To sustain the self

Is fraught with complexities,

I remain alive.

Hello All,

I hope you have enjoyed your Sunday! I’ve not been physically or mentally able to write or blog post this last fortnight. I won’t bore you with all the details but it is due to a domino effect of connected flare-ups in my chronic illnesses and disabilities. Add to this a technical meltdown when my laptop started playing up. The latter actually did me a favour. Part of the promise I made myself in my personal quest for sustainability was to use energy wisely. This pertains to both natural resources and my own health.

I am happy to report this ‘Sustainable Sunday’ that despite health scare gubbins our plastic use continues to decrease. Large tins of oil sit alongside refilled jars of popcorn and solid shampoo, homemade scrubs and skin oils, mouthwash and lemon, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar-based cleaning products grace our shelves. Did you know that oregano was not only good for digestion but has reputed antiviral qualities and is great for getting rid of smells? I’ve had help actually making things up due to dexterity issues but the knowledge and will remain. However, our quest is more than a tally of what we waste or how we clean.

‘Sustainable’ means more than ‘environmental’, though the two are definitely linked. So are human health and security. My favourite human has taken up walking for mental and physical wellbeing. He’s both wanted and needed to for a while but has been extra motivated by the opportunity to raise money through such activity. He has raised a small team to be part of ‘Home Run’ for the charity Shelter. The more miles they manage in April the more money they raise to help challenge homelessness and increase hope. His team of three raised around £50 for their first walk last Sunday.

This weekend I managed to get to my first meeting of a support group for a recent connective tissue disorder diagnosis that is probably the root cause of other conditions. Many will not see this as linked to sustainability, but human and animal health are intrinsically linked to climate and the availability and use of resources. Climate chaos has many economic drivers and is linked to injustices such as food insecurity, homelessness and displacement, as well as rising health threats. Likewise, those with disabilities and special needs, seen and unseen, are often among the highest casualties.

Yet this is not all doom and gloom. Instead, it is a wake-up call to look after and treasure ourselves and one another in any life-affirming way we can.  I consider this vital to a sustainable future.

one more step;

one thread in the weave,

that vital

spark of life

splutters, illuminating

stories to sustain.

Antonia Sara Zenkevitch