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 Making skincare

Recently I've made a few simple skincare items. There are several reasons for it. One is ecological. I practise ecological living, and to me it is important to minimise the use of plastic, to minimise the number of objects I consume and live with, to minimise the amount of various human-made ingredients that I wash off my skin. I try to avoid using things that I would not feel comfortable to apply on my skin before I swim in a river or a lake. Another reason is health. I've mentioned it several times in this autoethnography that many of my sustainability practices were there long before I started researching degrowth. I live with an autoimmune skin condition, which means I feel better when I wear natural fabrics, especially organic cotton. I feel better when I eat simple, local, minimally processed foods. My skin feels much better when I use very simple and natural products. I avoid many categories of consumption, such as jewellery, makeup, car, tv, fancy clothes and accessories and so on for sustainability reasons. Skincare products is a category that I would love to live without, but due to my autoimmune disease, it is not possible. Instead, I use simple, locally made soap bars, a salve made by a small, local business, and homemade products. Most recently, I mixed some sweet almond oil and a few drops of organic tea tree oil and organic lavender essential oil to make an oil that I can use on my face, body, and hair. 

228

 Being with a willow

The past few days have been very stressful. I often think about a genuinely sustainable society and how it can be brought about. When life unfolds peacefully, it is easier to dream about better futures, a more harmonious mode of being in the world, and better practices.  But when various struggles constellate, theorising and manifesting sustainability becomes a challenge. I think about the meaning of life, relationships with fellow humans, my service to others and nature through my work. Going through a stressful time makes me feel overwhelming empathy towards others and their paths. I also wonder why it is the norm to conceal struggles from fellow humans. At times, my fellow humans (e.g., fellow academics, students) share their struggles with me, and I notice how cautious they are at first. So am I when I wonder if it's ok or not to be authentic. Humans seem to experience so much anxiety and even fear over answering "no" if someone asks them if they are ok. And yet, feeling well is so important for sustainability. It is much more difficult to practise sustainability and be an activist when one is struggling.

Something that helped me recently was having genuine conversations with my fellow humans, being vulnerable with them without feeling shame, and also being with nature. I walked past the willow tree in the picture above many times. But as the pond froze, the tree's branches were embraced by the thin ice, dusted with very light snow. I sat down in front of it to just be present with the pond, the ice and the willow. For a while, I held a piece of ice in my hands. It was a self-transcending experience.