The Beginning

I have thought about starting a blog for many months now. My initial thought was to blog about my garden. Yes, my garden! But actually not just about my garden, more about my exploration of lifestyle, how to live in harmony with nature in the suburbs, create both a flower and a vegetable garden out of a yard that would be organic (as much as possible) and in harmony with nature, be pleasing to the senses, be functional as well as beautiful, and be an invitation to sit a while for all who pass by (though probably few would dare unless directly invited.) However, circumstances have changed in my life and, while my garden has taken shape around my house, my plans have changed. I will be moving in the summer leaving my house and garden in the care of others. (I'm getting married and starting a new adventure in another state!) And the thought of my blog got shelved.

A few weeks ago I came across another blog called "Sustainable Dave" which totally inspired me. And through that blog, I discovered the video and website called "The Story of Stuff." Wow, that got me thinking! I immediately sent a link to the site to a number of people I know who I thought might be interested. (It's only 20 minutes long and very thought provoking.)

It rekindled in me the thought of writing a blog. Of course I questioned myself; Who will read my blog? (some of my long-suffering friends, no doubt, and the odd curious visitor who happened to stumble upon it,) and, What do I really have to say that hasn't been said before? (nothing really but perhaps I'll reach people who haven't been reached before,) and, Can I really make a difference? (who knows but it's worth a try.)

OK, so why the title "A Step at a Time?" I recently trained as a Health and Wellness Coach and one of the foundational tenets of our work is that change happens a step at a time, sometimes just a tiny baby step. As a coach, I help people to look at where they are in their life, where they would like to be and to make permanent changes in whatever areas of their lives they want to change. It happens one little step at a time with lots of encouragement and support. We all know what we need to do but sometimes we need help to get there.

It's the same with our world. Green living is the 'in' thing these days. We know about switching out our light bulbs to more energy efficient ones or getting a programmable thermostat installed in our homes or using one of those cloth bags in the grocery store. But lets face it, most of us are not going to make drastic changes in our lives, at least not immediately. However, we can change little things that will add up to make a big difference. And the first step is increasing awareness.

So that's what this blog is about. It's an exploration of how we can become more aware of our impact in the world and make what little changes we can in our own unique circumstances. Of course I will be reflecting on it from my point of view but I want to learn about other points of view also. This is my present first step. It's actually been a very big step for me but many little steps led up to it. I'll be sharing my steps with you along the way. I'd love to have company - do you care to join me?