Monthly Archives: November 2010

Peaceful Parenting

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“War is an invention of the human mind. The human mind can also invent peace.” Norman Cousins

peaceWhen I was a child growing up during the Cold War, November 11 alternately confused and scared me. The ceremonies at school seemed distant and I had no direct contact with any family members who had experienced war. However, the fear of “the enemy” was palpable, and not just on November 11. Practice air raid sirens would go off from time to time, and we practiced what to do if we were attacked – although I really had no idea who might be doing that. Unfortunately, neither my parents nor my teachers could or would deal with my questions and my concerns, so I  learned to keep them to myself. Later, when I could read fluently, a friendly librarian helped me find some books that would at least explain things, if not settle my mind.

Years later, at a time when the Viet Nam war was winding down, I spoke with my own children about war. I had few tools to help me, but I wanted to be sure they wouldn’t have the confusion or fear that I’d experienced as a child. In addition to our chats, they accompanied me on peace marches, and (without my prompting) wrote and performed a play to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

One tool I could have used was an article that we published in Natural Life Magazine in 2003 called Talking to Children About War by Naomi Drew, the author of Hope and Healing: Peaceful Parenting in an Uncertain World (Citadel Press, 2002).

Here, also, is a much more recent article by author Laura Grace Weldon entitled Making Peace in Your Life and in the World. It puts violence in a personal context and provides food for thought about our individual responsibilities to work toward peace within our families and our communities.

Unjobbing: A New Paradigm of Work and Life

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In the 1970s and 80, my family led an educational revolution; our children learned at home, instead of at school, and without the trappings, expectations, competition, lack of respect and trust, and coercion that is part of school. I call this “life learning” but some people call it “homeschooling” or “unschooling” or variations on those words. (You can learn more about it here.) There is a similar term for the way I choose to make my living: “unjobbing.”

Unjobbing can be thought of either as the process of leaving a job you don’t like to work independently, or the actual state of living and working that results from leaving a job in order to have the freedom to look after children or pursue something different. (Or for many people these days, it is the reality they face after their job has disappeared.)

But it is more than that. In the same way that life learning is about more than education, this so-called “unjobbing” is about more than work. It is about aligning all aspects of your life – including work – with your personal values. It means living without the competition, outwardly-imposed structure, lack of respect, expectations, greed, pollution, waste, and so on that characterize many conventional workplaces. For many people, one of the biggest unjobbing transitions involves removing the credentials from behind their names and disentangling their identity from their jobs. Because unjobbing includes the philosophy of living simply and consciously, it usually means working less than full-time, and devoting the rest of the time to family and home, community service and volunteering, travel, or leisure. (Working less is another challenge for many…you don’t need to jump from one treadmill to another!) This is about is following your passion and using your talents to make enough money for your and your family’s needs without having a job, rather than trying to be a millionaire entrepreneur.

Aside from being good for your soul, your health, and your family, unjobbing can be a greener way to live, since you’re usually home-based. That means less carbon-creating commuting, fewer fancy clothes, and the ability to control the materials that decorate and furnish your office.

As part of my own unjobbing experience (which included publishing Natural Life Magazine), for many years, I coached people – especially moms – who were starting micro-businesses. I also spoke often on the subject at conferences and to the media, and wrote newspaper columns and magazine articles. Some of the how-to articles can be found here. And more about unjobbing can be found here.

It’s Easy (& Economical) Being Green

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Awhile back in Natural Life Magazine, we published a letter from someone who wrote in to say that she couldn’t afford to be green anymore (meaning, in her case, buying organic food and green cleaning products) because she’d lost her job. I hope I was able to dispel that myth for her! While organic food and so-called “green” cleaning products can be more expensive than their conventional counterparts, and installing solar panels on your roof costs a lot of money upfront, there are frugal alternatives and small projects that you can undertake that don’t cost as much. Recycling and re-using cost nothing; mending, swapping, and shopping second-hand are more frugal than buying new clothing; baking soda and vinegar can replace almost any high-priced commercial cleaner; making your home draft-proof can save a lot of energy and money; gardening, canning,  preserving, and baking take time, but they are economical and satisfying. Making your own and doing it yourself are becoming trendy for good reasons!

The little things you do can add up – both in terms of helping the environment and saving money – as some of our readers have told us. (Our readers have been sending us their green and frugal living tips since we started publishing in 1976!) In fact, Natural Life Magazine is full of helpful tips for going green easily and economically and you’ll find some of those articles online. You can navigate the site by using the article indexes that appear near the top of every page; you could begin with the frugal living index and the green living index.

One thing you won’t see in Natural Life Magazine is recommendations about buying green products. We have a strict policy of not endorsing any particular brands or products. (Usually when magazines and websites write about products, they’re doing so in order to attract advertisers, and we don’t believe that’s ethical.) So we explain the issues in a well-researched manner that is not influenced by any particular company, then let you decide how to make decisions to make your home greener and healthier and where to spend your money – or, in many cases, not to spend it at all.

I have written many articles of that sort for the magazine over the years. And now, we’ve updated them in an exciting new book called Natural Life Magazine’s Green & Healthy Homes. This is a unique guide to making your home both green and healthy…while saving money at the same time. It’s available now, directly from us, in both print and the less expensive e-book format.

As far as food goes, one solution to the problem of expensive organic grocery bills (aside from growing your own and buying directly from farmers) is to choose organic when you are purchasing those foods that carry the heaviest burden of pesticides, chemicals, additives and hormones when grown conventionally. Here is just one article that will help stretch your organic spending power, while reducing your family’s exposure to harmful chemicals. There are lots more in back issues of Natural Life Magazine, with some archived on the website.

So if you’re wondering how to get started with green living – or just need to move beyond the expensive, green products trap – spend some time with us!