This weekend I had to run a veg-out on my brain and my body after a jam-packed week-long visit from one of my very best girlfriends. Meredith flew out on Thursday, and since then I have mostly: eaten Mexican food, watched Netflix instant, fretted over money and deadlines, cried my heart out over the departure of another dear friend to Europe, and procrastinated about cleaning the house.
Netflix offered this random gem:
Simply put, Colin Beaven asks us, "Is it possible to have a good life without wasting so much?"
YES.
The experiment was extreme, and that's the point. The narrative arc of this documentary is discovering that going "off the grid" is nearly impossible for the modern American. And quite honestly, why would I ever willingly give up electricity, or toilet paper, or brunch at my favorite restaurant? Why would we ever willingly give up the things I work hard for, am truly thankful to have? Why would anyone? BUT, Beaven's family discovers, ripping it all away for a short amount of time reveals, bright as the noon sun, the things we can live without.
Trash, for example. Why make so much trash? Beaven makes some good points: buy food fresh and in bulk, buy fewer things that come all packaged up, take your own coffee cup to the coffee shop. On and on.
Anyway, watch it.
Also, here's Beaven's ongoing blog:
http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/what-its-all-about.html
No comments:
Post a Comment