A favorite author, Anne Lamott, offers up some universal wisdom in her book “Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life“.
“Thirty years ago my brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. (It) was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”
To our reading, this little anecdote from Lamott’s book has two very important things to say about creating more eco-friendly homes.
First, it speaks to breaking the often powerful grip of procrastination. Anne Lamott’s brother had chosen a reasonable scope for his report and collected what he needed to write it, but he was frozen by inaction. Most of us really do want to green up our act and live in a manner that is less wasteful, if not for the sake of the planet, at least for the sake of our own pocketbooks and well-being. But where to start? So much information, so little time. And, of course, old habits are hard to break. Well, enough with the excuses. Picture your version of a green home, plan a route to it, and get started. Don’t hesitate to lean on great resources like GenGreen, or take a class in your area like the one Ariana Friedlander is offering here in Fort Collins. And make sure your plan includes a Simple Start project or two – they are easy, don’t cost much to implement, and will build your confidence for larger projects down the road.
Second is the important reminder that any plan is ultimately realized one piece at a time. In recent years, mortgage lenders and “reality TV” home makeover shows have created the illusion that achieving a “dream home” is a snap. Until the recent banking meltdown, it was way too easy for folks to overextend themselves by letting these shows shape the scope for do-it-all-now dream home projects that were then financed with loans that were too big, too easily granted, and in many cases just too good to be true. Well, for most of us, it is now time to retrench to a truer reality more in line with the pay-as-you-go, bird by bird approach of our parents’ and grandparents’ generation.
So as you travel toward Destination Green, think bird by bird. It is a great way to be realistic about, and truly engaged in, your journey to a more eco-friendly home. It may also help us teach some lost lessons to the generations that follow us and leave them with a healthier planet than we inherited. We owe them that.
