I’ve been reading a book (well, more accurately, listening to a book) that talks about the importance of eating locally grown food in order to restore and maintain a healthy planet. It’s less about the carbon footprint and more about how growing a diversity of plants regenerates the soil naturally instead of single species crops (corn, wheat, soybeans) grown over large areas that strips nutrients from the ground and requires artificial soil amendments to support plant growth year after year.
The author reinforces the idea that “it’s not normal” for us to eat fresh strawberries in December in Boston or to expect oranges in July and that we’d all be healthier if we ate food that was in season because that’s when it is best, cheapest, and most plentiful. He pointed out that historically, it’s only in the past 50 years or so that progress in transportation methods and cheap energy costs have made it possible to ship food from all over and have it be both edible and affordable upon arrival.
Since I live in the middle of a desert, in the middle of oil country, we end up breaking all the rules that the author lays out about decreased reliance on “big oil,” and locally grown food: almost everything here is imported. Beef from South Africa and Australia, lamb from New Zealand and India, apples from France, mandarines from Morocco and Spain . . . none of that is very local.
But the book sparked a desire to make my world smaller, to be more “normal.” I already generally eat in season, and I’m all about restoring the soil and planting a garden and composting wherever I can, but what other changes could I make? The book (The Marvelous Pigness of Pigs, by Joel Salatin — for those who are curious), made me think about my world view and how I’m consuming information and news that is far from local. And that is not normal. As recently as 25 years ago I would read the local paper and get caught up on what was happening in the Bay Area or I’d catch World News Tonight which aired after the local news if I wanted to catch a few big stories from around the world. But these days news is at my fingertips — I can read what is happening all over the world at any time of day and get 1000 different opinions on it with the swipe of a finger.
I realized I was spending all of my mental energy focused on crimes happening in cities I would never visit, was getting fired up about the injustices happening to people I would never meet, and reading the opinions of people who don’t have standing in my life . . . why? Because I’m a reader. Of everything. I love collecting information and the search for an answer is often more rewarding than the answer itself. But with unlimited accessibility to information, the hunt was never over. I was drowning in news, opinions, and editorials and I couldn’t even recognize it.
So I quit. A little over two weeks ago I decided to try to be more normal and turn my focus local instead of global. That meant no news and no Facebook. I thought my brain was going to feel lost, like it was floating in the middle of a black hole, but surprisingly, it feels great. There is peace and freedom in not caring about anything beyond that which is in my own personal circle. And those are the bits of my life that I actually have some control and influence over so why not focus my energy on those things?! Yes, there are people and events that I care about that I miss out on by not being on Thee Book O the Face, but for now I will have to experience that short term loss for a long term gain in personal and family life (inshallah, that will be the result). I already feel like I’m winning when Josh asks, “Did you hear about the newest pervert in Hollywood?” and I can reply, “Nope. I have no idea.” Ignorance is becoming bliss.
This is not a directive to anyone else — I’m sure there are plenty of people who can achieve balance without wiping their slate clean, but I can not. And if it frees up time to write about my own life instead of rehashing someone else’s, then we all come out ahead.
