Living Simply – TWC Interactive

Why Reducing Consumption by Sharing Tops New Technology

Isaiah Ritzmann June 1, 2020

In our efforts to avoid climate catastrophe better technology will be helpful but belief in technology will be disastrous. It is the true that many carbon-emitting technologies continue to become more efficient. Yet, in recent decades, more efficient technology continues to result in greater carbon emissions and worse levels of climate instability. This is because climate change is not simply a technical problem. It is also a social problem. It is a problem that we have normalized and idealized a way of life that is inherently unsustainable. As a society, we need an absolute reduction in consumption in order to reduce carbon emissions.

The Iron Cage of Consumerism

Kiegan Irish June 1, 2020

What is consumerism? It is a slippery term to define as it has been used in a variety of ways over the years. It is rare to hear anyone explicitly defend consumerism, and yet since it has become a meaningful political and economic reality every so often the mask slips and those holding leadership positions will make some revealing comment about the relationship between buying products and the stability of our entire social order.

Weaving Ecology: Living Within Our Limits

Isaiah Ritzmann December 1, 2018

Last year our Finding Our Place series fostered meaningful reflection in our community on what Wendell Berry calls “the present fact of Creation.” Berry, in the thoughtful word craft of his essays, explored the complexity and urgency of the environmental degradation that we face in our time.

The environmental crisis, he repeatedly pointed out, is not simply a problem to be solved. Environmental issues are not out there, separate from us, fixable from a distance. Instead we are in relationship with the environment, in community with the earth.

Ecological Works of Mercy

Isaiah Ritzmann December 1, 2018

The ecological works of mercy are one way that we can re-imagine our relationship with nature. We are part of the earth community and are called to live in gentle, humble relationship with our neighbours, both human and non-human. Yet our economy is based on extracting resources at a rate the earth can no longer sustain. Our way of living is pouring chemicals, pollution and carbon into the ground and air at a rate that is disrupting the carrying capacity of the earth. As we search for new ways of being and acting, the ecological Works of Mercy can be spiritual and practical disciplines that help us reshape our relationships to the Earth and each other.

Watching Our Language

Leslie Morgenson March 1, 2011

“Angst” is a word we in the English speaking world have adopted from the German language because we have no single word of our own that completely describes the feeling of fear and anxiety that encompasses a person’s life. But though we borrow the word and use it extensively we cannot fully grasp its origin because it is a word that has sprung from a people who were at the centre of both World Wars. A word from a culture with a historical tradition of complex relationships with other nations and because of those wars, it may just be a culture that has had to do more soul searching than any other citizenry.

Alternatives to the Overdeveloped Society

Joe Mancini September 1, 2008

Politicians, fearing political backlash, would never question the overdeveloped, bloated infrastructure of North American society. It is not considered polite to identify the waste and questionable work practices that result in what Leopold Kohr described as The Overdeveloped Nations. In 1959, he warned that bureaucracies of both the private and public sector have a fierce appetite, that like an addict, are dependant on ever growing injections of resources and money.

St. John’s Kitchen: Walking

Leslie Morgenson December 1, 2007

I remember taking a train alone from Kitchener many years ago. Young and troubled, facing an uncertain path in life, for the next six hours I had nothing to do but ponder my doubts. There was a light snow on the tracks which gave the traveler a muffled awareness. And as I stared out the window, I became absorbed with the passing surroundings and began to focus outside instead of inside. I felt as if I were on a mischievous voyage, peeking into people’s true lives for the train does not travel down the lovely manicured facades of town.

When the Sparrow Falls

Leslie Morgenson December 1, 2004

A young sparrow, having fallen out of its’ nest sat in the parking lot of the library. I gently scooped it and set it under a nearby bush. Was I rescuing the little one or was I jeopardizing its chances of survival with my human touch? Our worlds being so dissimilar, I was uncomfortable with my meddling. This is often the dilemma we face with human “sparrows”. After being at St. John’s Kitchen for five years, I recently was granted my first opportunity to speak with a woman who ’til now has sought no interaction with me…but now she asked me to get her a cup of tea. Not the usual orange pekoe that is offered, but something soothing, “Lemon would be nice,” she said. The gap collapsed and the bridge between us now rests firmly but simply on a cup of tea with a little ceremony. Her life, similar to others at St. John’s Kitchen has unfolded in many tragedies and connecting with other people doesn’t make the tragedies stop. But it does allow for support and comfort along the human journey.

Simple Living Movement

Sherrie Grisé December 1, 2002

You may know Simple Living by other names such as Sustainable Living or Voluntary Simplicity. It encompasses a wide range of interests including personal finances, community building, the environment and social justice.

Building Relationships: Community Tools and Producing at Home

Joe Mancini September 1, 2001

For over 18 years, The Working Centre has attempted to contrast large-scale bureaucratized work with what we call small, local, personal work. The former is a seductive drain on communities with its philosophy of short-term thinking, de-skilling and Dilbert-like motivational techniques. Local economies are left with a legacy of environmental destruction, waste and top heavy thinking. The more we are dependent as wage earners on large corporations the more our households are dependent on the mass produced commodities they produce. In contrast, daily work that seeks to limit the reach of the “globalized market” in our everyday lives, that fosters creative and useful unemployment while pursuing productive activities, is a recipe for creating communities and neighbourhoods that matter.

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