for this project, I’m convinced that this network
will make a positive contribution in the lives of many
sustainable living enthusiasts and small business owners.
Karen describes the website as “the place to inspire
change and to extend a helping hand for ethical companies
with a conscience so that they may unite in a secure and
friendly environment and to lead by example.” Do
register and drop me a line.
1. Confidence
in Community: Building a Mutual Support Network.
Whether you are starting to work from home, starting
a small, sustainable business, deciding to home educate
your children or simply live without a car, the experience
of turning your back on the rat race can feel very lonely.
More than that, you may be challenged by others who view
your actions as an implied criticism of their decision
to stick it out on the treadmill. Rather than allowing
this to undermine your confidence in your decision, you
can view this situation as an opportunity to create a
new, mutually supportive mini-community that will serve
you, all those in it and the world at large. How do you
do that?
Responsibilities.
A community is a different animal to an organisation.
Organisations emphasise roles, rules, rights and conformity,
whereas communities emphasise relationships, consensus,
cooperation and creativity. So, in building a mutual
support network, you are not trying to re-create the
organisation that you have just left. Rather than that,
you are starting to create something more fulfilling
and wholesome.
What do you want your responsibilities
to be in your new venture? What type of relationships
do you want to
have with others? Maybe you’ll decide that there
are some people you definitely no longer wish to have
a relationship with or any responsibility for!
Self-sufficiency
One of the beliefs I’ve
encountered from friends and colleagues alike is that
there is some kind of conflict
between self-sufficiency and community based sustainable
living. There seems to be this idea that those who are
strong supporters of the self-sufficiency movement see
themselves as separate from the community and that they
are to be commended for not being dependent on anyone
or anything outside of their immediate environment. I
think this is a misunderstanding of where our responsibilities
lie when we talk about sustainable living.
In order to be resilient in the face of peak oil and
climate change or in order to live a life of voluntary
simplicity for spiritual reasons, there is a clear distinction
between being totally self-sufficient and isolated by
it and being dependent on the global corporate machine.
There is also the middle ground where self-sufficiency
and sustainable living can co-exist. In this case, self-sufficiency
is about knowing where our boundaries are. For example,
I believe you are self-sufficient if you accept responsibility
in a proactive way for your personal life. This would
include your health and wellbeing, your work, your relationships
and personal and professional development. It is possible
to do this at the same time as living and working in
community with others. In fact, I would go so far as
to say that this degree of self-sufficiency is essential
if you want your mutual support network to function effectively.
Cooperation and delegation, associates and colleagues
Some of my clients who start their own businesses, believe
they will have to do everything themselves in an effort
to cut costs. This was the route I took when I first
became self-employed and I soon found it very stressful
and rather unsuccessful. Sharing the load can be much
more productive and satisfying, even if at first it appears
to add extra cost. Working alongside others can relieve
you of tasks you find dull or difficult (delegation).
It can provide stimulation, insight and inspiration (finding
associates with complementary skills), and lead to some
very exciting synergy (cooperation).
You might immediately think of a financial management
consultant, web designer or personal assistant under
this heading. I would also include those who support
you in your health and wellbeing and those who at first
might appear to be competitors. In my mutual support
network, I include an osteopath, nutritionist and yoga
teacher as well as several other coaches.
Personal and Professional Development
What do you hope to learn from your new venture? Suppose
you are turning a well-loved hobby into a small business
or reducing your working hours and cutting your living
expenses. Who do you know who can mentor or teach you?
Who can help you improve your skills? Who can listen
to you without judgement?
Your personal and professional development network might
include favourite workshop leaders, a coach and a spiritual
teacher for example.
Remember also that your support network is a mutual one. What do you have to offer your network?
Conclusion
One of the saddest by-products of our post-modern society
is the isolation felt by many of its inhabitants. With
many people living in single person households and single
parent or small nuclear families we have lost the confidence
building benefits and emotional support of living and
working in community. We have also lost the practical
advantages of sharing resources. The good news is we
can re-create community and reap the benefits even if
we do this on a small scale.
2. Simple
Living Adventure. By Tess.
A few years ago, I was working twelve-hour
days, with a four-hour round-trip commute on top. I was
permanently exhausted. I rewarded myself by buying masses
of stuff I didn't need, eating takeaways and drinking
too much. I earned a lot of money but frittered it away.
