281

 Learning

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about words. There are so many words that I was ashamed of using in the beginning of my academic journey. Or, I thought they were negative words. I have grown so much via working on changing my perception of certain words. They are, for example, vulnerability and imperfection. These days, I do not feel bad about saying that I don't know something, don't yet understand something. That I am in two minds about something. That something is messy. In my academic work, I use freely words such as spirituality and say how I feel about something. 

280

 Dreaming

Seeing magic in simple, everyday objects feels so important to me. I think it's an incredibly important aspect of sustainability practice. So often I've heard my fellow humans say that a holiday or a trip was magical, but it is rare to hear that a cup of tea in the sun appeared magical to someone. Earlier today, I was cleaning my reusable coffee mug with this brush. I use it for my water bottle usually. As I was looking at the brush, it felt like it was a magic wand. Its colour and texture were absolutely breathtaking in the sunlight. I began to think about dreams and dreaming. 

Dreaming is a big part of my academic work. In my academic work, I talk about post-growth future, what it could look like, how to get there, and why humans might want it. So partly, it is about imagining things. Imagining a better society living in harmony with nature. I also dream about a better, more ecological personal life. A big dream of mine is to live closer to nature again, to forage more, to grow vegetables and herbs. I dream about working in a safe place with kind fellow humans. I also dream about living with even less plastic. 

279

 Sketching practices

The other day, my loved one and I were drawing. At times, we do it to relax. I wanted to sketch something very simple, some zero-waste objects that I use every day. There is my reusable coffee mug that my loved one gave me as a gift. I don't own a normal, ceramic mug, so I use this one every day at home as well as outdoors. I use a multi-purpose balm made by a small Danish company every day too. There is also a reusable water bottle. A cotton tote bag with a laptop in it. Leek that can be bought without packaging. We use leek very often when we make pasta dishes and soups. A cotton net bag I use almost every day. There is a soap bar that I use for my hands, face, body, and to clean my home. There is a small collection of stones from Sweden, Finland and Denmark. These stones connect me with the places where I've lived. The stones are the only decorations I have in my home. If I relocate, I will take them with me. And finally, there are my sandals. I've been wearing them for many years. These days there is no snow here in Copenhagen, so I wear them outside. When I lived in England, I wore these sandals all year round. 

When my stepchild visits us, she finds my sketches entertaining. At times, I want to write a book for her so she can learn about sustainability practices.