We got the chance to have several days together, sharing meals, stories, reconnecting with old friends, and getting lots of hugs. After they left, I was able to return to the studio and begin working, again, on the quilt. Some of the pieces are now up on the design wall:
Last week, the Vatican released Pope Francis's latest encyclical: Laudato Si: On Care of Our Common Home. While it is a long document, it is worth taking time to read. In it, he addresses the impacts of continued disregard of the evidence of climate change, as well as suggesting how one can make a difference. Since he considers not only lifestyle changes but political and community actions, it presents a variety of ways one can influence the state of the entire world for years to come.
I found several sections especially interesting. For example, on lifestyle changes:
“211.
. . . . A person who could afford to spend and consume more but regularly uses
less heating and wears warmer clothes, shows the kind of convictions and
attitudes which help to protect the environment. There is a nobility in the
duty to care for creation through little daily actions, and it is wonderful how
education can bring about real changes in lifestyle. Education in environmental
responsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and significantly
affect the world around us, such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper,
reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably
be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or
car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of
other practices. All of these reflect a generous and worthy creativity which
brings out the best in human beings. Reusing something instead of immediately discarding
it, when done for the right reasons, can be an act of love which expresses our
own dignity.”
“212.
We must not think that these efforts are not going to change the world. They
benefit society, often unbeknown to us, for they call forth a goodness which,
albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread. Furthermore, such actions can
restore our sense of self-esteem; they can enable us to live more fully and to
feel that life on earth is worthwhile.”
As well as:
“222. Christian spirituality proposes an
alternative understanding of the quality of life, and encourages a prophetic
and contemplative lifestyle, one capable of deep enjoyment free of the obsession
with consumption. We need to take up an ancient lesson, found in different
religious traditions and also in the Bible. It is the conviction that “less is
more”. A constant flood of new consumer goods can baffle the heart and prevent
us from cherishing each thing and each moment. To be serenely present to each
reality, however small it may be, opens us to much greater horizons of understanding
and personal fulfilment. Christian spirituality proposes a growth marked by
moderation and the capacity to be happy with little. It is a return to that
simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be
grateful for the opportunities which life affords us, to be spiritually
detached from what we possess, and not to succumb to sadness for what we lack.
This implies avoiding the dynamic of dominion and the mere accumulation of
pleasures.
“223.
Such sobriety, when lived freely and consciously, is liberating. It is not a
lesser life or one lived with less intensity. On the contrary, it is a way of
living life to the full. In reality, those who enjoy more and live better each
moment are those who have given up dipping here and there, always on the
look-out for what they do not have. They experience what it means to appreciate
each person and each thing, learning familiarity with the simplest things and
how to enjoy them. So they are able to shed unsatisfied needs, reducing their
obsessiveness and weariness. Even living on little, they can live a lot, above
all when they cultivate other pleasures and find satisfaction in fraternal encounters,
in service, in developing their gifts, in music and art, in contact with
nature, in prayer. Happiness means knowing how to limit some needs which only
diminish us, and being open to the many different possibilities which life can
offer.”
And on community work vs. political action:
“232. Not everyone is
called to engage directly in political life. Society is also enriched by a
countless array of organizations which work to promote
the common good and to defend the environment, whether natural or urban. Some,
for example, show concern for a public place (a building, a fountain, an
abandoned monument, a landscape, a square), and strive to protect, restore,
improve or beautify it as something belonging to everyone. Around these
community actions, relationships develop or are recovered and a new social
fabric emerges. Thus, a community can break out of the indifference induced by
consumerism.”
The press conference at which the encyclical was launched produced a document that is also worth looking at. Vatican Press Conference - Presentation of "Laudato Si - On Care of Our Common Home" -June 18, 2015. (To read it in English, one needs to scroll down.) I found the section on the science extremely informative.
My own preferences for action tend towards lifestyle changes and spreading the word to others. In that light, I wanted to suggest a few other sites to check out. These businesses present a variety of ways in which materials can be fully used and ways to provide jobs and income.
Reuseworks is a non-profit that conducts worker training and uses waste and discarded materials for its products.
Rpreservedcom is a business providing upcycled and vintage items.
The Knittin' Kitten is a shop in Portland, Oregon that buys previously owned but not used craft supplies from estates and people who are downsizing and sells them both in their shop and on Etsy. They also create some art and craft pieces for sale.
I am sure that there must be a variety of other businesses and community activities addressing these ideas. I invite you to add any of which you are aware to the comments.
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