Category Archives: Walking Ahead

Simply Homemade: Broth Powder and Face Wash

Last weekend, I was at the Chicago Bioneers conference.  It was extremely empowering to be in the presence of so many inspirational figures who are leading the way toward a new future  — one that is less dependent on oil, better at following the patterns found in nature, and is resilient to the inevitable fluctuations that happen in life. (My favorite presenters included Vandana Shiva, Richard Heinberg, and Starhawk.)

One of the themes that continually appeared was the need to focus on creating community and living simpler, more regionally-based lives.  However, people often asked, “How? What can I do to help us transition?”

I believe one of the primary answers is, in fact, embarrassingly simple: we need to consume less and produce more.  This cuts our carbon footprint, decreases our exposure to toxic chemicals, reduces the need to extract far away resources, supports local (and often home-based) economies, gives us meaning and purpose, reduces costs, produces less pollution, and on and on….

And so in case you haven’t noticed, that is one of the main things that I am attempting to do with this blog — get you excited about these simple-living changes!  It’s one of the easiest ways to walk the talk of being environmentally friendly, socially just, and a participant in a new Earth-centered way of life.

Today, I’m sharing two new homemade products that I’ve been meaning to write about (although on different ends of the homemade spectrum) — broth powder and face wash. I know…totally unrelated to one another, but they are both about producing more ourselves and consuming less!   Continue reading →

Straw Bale House in the City

Humans have been creating homes out of the Earth for as long as we’ve existed.  It’s only recently that we’ve been building structures out of synthetic materials that may emit hazardous chemicals into our living spaces, and have consistently increased the size of the homes that we live in so that we must import materials from other regions and use massive amounts of fossil fuels in their construction. Continue reading →

Urban Nature

Yesterday, I felt the desire for a nature retreat and I thought about going to spend the day at my parents’ house.  However, the trip was not in the cards for the day, and so I decided to do what I usually do and look for nature near my home in the city.   Continue reading →

Gardening for Wildlife

My aspirations for living life as sustainably as I can probably began when I was a young girl deeply concerned with the well-being of other creatures. Although my interests and understanding of life and nature have spiraled out a great deal since then to encompass many more concerns and observations that I’ve made, I remain fascinated and indebted to the teachings of wild animals.

So when we’re discussing designs for the future, to me, it’s important to incorporate wild animals into (or near) our spaces.  Nonhuman animals have many lessons to share with us and are also essential to properly functioning ecosystems. Landscapes designed for wildlife are also beautiful and life affirming.

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Who’s Considering Sustainability in Healthcare?

Recently, I invited my partner to consider writing a post (or posts) for These Light Footsteps.  We both share a common dream for the future, the center of which acknowledges that a cheap and abundant supply of oil will not continue forever, that our relationship with the natural world is broken and unsustainable, and that a better, healthier way of living is possible.

He recently completed his Master of Science in Nursing and as a healthcare practitioner, he has a very unique take on sustainability, especially as it relates to human health.  After he sent me his first draft of a post, I knew that others would be interested in what he had written and I encouraged him to submit it to a few other websites.  Soon thereafter, an edited version of the article appeared on Health After Oil, and it received subsequent attention from several other sites (see Energy Bulletin). Very exciting!

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The Ojai Foundation

Last week in California, my partner and I visited The Ojai Foundation and found a great source of inspiration for the type of service we eventually hope to provide.  Most notably, the Foundation combines lessons about sustainable living with experiences that foster the development of the human spirit.

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California Beauty & a Reflection on Place

There’s been a delay in posting as I was enjoying myself in California last week. I have several posts envisioned, but for today, I will be simple and focus on some of the beautiful wild things I saw that I am not used to seeing in my native land.

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We’re Not the Only Ones Eating the SAD

The Standard American Diet (SAD), or Western Pattern Diet, is a recent phenomenon, born of increased industrialization that allows for nearly unlimited access to high-calorie foods with little diversity in food choices.  Aspects of this diet have repeatedly been correlated with the chronic disease conditions that are so common in our culture including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and various cancers.

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Message to Earth

Earth,

I’m not sure when and where my love affair with you began, but your winds wrapped around me tightly and I was taken forever, always called to feel my body on your mosses and keep alert to your messages.

At this time in your history, as I walk amongst people that no longer hear your voice, feel your spirit, and understand you as a mother, I am filled with sorrow. Earth, I try to live as an example, but I feel I am failing. People are much more interested in glowing screens than flowing streams, and in making money than making life.

My heart aches and my head drops as I see people disrespect you by throwing plastic into your veins, to choke and kill your lifelines and your creatures; as people continually rip off your skin in misguided attempts to feed our species and create our shelters. Every day, I see people carelessly walk upon your body. They ignore your beauty and bounty.

I have come up with countless reasons to argue for you. I’ve tried to explain how protecting you will make us healthier and happier; why it will save us money; how it is essential to our well being and our future. But mostly, I just wish they could see you the way that I do. They would never need another reason to step more lightly upon you for they would see something so inexplicably divine that they would drop to their knees. They would realize that everything we do to the Earth we are doing to ourselves.

Earth, we are killing you and so we are killing ourselves. However, you will find a way to regenerate and go on. I’m not so sure about my kind. We’re a grain of rice in the oceans of your time, and we’ve forgotten how to live with you. Help us to learn before it is too late.

Love,
Me

It’s Food Revolution Day!

Happy Food Revolution Day!

This weekend, take some time to make a home-cooked meal, plan how you’ll get to the farmers’ market, start your kitchen garden, or go foraging for some wild goodies!

I’ve celebrated the day by going to the farmers’ market this morning, helping a young neighbor pick her first strawberries, enjoying some homemade bread, and scheming about this week’s meal plan (more asparagus delights!).

Oh, and we also spent 2.5 hours riding bikes at this event — not exactly food-related, but still revolutionary! Over 550 people came out for this — it’s really great to see your community overrun with bikes (and yes, I won a prize!)!  It was a little glimpse of the future…

As an additional offering for this revolutionary day, I’d like to share a documentary called “A Farm for the Future” produced by the BBC.  It might be the first mainstream documentary about permaculture, and it’s a great overview of why our current food system cannot/will not go on indefinitely. It also provides a positive vision about how permaculture could help provide the new direction we move in to feed ourselves (and to better care for the Earth in general!).  Enjoy!


And remember to vote with your fork!