Lent

[voluntary simplicity, like feminism, had a natural attraction for me from a very young age before I really knew what either was]

Growing up in religion introduces you to values that are otherwise a little harder to come by in the world in such a structured format. Caring for others. The big picture. Giving things up for the greater good, giving things up for reasons you don't understand. I left my church at fifteen, and though I have considered it over the years have never returned. Some sentiments remain beautiful and think about how I will express them to any children I have: the idea of baptism, in my church, was an idea of a community recognizing a new member and a responsibility to help raise a child as part of a community. That's incredible.

Anyways. One of the things I see reflected in my own life that I'm now connecting to a religious value I never really understood is the point of voluntarily giving something up, potentially permanently but also temporarily for a significant amount of time.

[Wealth is a reaction to the existence of scarcity]

My unofficial New Years resolutions were in the art of less rather than more. None of them involved adding anything to my life. I resolved to stop buying glossy magazines and to stop getting take out coffee (especially in paper cups), among other things.

It hasn't been perfect, but so far it's been so close that I get an acute sense of strangeness when I find myself doing what I said I wouldn't. I don't find either satisfying anymore. And, there are added karmic benefits -- right now I'm brewing a cup of fair trade organic coffee that I will have in a fairly traded mug I bought from the man who made it when I was abroad. The filter is unbleached, the water is tap. This is called moral luxury.

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Planning my next trip has made me realize how insane my life is. I started traveling by going solo around a place most people never visit, which is apparently kind of dangerous. I'm still an ultra paranoid traveler, but very few things intimidate me anymore. My next trip will involve a very small backpack and budget. It's going to be incredible...

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As we speak, some guy I've never met is facebook stalking my profile pictures. I think he's related to someone I dated. He keeps leaving comments like "unmistakably [L.]". I have also recently been facebooked by my massage therapist... oh my.