Life after Locavore

It is interesting to think it has been two months since my local living challenge was completed. What has changed for me since then...not a whole lot. I still do my weekly shopping at the farmers market, still thrifted my Halloween costume and still support local business. The only difference is now I choose to do so out of my own free will instead of needing to for a project.

Cabbage Catch-of-the-Day

The first time I went to order a drink I was struck with the notion I could now order anything I wanted, the power of choice was entirely my own for the first time in a year. I looked at the myriad of drinks on display, read the drink menu and even consulted the bartender for ideas. In the end I ordered the same thing I had been ordering all along, the local beer on tap. For all the choices and freedom I was now experiencing I had something else nagging me at the back of my head...a conscious. I had rather un-deliberately set myself up for a life of conscious decision making.

So what does this mean for my future and the choices I will undoubtedly need to make?

Wild Mushrooms from the Market

When I was entirely local I heard about local ice cream being sold at the 7-11. Locally sourced Ice Cream from a corporate chain was one of those little annoyances I used to abhor, now I weigh the pro's and con's carefully before making my choices. I shop expiring items at the grocery store, yet still have only ventured there twice this year. I browse the local section at Save -On and still buy from producers directly. I make choices based on my values and then feel comfortable with my decisions. and that's what i hope if anything others can learn from this experience. You don't have to bee 100% local to understand why local is important but you do need to act on the values that you preach to others.

So let's live more honestly, make better choices for ourselves and the environment and be authentically ourselves.

Love,

Melanie XX

"You are free to make whatever choice you want, but you are not free from the consequences of the choice." Ezra Taft Benson