Make Lemonade.
Here we are in a time of shortages. Hoarding and price gouging are on one side of the pinched penny and, on the other, squeezing everything you can from that lemon to get lemonade. That’s probably not the best-mixed metaphor in the world, but hey, I’m trying to conserve. Pinch your pennies. Squeeze your lemons.
Grandmother K lived through the Great Depression. She had five siblings, and no father at home. He disappeared to California seeking work and income. Gramma K always had lots of stories about hardship but she had even more stories about resourcefulness.
In the current pandemic, we have to consider shortages. Supply lines are disrupted. Food, materials, and people-power are unavailable in some areas. Even savings and job security are in short supply for many. This is a good time to learn how to be creative. It is also a time to learn to value resources. It is the time to learn to share.
Share and Care.
In times of need and uncertainty, human resourcefulness is the best resource of all. Gram taught us lessons learned by valuing both things, and people.
When we protect and conserve a resource, there is more for everyone, more resourcefulness, and greater empowerment, which creates a greater sense of solidarity. There is also a strength and resilience that only comes when people recognize their own ability to contribute.
During the Great Depression, people worked hard to conserve anything and everything of value. In our disposable, trash culture, we lost this ability. Now, in times of need, this idea is seeing a fresh new life for an idea as old as humanity.
Make It Do.
In the house where I grew up, under the wise and beautiful guidance of Gramma Kate, the motto was:
“Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do, or do without.”
I always thought this was about eating everything on my plate, wearing hand-me-downs, or gathering kitchen scraps to enrich the soil.
But, saving and sharing are more about the big picture: All limited resources and what we value matter. We live on a planet with limits. We can better learn, or re-learn, how to manage it more wisely.
It was not a big deal in the old days to run out of toilet paper, or paper towels. Any cotton, or paper material works well and saves time, money, and resources. Gramma’s family used old newspaper for every kind of clean up. There are other options, today.
During this pandemic, we are reminded of all the things we have taken for granted: single-use plastic and paper, for example, flew off the shelf at the beginning of self-quarantine. Now, however, people are taking a bit more time to save, restore, and reuse.
The idea of the durable is coming into vogue. Let’s steer the new world that way , creating a greener new deal.
Grandma went on, as young woman, to marry a soldier and support WWII. The same shortages came about. The leaders and community network sprang into action, once again urging people to conserve. They saved metal. They saved building materials. They planted “Victory Gardens,” and saved seeds, sharing with neighbors in need. They saved cloth. They saved jars and containers of every kind. They even saved kitchen scraps, and lard, for both animals feed, compost, and more.
They shared jobs. Women joined the war effort and the workforce as never before. People knew that sharing everything tangible, and then some, was good.
All of these things, and more, including homes themselves, were shared among people who then had a great purpose. A sacrifice sounds like a negative, in modern times, but sacrifice is actually a very huge advantage for people to feel they matter.
Living Local
We live in Hawaii at the end of a very circuitous supply chain. We still have Costco, (for now) but more than before, we are all exchanging produce. My neighbor gave us some fresh-grown green beans. We gave her lemons, oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit. The different produce from our farms supports our nutritional needs. Our friendship supports our emotional needs.
In the present context of shortages and an uncertain future, we all need each other. Our finite planet has needed our attention and appreciation for her gifts for some time now. We don’t know whether civilization itself will ever be the same. Going on eight billion people — -all of whom are brothers and sisters who need clean air, water, food, and shelter — -we have been given this very unusual time to turn to one another and to learn how to create, save, and share.
Stories that counter the doom and gloom narrative, are out there. Some media reports, and some telecasts of talk shows, may highlight these. If you are only hearing the terrifying stuff, it’s time to remember our better angels, our humor even, and our resilience.
During the Great Wars, and the Great Depression, people worked hard to conserve anything, and everything, of value. In our disposable, trashy culture, we lost this ability. But now, in times of need, it is reemerging. This is a good lesson from the Earth, and for humanity.
When we over-consume, we indulge our wasteful, and selfish selves. When we share, and create more durable goods, we are taking care of each other, and the planet.
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This post was previously published on Greener Together and is republished here with permission from the author.
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