Mindful Consumption

Mindful Consumption

Deborah Eden Tull
Los Angeles, 2010

Do you have more "stuff" in your life than you actually need? Do you ever find yourself consuming more food, drink, clothing, or commodities than you actually intended, and feeling empty afterwards? Do the way you spend money and spend time reflect your deepest values, and do they empower or disempower you? Can you imagine living in a world where you feel truly satisfied, content, and cared for while actually living more simply and spending less money?

Throughout the recession and at a time when environmental awareness has taken great leaps, there has been more public interest in the notions of conscious consumption, self-reliance, and voluntary simplicity...but, as a society, we still have a long way to go. Americans make up 5% of the world's population but consume 24% of the world's energy. The typical American uses 159 gallons of water per day (while over 50% of the world uses 25 gallons per day). Americans discard 200,000 tons of good food every day. (For more information on these statistics, click here.)

There is more information out there about what NOT to consume in order to be "green," and not much information on perhaps a more vital topic: How to retrain ourselves from a society of "passive consumers" to becoming "mindful consumers" in our approach to all of life.

Mindfulness by its nature requires one to step out of "auto-pilot"...the unconscious mode that many people in our world of distraction and multi-tasking operate from. As mindful consumers, we practice getting present, looking within, and asking the question, "What choice is best for all (including myself) in this moment?" If we look within and check in with ourselves before, during, and after each consumption choice, we will begin to recognize the assumptions and habits that run us and we will be able to make fresh choices that have very different results.

Some of the things we might ask ourselves are:

What is driving my desire to consume right now? Is it emotional? Is it driven by a sense of lack, stress, or self-improvement that would melt away if I turned my attention away from it? Or is this a genuine need or choice that will truly improve my quality of life? Am I simply feeling empty or anxious and trying to fill that hole? Or operating out of pure habit?

Many of us are not aware of the fact that part of our power as consumers lies in our ability to choose not to consume. Many of us have so little ability to see and experience the sufficiency in what we already have that we constantly think we need more or need something different, new, or better. The significance and impact on the earth and on ourselves in HOW we consume is huge.

Consider that it is only in the past 60-75 years that we have lived a quality of life where we can turn on the tap and get more water than we need, flip a switch and get electricity, and buy food and products from all over the globe any time we choose to. Most of us who have been brought up this way expect this quality of life and also take it for granted. This is not something to beat ourselves up about (we're just living as we've been taught), but it is a time to question our assumptions at every level and to retrain ourselves in how to live a lifestyle that is neither wasteful nor unconscious.

I recently visited friends living off-the-grid at a sustainable living center in the Southwest. Having lived the "off the grid mentality" for years myself, I appreciated the degree to which they live in direct relation to their resources, and the accountability that this direct connection gave them in terms of how much they consume. For instance, they have only the water to use and drink that they collect with rain; only the power that their solar system produces, depending on the weather; and the more waste they create, the more waste they have to carry to their compost with their bare hands.

In urban life, there is no accountability other than our pocketbooks--so how do those of us who want to make a difference by practicing mindful consumption proceed? How can we get out of auto-pilot and practice present moment awareness? Here are some suggestions:

Use meal time as an opportunity to practice mindful consumption (and to train yourself for all other aspects of your life). Take a moment to pause before you eat. Eat without other distractions and really focus on the experience of eating, chewing, perhaps setting your utensil down between bites to breathe. See what your experience is of mealtime (and how much food you actually need) is when you are truly present to receive it and fully enjoy it.
Pick one thing that you think you NEED (a new piece of clothing, a second helping at meal time, sweetener in your tea) and go without it for a period of time to see what your relationship to it really is. What is motivating your perceived "need" of it?
Post reminders. If you want to be mindful of your consumption of water, food, energy, etc? posting reminders in your home, car, and at work can help hold you accountable to your intention.
When shopping for food, use the 5 Shopping Guidelines available at deborahedentull.com to help yourself make mindful choices that are "best for all."
When shopping in general, get present, stay present, and be clear about what is motivating you: kindness and well-being or stress, lack, and self-deprecation?
Start with what you've already got--and see how much use you can make of all of the resources in your life already. Can you turn leftovers into a fresh meal? Turn recyclables into a gift card? Shorten an old dress to give it a fresh style? There is no end to what we can do with the resources we already have.
Lastly, practice saying thank you daily for all that you have. Turning our attention to gratitude has the power to erase any sense of lack and wakes us up to appreciating the richness in the simple moments of life.

I expand on each of these ideas in my book The Natural Kitchen: Your Guide to the Sustainable Food Revolution. Consider that if we can start with our relationship with food, a fundamental aspect of our daily lives, we can retrain ourselves to have a different relationship with ourselves and with all of our resources, based upon quality over quantity, mindfulness, present-moment awareness, an education in the principles of sustainability, and a richer experience of interconnection with the world we live in overall.

Deborah Eden Tull is a sustainability coach and meditation teacher who has been traveling to, living in, or teaching about sustainable communities internationally for the last 18 years. She teaches workshops nationally and her approach to sustainable living is a unique combination of peace and environmentalism that emphasizes the interconnection between personal and planetary well-being.

Photo by Gina Morey