Giving Up

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After my last blog entry I have been contemplating my retirement and am beginning to feel that the next driver is "giving up." I don't mean by surrendering but rather in a very physical way in order to reach that nirvana of a simplified life.

So for me July has been a month to embrace Plastic Free July and abandon added sugar. 

The statistics on plastic are appalling and when I looked in my own waste-bin at the beginning of the month I saw with horror that, despite our conscientous devotion to re-cycling, we were still disposing of more plastic in the form of cellophane-wrapping and cling-film for landfill than any other form of waste. Just realising the extent of the problem that we were creating (and we consider ourselves good at sorting re-cyclable waste from our other rubbish) was a start in the right direction and now it has become a crusade to deliberately shop to try to avoid the worst excesses of single-use plastic whilst looking for items made of other substances for repeat use. It's too late to undo all our errors in the past; the children's toys, coffee capsules, melamine picnic plates, garden chairs, plant pots, all now presumably buried deep in a local authority pit never to decompose in our lifetimes. The plastic containers in the fridge and coathangers in the wardrobe provide a daily reminder of  our wilful disregard for green living. We are, however, now stepping up to become eco-warriors as, going forward, we relinquish the plastic trappings that go with an early 21st century lifestyle. Giving up is good, providing both challenge and ambition whilst benefiting the planet as we hopefully reduce pollution.

Sugar is another horror now scientifically linked to obesity and the development of type 2 diabetes. The Action on Sugar website highlights the issues but it is only when you start to read in detail the written information on food products that you get any appreciation of the scale of the problem. Have you for instance ever tried to find bread without added sugar in your local supermarket? It does exist but elusivity means you have to track it down. On the plus side, the eradication of added sugar from our diet in the last couple of weeks has done wonders for weight loss and energy levels and I can thoroughly recommend it.

In September 2016, I posted a blog entry which I titled Letting Go and Making a Difference.  They were for me the second and third phases of retirement, the movement or divergence from one to the other blurred by an overlap. Giving Up, following  a period of what I can best describe as plateauing, seems to be a natural progression and whilst many might say there is no obvious distinction there is actually a subtle difference stemming from the maturing of retirement. Letting go was as much about the mental state of change from worker to retired person as the relinquishment of physical stuff; there was an understanding of the need to shed and a start to the process. In making a difference I had reached a point where I was energised by my efforts and strove to achieve. To give up is I now believe a natural sequitur but it is more brutal and deliberate, requiring passion, renewed energy and aggressive determination. It goes beyond recognition of and lip service to what must be jettisoned, to deliberate deprivation in order to achieve it. To let go, I must now give up previously perceived comforters rather than extraneous stuff; to make a difference I must give up the comforts of self-indulgence and infinite time. 

Retirement has turned up more challenges.



Comments

Jane said…
There was recently an article in the local newspaper about ways to lessen one's carbon footprint. Ways that go beyond changing lightbulbs or hanging laundry outside to dry. Things like having one less child, taking one less airplane per year and living car-free. I have been debating giving up my vehicle for close to a year now; it's hard to take the next step although I want to. I ride my bike most of the time in good weather but where I'm from we have tough winters. I hope to come to a resolution one way or the other soon.
26 July 2017 at 17:28
Maddy said…
Thank you for the link to the Action on sugar website. I find it hard to give up, having always had a sweet tooth, but I am restricting my cakes and pastries to only ones I make myself, in which I can limit the sugar. And don't get me started on added salt - I try to avoid processed food altogether.
You have inspired me to attempt to not bring any more plastic into the house!
29 July 2017 at 12:03
Caree Risover said…
They are all interesting debates. A friend of mine just commented the other week, however, that he did not intend to change his diesel car for a petrol model just yet, because of the risk that whoever ultimately bought it might use it more than he does and that therefore he is doing the planet a favour by hanging onto it for occasional use only. Lots of ways of looking at these issues, I guess.
31 July 2017 at 17:52
Caree Risover said…
Yes, we all get sucked in and honestly until I started Plastic Free July, I had no idea just how much of it I actually purchase on an almost daily basis.
31 July 2017 at 17:57
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