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A
Simple Summer?
Well,
not quite. Last summer and early fall featured several simplicity,
sustainability and spirituality events that kept David on
the go through September.
Jazzing
It Up
 
Bicycling from Seattle to Port Townsend, Washington in late
July, David joined Jacque’s cousin Tony at the now-famous
Port Townsend Jazz Festival. Although David has been a jazz
fan for many years, this was the first time he was able to
take in this event that attracts jazz musicians from around
the world. The musical highlight for David was jazz flutist
Holly Hoffman. Besides all the great music, an unexpected
added attraction was the ceremonial landing of Northwest Native
tribes in their beautiful hand-made canoes.
Exploring
the Path of the Mystic
After a couple of days at home, David hopped back on the bike
and pedaled north to the San Juan Islands for a six day workshop
at Indralaya, a Theosophical Society retreat center. Indralaya,
established in 1927, is a beautiful 78 acres on Orcas Island
that has been left mostly natural. The accommodations are
basic (David pitched his tent to minimize cost) and the programs
are great. Exploring the Path of the Mystic was a
wonderful program of learning, music and sharing presented
by Sufi Muslim Jamal Rahman, Reform rabbi Ted Falcon (pictured)
and Rev. Rod Romney, retired pastor of Seattle First Baptist
Church. Learning more about the mystical versions of three
of the major faith-traditions and how they might apply to
our daily lives was enlightening. For more about the programs
at Indralaya and the Theosophical Society check out http://www.indralaya.org.
Grand-Dad
David
With barely enough time to catch his breath, David headed
straight from Orcas Island to the airport to catch a flight
to San Diego for a quick nine-day, mid-summer grand parenting
fix. Grandson Erik, now two years old, is growing rapidly,
learning both Spanish and English and is fascinated with trucks,
bulldozers and trolley cars. Best of all, he now recognizes
and loves his grandpa! Jacque stayed home this trip to take
care of Sophie and the garden which is was in full production
mode. We'll be headin' south again around the first of the
year to spend January and February in the San Diego area.
Once again our friend Jeff Saar has made his yurt in Jamul,
CA available to us for our winter stay.
Simplicity
Forum Annual Congress
 David
arrived back in Seattle just in time to greet Getting
a Lifer’s, Mike and Linda Lenich (See the Mike
and Linda Lenich Story) who came from Chicago for the
Simplicity Forum annual congress held at Seattle University
in late August. While Jacque and Linda gallivanted around
Seattle thrift stores in search of bargain quilting material,
David and Mike attended the Forum meetings along with about
65 simplicity leaders from around the world. Planning sessions
on communications strategy, Take-Back-Your-Time-Day,
simplicity education and research were productive but networking
opportunities between participants was once again the highlight
of the congress. A Simplicity Forum talent show was also a
hit.
To
cap the Forum’s annual meeting a highly successful Simplicity
Education Day, open to the public, was held August 24th. Over
300 people attended the public conference which featured the
simplicity visions of Cecile Andrews, Duane Elgin, Jerome
Segal, John de Graaf and others plus breakout sessions on
everything from Planetary Sustainability to Simplicity
and Kids. A more thorough re-cap of the Congress sessions
can be found at www.simplicityforum.org.
Cycling
for Sustainability and Radical Simplicity
After a short breather at home, David pedaled north to Canada
on September 8th to join Jim Merkel on his Cycling for Sustainability
Book Tour. Jim is founder of the Global Living Project (GLP)
and now author of an excellent new book Radical Simplicity
(see book recommendations below.) Jim and David pedaled through
Salt Spring Island, BC, Victoria, BC, Anacortes and Bellingham,
WA and back to Seattle in a week. The last day was a killer
114 mile jaunt! Jim drew large enthusiastic audiences everywhere
he went in the Northwest and then headed to the East coast
for another round of cycle book touring before returning to
the GLP homestead in Vermont. For more about the Global Living
Project and Radical Simplicity go to: www.globallivingproject.org
IASBOing
in Missoula
 To
round out the season, David headed east (this time by plane
and carpool) to the semi-annual International Association
of Sustainable Businesses and Organizations (IASBO) meeting
held in Missoula, MT September 26-28. This meeting focused
on Building a Conservation Economy and Sustainability in Government.
As usual, the conference offered a great mix of presentations,
networking and visits to sustainable demonstration projects.
IASBO members discovered that there are some great sustainable
living projects going on in Missoula. For example, the Missoula
Urban Demonstration Project (MUD) pictured here demonstrates
organic gardening techniques, composting, solar power and
features a tool lending library! MUD volunteers even bicycle
around town collecting used coffee grounds from local coffee
shops to use in their composting system.
How
Did Our Garden Grow?
 (Note
to New Readers: Over the last few years we converted
our entire yard into an organic vegetable garden. We have
no lawn but do have a few perennial flowers. We’ve now
expanded into our non-gardening neighbor’s back yard
in exchange for keeping up the space.)
Master
Gardener, Jacque reports that 2003 was a productive year with
a few exceptions. Green beans did great. We grew Jade bush
beans, Cascade giant and Kentucky wonder pole beans and Etna
shelling beans. Parsnips, raspberries, garlic and sugar-snap
peas also did well. We had a pretty good crop of tomatoes
and tried “popcorn,”
horseradish (in a tub) and celery root for the first time.
(We decided the celery root takes too much space and nutrients
so won’t try those again.) Although we’ve had
good luck with beets in the past, in 2003 they just didn’t
do well and the carrots never took off either.
