Purpose and Plans

I often find myself wondering, what is the purpose of my life? Is there a larger purpose?

I often conclude that there is no larger purpose. BUT, it is up to each one of us to create/find/identify our purpose. AND, a purpose that really motivates is usually a purpose that has to do with happiness/contentment/peace/ease for all beings on Earth, including ourselves.  

With that said? What is my chosen purpose for the next several years?

My purpose must revolve around a solution for the climate crisis, helping humans live happier lives, and helping all beings live happier lives. Why? So future generations of humans and non-humans (all other species), can have a happy/contended/peaceful/easeful life. One might ask why this is important? This is important to me (and others) because I recognize that life matters. A simple example is — would you want your child / nephew / niece / any child to live and enjoy their life? I believe all of us would answer a resounding — yes!

Now, there are arguments that humans are "bad" for the Earth. This has, unfortunately, become true post the industrial revolution and in industrialized societies that use fossil fuels for everything. However, this has only occurred in the past 300 years or so. Before that, most — what we now call — indigenous/first people/original/native/adivasi societies lived in harmony with nature. There was a reverence for nature in — from my knowledge — all indigenous societies because they recognized that they must live in harmony, interdependent on natural phenomena and other beings. This is also why so many indigenous societies worshipped the Sun and other elements. Even if there was some harm caused to other species, that harm was minimal. With our knowledge, technology, and compassion today, we could create a society that is beneficial because we (humans) live there. I can think of a few places like this — Navdarshanam near Bangalore, and perhaps many farmers/peasants who are involved with La Via Campesina.

What purpose can mitigate the climate crisis while improving human and non-human health? A life where we eat whole plant-based foods that are grown locally in an agro-ecological manner. What evidence is this based on? Check out my blog post to read the evidence: Food is Medicine for Ourselves and Our Planet. I welcome any thoughtful challenges or questions about this evidence or anything else; this is the way I can expand my thinking. 

Of course, it would be foolish of me to poise this as the only solution when we can see from carbon footprint trackers (like the CURE100 Carbon Tracker) that transportation, heating/cooling, and purchasing goods are also major causes of the climate crisis. It also requires resources (money or land/know-how) to grow and cook that food in a home.

Hence, as a first step, I will make my own life sustainable in this manner — reduce climate-crisis causing emissions from transport, heating/cooling, purchasing goods, and food/water for myself — before trying to teach or show others how to live in this manner. 

How can I do this? 

Transport: My partner and I already do not own a car. We plan to never buy a car. Our reasons are similar to Rob Greenfield's reasons: Selling My Car… Bought My Freedom. We both own used bikes that we tune-up at the local bike store: Ride of Pleasantville. I commute to my current place of work (Stone Barns) by bus and/or bike; often I take my bike on the bus while going there since it's more uphill and ride all the way back since it's more downhill. Bikes are allowed on all Bee-Line buses — not to mention buses are free all summer in 2022! My partner commutes by walking to the Ossining Metro North train station and taking the train into Grand Central. We occasionally borrow my partner's parent's car to drive home if we're at their home late or to deliver/pick-up our combined groceries. However, they live 1 mile (1.6 km) from us so the fossil-fuel usage is minimal. My only fossil-fuel guzzling transport is my annual flight to & from India. I fly economy class, never upgrade a seat (so I'm not giving an industry that's based on fossil fuels, airlines, more money) and book way in advance so I can give the least amount of money to the airline and they can plan well by cancelling empty flights and not waiting for last minute bookings. 

Cooling: My partner and I are committed to not using AC. This commitment has arisen during my work with cBalance Solutions on the Fairconditioning program; recognizing that ACs use a huge amount of energy especially since they run for so many hours. It may be a good idea to use an AC if we have a surplus of renewable energy, but we are no where near that at the moment 😅.  Our rooftop apartment has great cross-ventilation. We use ceiling and window fans, thin bedsheets, and cold drinks to get through the summer. It is definitely worth it as ACs would block our windows, lower the air quality in the home since all the windows would need to be closed, and use excessive amounts of energy. 

Heating: My partner and I are tenants in a multi-family home in Ossining that uses oil to boil water (oil furnace) that sends steam up to the radiators. I set a goal to move us away from oil by this winter 2022 (4 months away); 

Goods: I need to switch our fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) like toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo, household cleaners, laundry detergent & dryer sheets to sustainable sources that contain no materials made from fossil fuels (like plastic) or harmful chemicals. I commit to do research on where/how I can locally source or make only these products sustainably by tackling one product a week. 

Foods: I hope to eat foods that are seasonally and sustainably grown in my local region by myself or others who are compensated (or traded with) fairly. I will aim to shift each meal/snack gradually. As mentioned above, I will also eat only whole plant-based foods (as far as possible barring eating meals at other folks homes or outside). The rationale for this is mentioned in the Food is Medicine for Ourselves and Our Planet blog post.

Water: We collect rainwater at the multi-family home we are living in at the moment. We use this rainwater to water the garden whenever possible. The rainwater is collected from the roof, filters from the roof into a ~100 gallon rain collection barrel, and we water the plants with a hose that is connected to this barrel OR we transfer the water to another ~100 gallon barrel that is near the raised beds from which we water the plants with a watering jug. Beyond this, I commit to taking two 5-minute showers/day with our new 1.8 gallons/minute low-flow shower head. Hence, I will use 18 gallons (68 liters) of water to shower everyday. This sounds like a lot, but setting a 5-minute alarm when I step into the shower will be an improvement. I hope to reduce the time I take to shower overtime. I found this interesting Quora thread with reasons not to waste water: What happens to our water when we shower? Does it somehow get recycled?

As a second step, perhaps starting next year, I hope to run workshops and create YouTube videos / posts about how to eat healthy (seasonal and local whole plant-based foods grown in an agro-ecological manner) 

My other purpose is to train my mind to be happy/peaceful/content/easeful. I am pursuing this through courses in psychology and philosophy, primarily through the Nalanda courses offered virtually at the Tibet House in Delhi and Nalanda Institute in Manhattan. To go further on this path, I hope to join the Nalanda Masters Course that begins in October 2022. 

Where should we live to achieve these purposes? Firstly, near family and friends. Near loved ones who need us at this time. It seems to be more about how we live than the exact type of home we live in. One question that we have wrestled with is whether we should buy land where multiple family members and friends can have a small property and we can have a communal garden. This could be ideal. 

We are also considering buying an existing small home nearby our parents. This will be a co-op type situation where we will be subject to the whims of the co-op board with matters related to gardening/landscaping, heating/cooling system, sourcing electricity, etc. However, we could join the board and influence them. 

One thing is quite certain — we would like a place here that we can call home. A place that will always be there (one might say it's permanent for our impermanent time on Earth). Also, a place that is as free from the capitalist system as possible. 

More planning coming soon...