Sustainability and Experiences Over Things. Intro.

What a beautiful world we live in... The nature, with its forests, rivers, mountains, oceans; the climate, that is just so perfect for the existence of humanity, animals and other organisms. We, humanity, have taken it so far to make it most enjoyable for our lives. Communities, cities with their beautiful architecture; inspiring art in all its forms: music, literature, paintings, installations, theater; culinary creations and experimentations; wisdom that comes with the history; cultures, traditions and holidays.

Sometimes we either forget or don’t fully realize what’s available to us. Many of us fall victims to depression, and lose a sense of happiness, gratitude, connection with inner peace. With all the life’s gifts and fortunes we are given, we often fail to live sustainably… sustainably for ourselves and for the planet. It is just as important to take care of ourselves as it is to take on the responsibility to retain the Earth in a livable condition and ensure that all we have today is available for many generations to come.

In this blog, I define "sustainable" in its full spectrum. It is about sustainable living, sustainable for your health, both mental and physical, sustainable for the planet, for other people around, for the nature, for the sustainable growth of human intelligence. There are ways of experiencing the best of what life has to offer without being attached to material things, without destructing the planet and nature around us, and at the same time truly enjoying the finest of what’s out there.

What comes to your mind when you think of sustainable lifestyle, or someone for whom sustainability is one of the decision-affecting principles? Years ago, if asked this question I would imagine a life full of renunciations, lack of joy, or appearance not properly cared for in pursuit of being sustainable. I no longer think this way, in fact, quite the opposite. For me, living sustainably is diving into the life of experiences and adventures, enjoying the life of feelings and emotions to the fullest, cutting down on purchasing things that clutter my life, trying to eliminate single-use items aka poor-quality alternatives to nice things, maintaining healthy body, and achieving a better appearance and looks with less chemicals and waste. Hence, experiences over things.

How did I get to the place where I am now? It’s been a life-long journey. Just like many people I was quite disconnected from my inner peace and happiness through my early twenties. I struggled to find true happiness most of the times… it felt like my life was a puzzle and all the pieces were taken out of the box, chaotically spread on the table, and the box with the final picture hidden away. I didn’t know where to start.

Luckily, the combination of events, significant ones and small encounters, different people, inspiring books, movies with a deep meaning, meditations, workout classes, travel experiences, opportunities that I came across and the courage to accept them into my life helped me find the inspiration to slowly start putting together the pieces of the puzzle and create a clearer image. Some periods felt difficult and destructive at the time, but now that I look back, I see that they were all just a part of my journey, which is still shaping me into whom I need to be. It was always a route forward, even though it didn’t seem that way at times. I learned that being connected with nature, being grateful, kind, appreciative of the planet, and at the same time trying to get the best of life are few of the key steps to finding inner peace and PURE happiness.

On this journey, I keep seeking the best in life, more ways to experience happiness, more ways to express kindness and gratitude.

Would you consider joining me on this journey to a sustainable lifestyle?

First, I would like to invite you to take a moment and think of a few brightest moments in your life. Some memories that bring smile onto your face and warm you up from the inside. What are they associated with? Family, friends? Experiencing something new and exciting, travel adventures? Accomplishments and learning opportunities? Or purchase of material things?

Even if you answered the latter, you probably thought of an item that serves a significant purpose in your life and a feeling of happiness here most likely comes from anticipation of using that thing, perhaps not so much the actual ownership of it. In fact, ownership of items at times might bring inconvenience associated with chores of maintaining and storing them.

While some things are truly meaningful, other things (probably most of them) are not really that necessary or not being used as much. The abundance in developed countries is so high that we tend to buy some things (read: many things) because a. why not? b. we fall victims of advertisement, and c. because everyone else has it.

Most of those man-made things soon or later end up in the landfill, sometimes make their way into the oceans, or are left abandoned, choking up our planet as waste that pollutes the Earth…

On the contrary, activities such as sports, adventures, travel, exploring cuisines and cultures saturate your life, generally improving your health, both physical and mental. Sometimes in the hustle of every-day life we forget how beautiful experiences can be or forget to embrace those moments of doing something and enjoying ourselves, devour every sensation of whatever it is that we do.

Investing time and resources into elevating your mindset and state of your health is extremely beneficial.

So perhaps it’s a good idea to start buying less “stuff” and choose Experiences Over (Excess) Things. Life is about experiencing it, not accumulating or wasting material things.

I hope you can see now how sustainability and experiences come hand-in-hand, and I hope I reminded you that life experiences are so much more meaningful than material things.

And now, I invite you to continue reading my blog articles, where I’m sharing with you my eco-friendly choices, experiences and tell you how they inspire me and bring added meaning to my life. I believe my vision aligns with the UN goals of sustainable development as well as offers my own interpretation of sustainability.

I hope you enjoy. 😊