Micro practices
I let my hair grow naturally. I haven't seen a hairdresser for over a year, and before that I would visit them only very rarely. This is because I try to minimise the goods and services I buy in the capitalist system. As my hair is getting longer, I decided to tie it back. In Finland, I asked a fellow human to share a hair tie with me. I also found one on the ground in Helsinki. I'm not sure where they are, but I needed a new one. It would be easy to buy it but I decided to borrow one from my stepchild.
Such micro practices will not bring about a genuinely sustainable society on their own, but I still find them incredibly important. They are tiny parts of huge constellations of practices. When these constellations are performed by billions of fellow humans, change in culture and change in our systems will occur. So I believe based on a critical realist philosophy and how it theorises societal transformations.
As I intentionally stepped on a path of slow living and extreme minimalism, I began to pay attention to smaller things and actions. Suddenly, I had time to cook, to be with the Sun and trees, to contemplate, to write, to listen. I could be present in and with every action deeply, mindfully, and seriously. A friend called me recently and as we were talking, I felt oneness with them and our conversation. I had all the time in the world to listen and to understand their journey.
A while ago, my stepchild wanted to help in the kitchen. Her father was making oats, and we were slicing an apple. The child is only four, and she was holding a small knife. I was holding her hand to make slicing the apple safe for her. She was immersed in this activity so fully. I was in awe of her involvement and presence in the process. Would not the world be a better place if we were always present so fully? If every time we wanted to say goodbye to an item or packaging, we would contemplate its journey and its effect on the Earth. If every time we voted, we would consider what this actions means for fellow humans, non-humans and the Earth. I believe that without this mindful immersion into small scale actions, a genuinely deep change in culture will not manifest.