Compost & Trash

I know you're all waiting with bated breath to hear about No Impact Man, but I find that I'm not particularly inspired to write about it....not because it wasn't inspiring, but because I want you to go see it for yourself. If you're in Minneapolis, it opens at the Lagoon Theater on October 2nd. If you're elsewhere, you'll have to check the website: No Impact Man. If you're looking for inspiration without seeing the film, you could check out Colin Beaven's blog. It's listed in my sidebar as "No Impact Man."

Suffice it to say that I did leave the theater with some of the inspiration I was looking for, and I'll be blogging about the changes we're making here at our house as they happen. Right now I'm looking into the best means of composting our kitchen scraps. I'm looking into vermicompost, which is, essentially, using red worms to quickly turn kitchen scraps back into earth OR a regular backyard compost bin. For Minneapolis (and the surrounding area) Eureka Recycling is an excellent resource for learning how to follow the green mantra, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." They have an upcoming workshop on "The End of Waste," as well as workshops on both types of composting and turning trash into art.

One thought that I took away from the film was this: Sometimes we waste a lot of time and energy trying to figure out which is the lesser of two evils (think paper or plastic?) when really we can avoid the whole conflict by going without either. Sometimes it's not a question of whether or not we can live without something; it's a matter of just going without and seeing what happens. We in America think there are an awful lot of things we can't live without, but when it really comes right down to it, if we gave those things up, we'd find a way to survive. I think sometimes what makes us most unwilling to change is being different, being afraid of what other people will say, being worried about having guests over or turning our children into freaks. I've often said that I wonder how we'd all live if we weren't so afraid. This is just another area that begs that question. And then what if a few of us made some changes and then others followed suit and then we all lived differently together?

No Impact Man

Mane & I (and possibly the rest of the family) are going to see No Impact Man at the Walker Art Center this evening, and I am SO EXCITED. As Mane was reciting Psalm 23 to me this afternoon, I was thinking of how full of the natural world that Psalm is:

The Lord is my shepherd
I shall not be in want
He makes me lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside quiet waters
He restores my soul

Truly, what restores our souls like a walk beside quiet waters? The poet Psalmist knew the way that green growth and clear water speak to the human soul. It's circular, I think, the way that these things restore us and turn our hearts to God and the way that God leads us to these things in order to be restored. They are the tangible bits of God in the universe, our way to see glimmers of God's personality and desires for us.

I've found that this biking experiment has been restorative for me in a similar way. In the city, biking doesn't really bring one closer to nature...or, at least, not any more than it brings one closer to asphalt and concrete. But it frees us to live in closer relationship to the world around us, and it does reduce our negative impact on the natural world that God created. God created us to be relational beings, as God is also a trinity, constantly in relationship. Rushing around (car or no car) is not conducive to relationships, with each other or with the natural world. I feel significantly less rushed since making an intentional effort to drive less. I think it has something to do with planning only what we actually have time for and leaving plans more open-ended to give time to get there and back. I don't think driving less is the only way to learn that lesson, but it was the way for me to learn it right now. And it restores my soul...

Biking is a baby step for me, a very do-able way to live more gently, to slow down, to take care of the world that God made for our enjoyment, delight, and restoration. No Impact Man tells a more extreme story, long strides, lots of sacrifice. I'm looking forward to being challenged. Mane has already asked for us to begin composting our food waste, something I've been too lazy to explore. I'd like to instill in her a love for creation, along with a love for the Creator, and I'm going to let her youth and belief that nothing is impossible challenge me, too. A restoration challenge...for me and for creation.