Counting On … – The Green Tau

Counting on 2026 …. Day 43

15th May

Living simply can sometimes be demanding!

For me living simply is about making my own bread, cakes and biscuits, growing food in the garden, preserving the harvest for use during the rest of the year – making jam, chutney and pickles, bottling and drying fruit, making vinegar and maintaining a sour dough starter. In this way I hope to be closer related to the Earth, to reduce my ecological footprint, to eat more healthily, and be more resilient in the face of disruption.

I have been encouraged by further words from the Hazelnut Community:-

“When a group of people gathers to make something from what the earth provides, they are participating in the ongoing life of creation. They are receiving from the earth, working with its processes, and redistributing what is made within the community.

“Making food, preparing remedies, and preserving what has been grown are not simply functional acts. They are ways of participating in the life of a world that is held within God.” (1)

https://substack.com/home/post/p-190602804

Counting on 2026 …. Day 42

14th May

Simplicity ‘is to begin the slow work of learning how to live within limits that are not only necessary, but life-giving.’ (1)

Living simply I choose to buy less things. It is not because I seek a life of poverty but that I want to,love a life that doesn’t unnecessarily take from the Earth’s resources. For when that is done without regard and excess, the life is diminished, even destroyed – that would be poverty.

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

Counting on 2026 …. Day 41

12th May

‘To simplify life in a time of disruption is not to withdraw from the world. It is to re-engage it more truthfully. It is to recognise that accumulation and control, while promising security, can leave us disoriented and disconnected. It is to begin the slow work of learning how to live within limits that are not only necessary, but life-giving.’ (1)

As children we have to learn that whilst chocolate is nice, eating a pound at a time is not: it makes us feel sick. And the effect is pretty immediate. It is the same with material consumption. Buying/ owning/ stock-piling things we want – or even things the world tells us we want – in ever increasing quantities does not make us feel better. In fact in can make us sick – although the effect may not be immediate and we can loose touch with the feeling of happiness that things first gave us. We also loose touch with non consumerist pleasures – having time to talk with the people we meet; not having to rush to be first in the queue; having time to stand and stare; spending time with family; needing to spend less time cleaning and caring for our large home/ car/ portfolio; enjoying the anticipation of the first strawberry of the season; taking a siesta in the hot months; going to bed early in winter with a good book…. It is to reconnect with the seasons, with our local community, with a gentle pace of life.

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

Counting on 2026 …. Day 40

11th May

‘Simplifying life is not a one-time decision, but an ongoing practice. It requires discernment, honesty and, often, a willingness to live differently from the dominant patterns around us. It also requires community. These shifts are difficult to sustain alone.’ (1)

Living any counterculture lifestyle can, by definition, be lonely. If only living simply were not counter cultural but the norm! This is where finding your community – Green Christian/ Christian Climate Action/ Hazelnut Community etc – helps

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

Counting on 2026 …. Day 39

8th May

Living simply “creates space for peace, not as escape from the world, but as rightly ordered life within it. When attention is no longer constantly divided, there is greater capacity for presence.” (1)

Peace is what I seek by living simply. Peace being that place or space where I don’t feel conflicted and stressed; where I feel in tune with the natural world, in tune with my neighbours; where I feel whole; where I have time to enjoy life; where I feel in tune with God – part of God’s kingdom.

Is this a peace that can ripple out into a wider environ?

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

Counting on 2026 …. Day 38

7th May

Simple living ‘is also an act of resistance. It pushes back against the assumption that more is always better, and that growth must always be pursued..’ (1)

Living simply is not just cutting back on what we consume and withdrawing in on ourselves. It is about living life where we choose different priorities.

Rather than a meat based diet or a diet of ready made meals, I choose a plant-based diet that is largely cooked from scratch. I choose to keep a sour dough starter going and to use that to make crumpets (with the daily excess of starter) and bread. It is more time consuming than going to the shop but it feels more rooted in what is natural and sustainable.

I choose to buy from local businesses – a refill shop so avoiding excess waste, a health food shop, the independent bookshop, the post office, and a independent cafe for coffee beans. I could just nip into the supermarket and do one big shop, but this feels more sustainable, supporting the local economy and therefore local community. It also feels more human in scale: small shops with people I recognise behind the counter and with whom I can have a conversation.

I choose to buy vegetables by the box from Riverford farm as it is a company that pays its staff fairly (and engages them in decision making) and farms organically and sustainably.

I choose not to buy new clothes but rather to buy from local charity shops where I can prevent other clothes being thrown out as waste. I choose to repair the clothes I wear rather than throwing them away when they tear or develop holes.

When I do buy new clothes, I choose to spend more in order to buy items that will last and to buy items where I have some confidence that those who made them have been fairly rewarded.

I choose not to buy each kitchen gadget that comes along. I choose not to upgrade my phone/ iPad on a regular basis. I choose to resist advertising and social trends.

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

Counting on 2026 …. Day 37

6th May

The stress and strain of modern life or ‘disorientation’ “is shaped not only by personal choices, but by the systems of power and wealth that tell us what we need to be happy, systems that tell us we need to consume for a better life.”(1)

Living simply is about choosing not to dance to the tune of advertisers, not blindly following tradition, not getting caught up in the system that says more – and bigger – is better. And therefore living simply may also be about challenging those systems and providing a counter story.

For example is the purpose of education simply to get a job or is it to be more engaged with life?

Is the purpose of a job just to get a pension so that you can then stop working? Is it necessary to buy a yet bigger house/ bigger kitchen/ bigger car? Will it make you happier?

Living simply is making choices that you have thought through for yourself, choices that are appropriate for you, choices that don’t cost the earth.

Of course it is possible that simple living itself will become a system!

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

Counting on 2026 …. Day 35

4th May

Joy in Enough is about not wanting more and more, or bigger and bigger.

How many pairs of trainers do I need? How big a television do I need? How far do I need to travel for my holiday?

If I have too much of everything, will I really be able to enjoy them all? If I choose the biggest thing will it really make me happier than the smaller version?

It is interesting to note that even now that we have separate bins for recycling for the waste we can recycle, why is it that dustbins – for what we can’t recycle – are still getting larger and larger! How do we manage to produce so much waste each week?

Counting on 2026 …. Day 33

30th April

Living simply is also about not hanging on to things.

I regularly take to charity shops things that we are not using anymore, things that we have in duplicate, things that are taking up space. This could a dress I bought but no longer wear, books I have read and won’t reread, toys the children have outgrown etc. Conversely when I need something, I will check out the charity shops – this often involves patience but in time the saucepan or jacket I need will turn up. And there is always a good supply of books to read.

The house feels more comfortable when it is not cluttered with stuff. And there is less to worry about – be that keeping it clean, finding space to store it etc.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 34

1st May

I am also a member of Green Christian which has one section called Joy in Enough. For me this is – in part – about taking delight in small things. I enjoy having a good coffee in a local friendly cafe. I enjoy the drink – its taste, smell and feel. I enjoy contemplating the view which could be the River Thames, people walking long the path with their children/ pets, birds pecking at crumbs etc. I enjoy contributing to the local economy. Local independent shops, including cafes, only exist if we use them; their staff only have jobs if the business remains profitable.

If it’s on offer, I also choose a vegan option – cake, toast and peanut butter, porridge etc. Plant based options will only be made available if people buy them!

Awakening to a New Economics