Since I was a child, I have always valued the ideals of peace and sustainability. In fourth grade, I remember lobbying everyone I could about why they should vote for Jimmy Carter for President of the United States.
“Jimmy Carter is a man who believes in Peace!”
I also come about sustainability “genetically” one could say. Growing up in the 1980’s, my father constructed solar panels on the side of our small two-bedroom house in a small Iowa town. We always gardened, raised chickens, ducks, rabbits, you name it.
One of my fondest memories was a time when we lived in Alabama. A very rare ice storm caused school closings, closed roads, and cut off power service for nearly a week. My mother had made many pots of vegetable soup from items canned in our garden just days before in hopes of freezing it for later use. We gathered around our woodburning stove in one small room of our house. We sat under blankets near the stove, eating warm soup that week.
For a time growing up, and through much of my 20s, I didn’t practice this kind of heartfelt sustainability. I think that like many children, we see the struggles of our parents, and try our best to not have to go through the same things. I wasn’t interested in solar power, in growing things, in saving things or even money. For a time, I let myself fall into the same complacency and “ordinary” path that everyone is expected to take. I took higher paying corporate jobs, bought new cars, bought a condo, etc. These are choices I don’t regret by any means, but life had an interesting way of coming back around.
In 1999 I went to Massage Therapy School, then moved to Madison, WI, where I believe my activism and sustainable “roots” began to resurface. I learned about holistic health and alternative medicine, and really started to look within at the kind of life I wanted to lead.
In 2002 I moved back to Minnesota to take yet another corporate job, as the practical thing to do, but much began to surface again. I became very active in the Northfield, MN People for Peace and Goodwill group, became the coordinator for a year, and joined the board of The Center for Sustainable Living.
Finally, at 36, I felt that I was spending too much of my life working behind the scenes, and I began to feel that there was something more that I needed to experience. Much of my experience has been in advocating sustainability and peace, rather than getting my hands dirty and living it. I’ve heard it said that “When life becomes predictable, it’s time to go on a journey.” This is what I have started to do.
After meeting my now partner, Michael, I went back to graduate school at Saint Mary’s University in Minneapolis to study Human Development. The program is an interdisciplinary one which encourages self-exploration within the context of social responsibility. I decided to embark on a journey to answer the question:
How do we create communities and LIVES out of the mix of art, sustainability, peace, non-violence, and social justice?
I went to my first national mass protest in November of 2005 to the Army School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia with the Veterans for Peace. I started to dive into a more direct and personal experience with the notions of peace, sustainability, and social justice.
In February of 2006, I was laid off from my corporate job, and my “golden handcuffs” were released. I moved to Minneapolis with Michael in March into a cooperative housing apartment, rented out my condo, then bought a bike, which I’m now riding almost every day. In August of 2006, I opened my own massage therapy and bodywork business, and began renting an office in Uptown Minneapolis. I started part time, once per week, and quickly grew to 3-4 days per week. I also now do freelance web design for a few clients at a time.
I feel that my life is now transforming at a rapid pace. When I started this blog, I wanted to radically change my way of living, and begin actively experiencing sustainability on a deeper level in my life as I live it. Little by little, I hope that I’m doing that.
My goals for this blog are to explore more of my surroundings by bicycle, and to develop my own sense of “sustainability in motion” as I share these experiences. I plan to learn about bicycle repair and maintenance, transportation alternatives, winter biking, the development of concious living in partnership with my environment, and I want to tell stories using various forms of media (pictures, audio, video, etc.).
At 36, 6′1, and 230 pounds as I begin this blog (March 27, 2006), I know that I’m in for some challenges. But.. I’d like to begin making a life-long commitment. I will push myself. I will learn new things. I will explore more by walking and biking. I will get to know life outside of my old “comfortability” even. And finally, I will share the joy and wonder I discover with all of you. Thank you for being here with me on this journey!