durgazone manifesto

{durgazone manifesto}

I believe in sleeping on crisp cotton sheets, under wool blankets. Preferably not alone.

I believe in good strong coffee, made in a French press, served up in ceramic mugs.

I believe in getting up early, but not in rushing out the door.

I believe in living in the flow.

I believe my yoga practice is more important than my job.

I believe I am not responsible to anyone but myself for how I live my life or how I educate my children.

I believe I can be most true to myself by not trying to be someone I am not.

I believe in living mindfully, unapologetically.

I believe in breaking the rules, but I also believe (especially with regard to grammar) you have to know the rules before you can break them (or you will look like an idiot).

I believe in a beneficent God.

I understand if my belief in God baffles or perturbs you, but not if it leads you to question my intelligence, or sanity.

I am a generally kind and forgiving person, but I have no stomach for arrogance, or materialism, or the narcissism behind them.

I believe there is beauty in simplicity, austerity.

I believe I can construct a life of beauty and meaning – filled with love and friendship, good conversations, art, books, natural fibers – while living within my means.

I would like to believe I can construct such a life without supporting the destructive forces of global capitalism, but I am not prepared to step off the grid, to give up my computer.

I believe in the ideal of local self-sufficiency.

I believe in spending time outdoors, every day, no matter how cold, even if I have to buy a parka manufactured in Bangladesh to do so comfortably.

I believe in thrift, but not at expense of quality, durability, my values.

Sometimes, I believe in paying more.

I believe in hand knit things, in things with history.

I believe in fixing and mending.

I believe in holding things lightly.

I believe in forgiveness.

I believe in thinking deeply, loving quietly.

I believe in silence, in taking time to find the right words.

I believe, in the end, the best measure of success is happiness. We find happiness by becoming who we are.