I'm on p. 111 of Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess by Will Samson. Today I got into the part of the book that starts talking about specifics, what 'our' problems are and some suggestions to begin solving them.
*When I say 'our', I am talking about American's in general... and more specifically American Christians. You may or may not identify with the generalities and statistics, but this is how the book defines it and how I am reading it.
One of the chapters discusses how our bodies (physically, emotionally, mentally & spiritually) are being affected by our over-consumption. One of the stats that stuck out to me was that the United Nations said in 2000 that the amount of people suffering from 'over nutrition' had officially surpassed the amount of people suffering from malnutrition. This has to speak to how we in the country with the highest child obesity rate live our lives as massive consumers.
I could go on with more depressing stats and thoughts about where we are as a culture, but you can read the book if you want more of that... anyways, Samson does a great job of offering suggestions for those of us who want to combat this in ways that connect us with how Jesus may have wanted us to live....
One of his suggestions was to plant a garden. Planting a garden has the possibility to connect us with all of our senses to the process of gaining our resources, we will appreciate them more and consider how much time and effort it takes to actually get the food from the seed to our plate... maybe?
Well, I have tried to plant a few things and I'm terrible at it. A month ago my cousin and her fiance were in town and helped us plant rosemary, thyme, basil, mint, and tomatoes. The only one of those that is still growing is one of the tomato plants. This is a huge success, but the rest are gone or non existent. I am frustrated!
Then I went to Amanda's tonight and she has the beginnings of a raised garden and I know that she has a desire to live simply and be a part of the growing process. I hope to learn from her a bit, but if I'm completely honest, this having to take my time to garden is not instantly gratifying enough for me. I think that might be part of Samson's point and its hard to take. I want the instant!
So, I had another thought, maybe I could go half-way and join a co-op of some sort. The Chewies are part of one and I could learn from them. Its hard to change, even the little things.
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3 comments:
I finished reading the book and it was alright. I guess just not a lot of new info. I think that it would be more challenging or ground breaking for someone who is new to thinking holistically about the gospel and what it means to follow Jesus as a way of life in the postmodern world view. But, for me the highlights were the practical suggestions offered. I liked that there were some things that I can do and do do already that I can be more mindful about.
I've been thinking about joining a co-op, I have some friends that do it....I think it is a great idea...maybe we could join one together. I went to pick strawberries at a local farm yesterday...and then made jam and pie....i'll go back with you if you want strawberries.
Lets talk more about the details of joining a co-op. I would love to go pick strawberries with you too.
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