Given that statement, my reasons
for moving to a simpler lifestyle may seem obvious – something
had to give! But if you break them down, they are political,
environmental,
spiritual and personal.
The first two are bound together. It's clear our world
is on the brink of environmental catastrophe. Politicians
won't start making the huge policy changes Earth needs
to survive until they feel their own political lives
won't survive! And we in the West cannot expect any restraint
from developing nations unless we are willing to give
up the materialistic lifestyle to which they now aspire.
Spiritually, I'm a Benedictine Christian, although the
insights of other faiths are enormously important to
me. St Benedict's Rule suits a simple lifestyle very
well, being about a balance between prayer, study and
work.
Personally, living more simply means having more time,
because I don't need as much money. This has given me
the chance to explore creative gifts that have been lying
dormant since I was a teenager (I'm 54). I work with
mixed media collage, shrines, journals and altered books.
I make hideous mistakes! I'm learning all the time. And
it is delighting me.
So how do I live simply? What have I done? A mixture
of large and small changes.
The biggest is that I negotiated
a part-time contract with my employer, working three
days a week. Smaller
things include giving away loads of unwanted items, driving
less, buying more locally-produced food. And a lot of
it is down to being more organised – combining
errands so as not to waste time and petrol, planning
menus and grocery shopping etc.
I feel I'm just at the start of this journey, and I
recommend the simple living adventure to anyone.
Tess writes an inspirational
and thought provoking blog at Anchors
and Masts.
3. Your
exploration this month.
What special gifts do you have to offer the world?
Which special people support you in doing that and how
do you serve eachother?
4. Quotes
of the month.
“There’s nothing that is better,
nothing that feels better, nothing is more enjoyable
than using our efforts in the service of life, contributing
to one another’s wellbeing.”
Marshall Rosenberg
"People
are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges."
Joseph F. Newton
"
Asking for help doesn’t mean that we are weak or incompetent. It usually
indicates an advanced level of honesty and intelligence."
Anne Wilson Schaef
5. Want
to comment or contribute?
If you would like to comment on any aspect of this newsletter
or submit an article for inclusion in it, please contact
me by email.
6. Teleclasses
and personal coaching.
"6 Steps to a Sustainable
Small Business"
A series of
6 teleclasses, each 45 minutes long, exploring the three
main elements of the
Triple Bottom Line of Sustainable Business Practices, People,
Planet, Profit and how to incorporate them into your business.
More details.
"How to Step off the Treadmill"
A series of six teleclasses, each
45 minutes long, exploring the elements of downshifting,
the reality of living a
sustainable lifestyle in a consumer driven society
and how to motivate ourselves to make the switch.
More details.
What is a Teleclass?
A teleclass is a straightforward,
low cost and sustainable way of taking part in a group
learning session. It’s
like a conference telephone call.Each participant is
supplied with a phone number to call at the appointed
time. When you call, you will be welcomed to a virtual
classroom where you can listen to the class leader present
the teleclass material and you can participate by asking
or answering questions if you wish. So it’s just like
being in a real classroom or workshop setting except
that you can take part in the comfort of your own home
without having to travel anywhere!
More details
Personal Coaching
One-to-one coaching can help you:
- let go of your old,stressful
way of life, find a new path of vitality and an improved
way of living.
- deal with fears surrounding
financial responsibilities, your relationships with
others and other consequences of making a major life
change.
- improve your health, wellbeing
and spiritual life.
- further your personal growth.
- achieve balance, clarity and
peace.
You can view further details on personal coaching here.
7. Privacy
policy
If this email has been forwarded
to you and you would like to subscribe, you can do
so easily on my website, here: www.sallylever.co.uk.
I will never sell, share or otherwise divulge your contact
details, including your email address, to any third party.
Subscriptions to this newsletter grow by your recommendation.
If you have enjoyed reading it, please do forward it
to your friends, relations and colleagues. Please feel
free to use any material from this newsletter. All I
ask is that you acknowledge me as the source and include
my web address.
Have a fruitful
month!
Sally
Sally Lever
Sustainable Living Coach
+44 (0)1749 674842
sally@sallylever.co.uk
http://www.sallylever.co.uk/
7 Welsford Avenue, Wells, Somerset.
BA5 2HX. UK. |
