{"id":2053,"date":"2023-11-25T14:45:47","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T14:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/?page_id=2053"},"modified":"2023-12-12T17:05:53","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T17:05:53","slug":"basic-principles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/serve\/creation-justice\/think-before-you-buy\/basic-principles\/","title":{"rendered":"Basic Principles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We do the best we can with the options we have. It is not about PERFECTION!&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don\u2019t buy, INSTEAD:  reuse, repurpose, repair, recycle, or do without<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Know why you are buying &#8211; Avoid conspicuous or convenient consumption&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Live MORE with LESS stuff<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Practice VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY (see below)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buy less\/ buy just enough\/less waste<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buy Local<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buy in bulk to avoid packaging<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Know the waste produced before you buy<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid excess and non-recyclable packaging<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buy items produced by workers treated fairly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buy items produced sustainably<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buy from mission-driven companies that share your values (e.g. companies with B Corp. Certification, Organic Certified, Fair Trade, etc.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buy for fun, entertainment, and emotional comfort only occasionally<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"736\" height=\"736\" src=\"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rethink.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2076\" srcset=\"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rethink.jpeg 736w, https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rethink-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rethink-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rethink-24x24.jpeg 24w, https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rethink-36x36.jpeg 36w, https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rethink-48x48.jpeg 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8220;We may live in what we call a &#8216;free society,&#8217;&nbsp;but consumer&nbsp;satiation\u2026robs us of our capability for humanity.&#8221; &#8211; Walter Brueggemann, in his book,&nbsp;<em>The<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Prophetic imagination<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"87\" src=\"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/unnamed.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2175\" srcset=\"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/unnamed.png 400w, https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/unnamed-300x65.png 300w, https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/unnamed-24x5.png 24w, https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/unnamed-36x8.png 36w, https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/unnamed-48x10.png 48w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/click.pstmrk.it\/3s\/www.awakin.org%2Fread\/0W2I\/AOyxAQ\/AQ\/3221e018-5a25-420e-90d1-f8b8272b4932\/2\/Gne-tBcK7h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Weekly Reading<\/a>  Dec 11, 2023<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY<\/strong><br><br><em>&#8211;Jon Kabat-Zinn<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/click.pstmrk.it\/3s\/www.awakin.org%2Fread%2Faudio.php%3Fop%3Dplay%26tid%3D2632\/0W2I\/AOyxAQ\/AQ\/3221e018-5a25-420e-90d1-f8b8272b4932\/3\/0dmcHrk3Jy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Listen to Audio<\/a>\u00a0<br><br>The impulse frequently arises in me to squeeze another this or another that into this moment. \u00a0Just this phone call, just stopping off here on my way there. \u00a0Never mind that it might be in the opposite direction. <br><br>I&#8217;ve learned to identify this impulse and mistrust it. \u00a0I work hard at saying no to it. \u00a0It would have me eat breakfast with my eyes riveted to the cereal box, reading for the hundredth time the dietary contents of the contents or the amazing free offer from the company. \u00a0This impulse doesn&#8217;t care what it feeds on as long as it&#8217;s feeding. \u00a0The newspaper is an even better draw, or the L.L. Bean catalog, or whatever else is around. \u00a0It scavenges to fill time, conspires with my mind to keep me unconscious, lulled in a fog of numbness to a certain extent, just enough to fill or overfill my belly while I actually miss breakfast. \u00a0It has me unavailable to others at those times, missing the play of light on the table, the smells in the room, the energies of the moment, including arguments and disputes, as we come together before going our separate ways for the day.<br><br>I like to practice voluntary simplicity to counter such impulses and make sure nourishment comes at a deep level. \u00a0It involves intentionally doing only one thing at a time and making sure I am here for it. \u00a0Many occasions present themselves: \u00a0taking a walk, for instance, or spending a few moments with the dog in which I am really with the dog.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<br><br>Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more. \u00a0It all ties in.\u00a0<br><br>It&#8217;s not a real option for me as a father of young children, a Thbreadwinner, a husband, an oldest son to my parents, a person who cares deeply about his work to go off to one Walden Pond or another and sit under a tree for a few years, listening to the grass grow and the seasons change, much as the impulse beckons at times. \u00a0But within the organized chaos and complexity of family life and work, with all their demands and responsibilities, frustrations and unsurpassed gifts, there is ample opportunity for choosing simplicity in small ways.<br><br>Slowing everything down is a big part of this. \u00a0Telling my mind and body to stay put with my daughter rather than answering the phone, not reacting to inner impulses to call someone who &#8220;needs calling&#8221; right in that moment, choosing not to acquire new things on impulse, or even to automatically answer the siren call of magazines or television or movies on the first ring are all ways to simplify one&#8217;s life a little. \u00a0Others are maybe just to sit for an evening and do nothing, or to read a book, or go for a walk alone or with a child or with my wife, to restack the woodpile or look at the moon, or feel the air on my face under the trees, or go to sleep early.<br><br>I practice saying no to keep my life simple, and I find I never do it enough. \u00a0It&#8217;s an arduous discipline all its own, and well worth the effort. \u00a0Yet it is also tricky. \u00a0There are needs and opportunities to which one must respond. \u00a0A commitment to simplicity in the midst of the world is a delicate balancing act. \u00a0It is always in need of retuning, further inquiry, attention. \u00a0But I find the notion of voluntary simplicity keeps me mindful of what is important, of an ecology of mind and body and world in which everything is interconnected and every choice has far-reaching consequences. \u00a0You don&#8217;t get to control it all. \u00a0But choosing simplicity whenever possible adds to life an element of deepest freedom which so easily eludes us, and many opportunities to discover that less may actually be more.<a href=\"https:\/\/click.pstmrk.it\/3s\/www.facebook.com%2Fsharer.php%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.awakin.org%252Fread%252Fview.php%253Ftid%253D2632\/0W2I\/AOyxAQ\/AQ\/3221e018-5a25-420e-90d1-f8b8272b4932\/7\/_mDxs9k5wE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/click.pstmrk.it\/3s\/twitter.com%2Fshare%3Ftext%3DRT%2B%2540servicespace%2BVoluntary%2BSimplicity%26url%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.awakin.org%2Fread%2Fview.php%3Ftid%3D2632\/0W2I\/AOyxAQ\/AQ\/3221e018-5a25-420e-90d1-f8b8272b4932\/8\/yb0cfOgILN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<br><br><a href=\"https:\/\/click.pstmrk.it\/3s\/www.awakin.org%2Fv2%2Fread%2Fview.php%3Ftid%3D2632\/0W2I\/AOyxAQ\/AQ\/3221e018-5a25-420e-90d1-f8b8272b4932\/9\/7PGbKNguTw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><strong><em>What does voluntary simplicity mean to you? Can you share a personal story of a time that you chose simplicity in small ways? What helps you slow everything down?<\/em><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;We may live in what we call a &#8216;free society,&#8217;&nbsp;but consumer&nbsp;satiation\u2026robs us of our capability for humanity.&#8221; &#8211; Walter Brueggemann, in his book,&nbsp;The&nbsp;Prophetic imagination Weekly Reading Dec 11, 2023 VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY &#8211;Jon Kabat-Zinn Listen to Audio\u00a0 The impulse frequently arises in me to squeeze another this or another that into this moment. \u00a0Just this phone [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1960,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2053","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2053"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2177,"href":"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2053\/revisions\/2177"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/congregationalucc.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}