Things
Jacque canned: Tomatoes, green beans (plain
and dilled), plums (from neighbor’s tree), grape preserves
and applesauce (from David’s mother’s property),
zucchini pickles and salsa. A $15 pressure-canner from a garage
sale helped speed up the canning process this year.
Things
Jacque dried: Another garage sale find was a
food dehydrator for $10! It was built from a plan in the book
“Dry It, You’ll Like It” by Gen MacManiman
(available on www.amazon.com, both new & used.) It worked
great on tomatoes and zucchini.
The
garden now lies hidden under a thick layer of leaf mulch waiting
for next year. Pickin'
Popcorn?
News
Briefs
•
Freecycling Got usable stuff you’d
like to unload? Want FREE stuff? Sign up to FREECYCLE in
your city! David did recently and quickly found a new home
for his old unused band saw. This is a great way to conserve
resources by using up stuff that already exists. www.freecycle.org
• Getting a Life Audio Book
is once again available from the Simple Living Network.
Discontinued by Penguin three years ago, we retrieved the
audio rights to Getting a Life and struck a deal
to offer the cassette tape audio version of Getting a Life
through the Simple Living Network. At $9.95 it’s a
great deal! To order copies go to: http://www.simpleliving.net/simpleradio
• Voluntary Simplicity and the Media
In October Jacque gave a guest lecture to a Seattle Community
College class on Simplicity and the media. She reports that
her message, focused on advertising, consumerism and the
concept of Enough, was well received by this college age
audience. In November, David was interviewed for an hour
on an AM talk-radio show in Fresno, CA. Call-in guests
really identified with issues of time-famine, identity by
job title and simplifying life.
• Yoga Transition As mentioned in
previous editions of the news, both Jacque and David have
become yoga practitioners in recent years. Sadly, the Ballard
Firehouse Yoga Studio we attended closed over the summer.
We’re now in transition mode as we try other studios
and explore other yoga styles to stay limber.
• Reborn Computer When we purchased
a new laptop computer last year we faced the dilemma of
what to do with the old one. Shortly after returning from
California last March we discovered that a long-time Voluntary
Simplicity friend was struggling with a barely-working 1980s
vintage machine. David reconfigured the “old”
1998 PC and our friend leapfrogged into the 21st century
with a new/old computer that meets her needs. We always
feel good when we can squeeze the maximum life out of products
we own.
Book
Recommendations
Here’s
our current recommended reads:
Radical
Simplicity:Small Footprints on a Finite Earth
by Jim Merkel, New Society Publishers,
2003. This is our current
"Must Read" recommendation. Based
on his 14 year experience of simple and sustainable living,
Jim shares his vision of planetary equity for all human beings
and non-human species. Weaving together the concepts of the
Ecological Footprint, Your Money or Your Life
and lessons learned from the natural world, Merkel provides
a hopeful vision of how we might achieve planetary sustainability
in 100 years. Radical Simplicity provides hands on
tools to measure our footprint, track our spending and ideas
on how to get in touch with nature. It won’t be easy,
but Merkel makes it seem possible.
Simplicity
and Success: Creating the Life You Long For
by Bruce Elkin, Trafford Publishing,
2003. Highly Recommended.
Another fine book by long-time simple liver Bruce Elkin offers
a novel approach to simple living by activating our creative
powers. He argues that we should not focus on “problem
solving” but instead create a powerful vision of what
we want out of life. With a strong, clear vision we will create
a path to get there overcoming “problems” in the
process. We see Elkin’s ideas as a way of getting at
Your Money or Your Life’s challenge in Step
4 of aligning your spending and consumption behavior with
your values and life purpose. Simplicity and Success
is an excellent tool to identify our values and create a life
purpose worth living!
Radical
Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha
by Tara Brach, Ph.D., Bantam
Books, 2003. Radical Acceptance offers a path
to freedom, including a day-to-day practical guidance developed
over Brach’s twenty years of work with therapy clients
and Buddhist students. She brings her teachings alive through
personal stories and case histories, fresh interpretations
of Buddhist tales, and guided meditations. This is one of
Jacque’s picks for this edition of the News.
Beyond
Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas
by Elaine Pagels, Random House,
2003. We were inspired to check this one out after
hearing Pagels interviewed by Bill Moyers. This latest book
by the author of The Gnostic Gospels delves into
early Christian history and how it came to be that Secret
Gospel of Thomas, (discovered in Egypt in 1945) was deemed
“heretical” by early Christian leaders and the
Gospel of John was ultimately chosen as the fourth gospel
included in the New Testament. Reading John and Thomas closely,
Pagels shows that Thomas offered readers a message of spiritual
enlightenment. Rather than promoting Jesus as the only light
of the world, Thomas taught individuals that "there is
a light within each person, and it lights up the whole universe.
If it does not shine, there is darkness." An thought-provoking
new take on Christian teachings.
Treasure
Forest by Cat Bordhi, Namaste
Publishing, 2003. For those who enjoyed Eckhart Tolle’s
books (The Power of Now, Silence Speaks) and would
like to pass this wisdom on to the younger generation, Bordhi
has the answer. Treasure Forest is a magical adventure
for all ages that incorporates the wisdom of Tolle’s
philosophy as 13-year-old Ben tries to solve a riddle left
to him by his grandmother: How can you retrieve a treasure
from the bottom of a pond without disturbing the water? A
bonus for us fiber enthusiasts is that Bordhi is also a textile
artist and knitting book author and interweaves (pun intended)
her insights of this art into the story. Treasure Forest
can be ordered directly from the publisher at: (250) 954-1693
or namaste@shaw.ca Jacque's
pick.
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