What we all need now, is an Epiphany!

There is much doom and gloom about, with daily news reports on climate change, global and local economic problems, social conflict and environmental disasters. All this negative news can be very depressing.

As individuals, we are limited in how much impact we can have on these issues. However we can make changes in our own lives, which minimise our own impact and build our resilience to enable us to better cope if and when things deteriorate. This is the hard part, because it means making an effort to evaluate our lifestyle, make decisions and then sticking to them.  Many people find this all too hard and use this as an excuse to do nothing. Maintaining the status quo is much easier.


The lightbulb moment!

Perhaps what we need is our own little “epiphany”. Sometimes it is referred to as the moment when a “lightbulb” goes on in your head- you suddenly see a solution to a problem. Such moments are so inspiring that they provoke people to take action.

Gavin, a blogger friend who was living a typical suburban life on the outskirts of Melbourne, had an epiphany in 2006.

 

His blog description says he was “An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.  

 

His description sounds daunting, but he achieved all this on a small suburban block and went on to write a very readable and educational blog about how it changed his life (http://www.greeningofgavin.com ).



Gavin's book is a great read

 We have been following Gavin’s blog for a couple of years and feel like we have got to know him quite well. We reckon his epiphany must have been more of a bolt of lightning than a light bulb going off in his head. We are continually amazed by the amount of energy he puts into his garden and property, his family, his many activities in the community, and his very active blog.  Apart from telling his own story, Gavin is on a mission to ensure others have access to the information he has gathered.

After over 1,000,000 pageviews (yes, that number is one million), he has now turned his story into a very readable e-book called “My First Year of Living Sustainably”. The book includes information drawn from his blog posts, but also has much additional background information. It also contains hundreds of brilliant ideas for saving energy and money, growing food, reducing waste, saving water and living more sustainably. Most of the ideas are not expensive or complex, are easy to implement and can be applied to both suburban and rural households

If you would like more information about the book, which only costs $2.99, here is the link ttp://www.smashwords.com/books/view/175585  Hopefully Gavin’s book will be the trigger for many more epiphanies!

 

We salute you Gavin. Thankyou for sharing your journey.