Due to some circumstances changing in my life, I need to make some changes to my style of living.
For some time I have had a lingering feeling of discontent about how I was living my life. I found that I was buying a lot of stuff that I didn't actually need. I found that I seemed to be concentrating on things which did not add any true value to my life. I was working really hard, but feeling deeply dissatisfied with almost every aspect of my life. My imagination and my creativity were stultifying, and I was worrying that if I didn't use it, I was going to lose it.
Last year, in June, I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I am on antidepressants, and I am undertaking counselling as well. It has been a very long road to get to the position I am in at the moment, and the road to full recovery still stretches ahead of me. A lot of my thoughts have centred on making my life more fulfilled and satisfying, my theory being that if my life makes me feel good, then that will cure my depression.
I did a lot of thinking about what that life would look like. When I was suddenly able to take some time off from working full time, after the initial shock, it became clear that I finally had the chance to make the changes I had been yearning for.
I want my life to be purposeful. Whatever I do, I need it to bring me joy and make it worth getting up in the morning. This will be a fabulous reward in and of itself, and to me financial reward is not as important as joy and satisfaction.
I want my life to be fun. I am a great believer in Mary Poppins' "Spoonful of Sugar" theory. If something makes you smile, or is a bit silly, it is likely that you will enjoy doing it far more than if it is a job or a bullet point on a list. If you are not convinced of this fact, stick some lively music on the stereo and do the dusting. You will be astonished at how quickly it is completed! If it is fun, hopefully life will be easier!
I want to live in a manner which has less of an environmental impact. I am very aware that my previous lifestyle came with quite a carbon footprint. I want to reduce that. I want to use my creativity to upcycle and recycle to make things for me to use in my house, for gifts for people, maybe even things to sell. I want to be thrifty, and frugal. I want to use natural ingredients and natural products to clean my home and myself.
Would you call that a "Green" lifestyle? I have a problem with that description. It smacks of holier than thou, muesli crunching, birkenstock wearing, worthy people making themselves miserable in the environmental crusade. I do not want to live like that.
Therefore, I have decided to call this new way of living, Viridian! Here is a definition, picked up from another blog.
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| From http://misssilencedogood.blogspot.co.uk/2011_01_01_archive.ht |
I hope you join me on my quest for my Viridian life!
