Saturday, May 28, 2011

Be My Guest

Today I have a different treat for ya'll; I have a guest blogger!!! I've never done a guest post before but was contacted by a fellar that was interested and I liked his article, so I thought we'd give it a go.
This was written by Matt West who describes himself this way: "I am an aspiring writer with a strong interest in the more traditional homestead and self-sufficient ways of living."



Sustainable living becoming more appealing.
Today’s world is flush with a number of rising cost areas including rent, gas prices, and food. With the inflating prices, living a sustainable and self sufficient life is becoming a more attractive option to many people out there. Living a simple and more sustainable is not something that must be undertaken at once, while they take advantage of the multiple benefits to be had.
Self sufficiency and sustainability is about cutting down the level of importance designated to rather unnecessary areas of life. The important aspect of living a more simple life is to take value in the right areas such as love and family, while pushing out the need for material objects and possessions. This core feeling of need being designated to other aspects of life helps to push a sustainable lifestyle.
Along with the adjustment of need in life, a sustainable way of living allows for anxiety and stress to be driven down. Another aspect of living simpler is the ability to not sweat the small stuff, so to say. This is about not letting the common stress of everyday life to get to you. The stress of work problems, bills, and products are toned down, while more important aspects of life like family are given more value. This type of adjustment allows for a cut in overall stress and anxiety.
Taking part in a more sustainable and sufficient lifestyle is also about improving your health. Growing your own produce at home can make for a great way to have an impact on physical health. First and foremost, growing produce eliminates the chances of chemicals or toxins getting into the food you consume. There have been plenty of cases with toxins in food like melamine, Bisphenol A, pesticides, and asbestos exposure. Growing your own foods at home allow for full observation and cuts out the risk of any chemicals getting into your foods. Also, growth of your own produce at home allows for the freshest and best taste possible. It will cut out the time that is usually wasted between when a fruit or vegetable is grown and how long it takes to get to the grocery store. Having plants in the backyard allows the grower to pick the time of consumption.
Along with the physical health benefits of avoiding toxins, sustainable living also helps to cut down on health problems that are often a result of stress and bad choices. With a decrease in stress and anxiety, people run less risk of health problems like heart attacks and respiratory issues. Also, transportation use is a major part of living a more sustainable life. Using public transportation or riding a bike can have an excellent effect on your physical health as a source of exercise.
In the end, the benefits of living a sustainable lifestyle are endless. They extend beyond just the taste of food and all the way to mental aspects and lowered risk of health problems. As prices continue to rise throughout the world over time, the prospect of living a more simple and sufficient life becomes even more appealing.


So, I think Mr. West makes some valid points. Now, I know a self-sufficient lifestyle does have it's own type of stress. For instance, chickens can make you want to pull all your hair out, but to me, it is a far better type stress than the highly consumptive lifestyle and constantly worrying about being able to pay all your bills etc.

1 comment:

Jen said...

I really liked this idea of a guest blogger.
This article written by Matt West was a good article. Though I think he summed it all up in his second paragraph. Well done and thank you for sharing.