I found these paragraphs inspiring enough to share. Just living is praxis when you live mindfully.
Source: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/brian-a-dominick-animal-liberation-and-social-revolution
While this is certainly a valuable mindset and I agree with it wholeheartedly, it does necessitate being in a somewhat privileged position in life. Sometimes it’s all we can do to make it through the day, pay our rent and bills, or keep a desperate hold of our shit jobs. Growing gardens, installing solar panels, or changing diets aren’t always at the top of the priority list when there are other more basic needs that are still unmet.
Those are examples, not requirements. Do what you can. Anyone who judges you for not doing enough while you’re struggling to merely survive is a shit person.
If there are small changes you can make to live a more sustainable life, do them. If there’s nothing you can do, that’s okay too. And if you’re so weighed down by the struggle of mere existence that you don’t have the mental energy to think about ways to change - that’s okay too. We who have the privilege to act should act, and when we do, we carry the aspirations of those who wish they could act but can’t.
If I meant to criticize anyone by this post, it would be the people in wealth and privilege, who could change their lifestyle to be more sustainable - who could be an example to their friends and family and neighbors by living their values - but who choose not to, because they believe personal sustainability is irrelevant when political and corporate actions have so much more impact on the world.
As a disabled person and caregiver, I agree. I still do what I can but some days it is incredibly difficult to even do the bare minimum.
It’s hard not to get discouraged when my body betrays me, but for me I have to remember that my best will usually fall far below a non-disabled person’s best… And this is ok. (I’m still not completely convinced that it is ok but it’s what I tell myself.)
The thing is that the people who can not do it, mostly live a very sustainable lifestyle anyway. Subsidence agriculture is basically organic and a lot of permaculture is just repackaging that for a Western audience. Diets are also fairly vegan as meat and other animal products tend to be expensive and if they are not they are usually raised at home.
The people who need to change as their lifestyle is unsustainable have the means of actually changing it to a fairly large degree. Maybe not solar or gardening, but going vegan is certainly possible and even for the two first there are usually ways of finding a workable solution.
If going vegan is too much for you, just stop eating beef and switch to soy milk.
The emissions per calorie from beef are way way higher than any other form of meat.
What you said, but I’m entertaining video form https://youtu.be/F1Hq8eVOMHs?si=6U9VOJMAo8fVziEp
And even cutting out beef is too much, just reducing it still helps. I only eat beef if I’m going out to a fancy restaurant or something now.
Yup. Systemic change and individual action are both very important
Sure but don’t flagellate yourself if you take a plane once per year to see your family who live across the globe in your home country.
I see a lot of comments that make it seem like the burden of the environment falls on you, which is crazy. There are things affecting the climate that absolutely and unfathomably dwarf what you as an individual contribute. Don’t get me wrong though, anyone trying to do their part is admirable in doing so, and it’d be nice if more people that are capable of doing so, tried to.
Actually nobody should be taking pleasure cruises or flying for a vacation…
Seems like a more specific way of saying, “Be the change you want to see.”
We need more noob-friendly systems in this direction. Better sharable guidelines to get started into this approach.
