[ be good, be kind ] it matters!

(only in finnish, sorry...)

Average 27 miles per day - that’s more than a marathon every day for 195 days straight.

On the road, they were hungry all the time. The quantity of calories needed to keep going was phenomenal and while they had planned everything carefully, there was rarely enough food to sustain them. This is a pretty standard experience for hikers, carrying only the most basic of supples, as every extra ounce of weight increases the load. Olive talks of lying awake at night with hunger cramps, willing the morning to come so they could have breakfast. But sunrises that greeted them made it all worthwhile. The views that met them almost every day were humbling, she says, and gave them a renewed sense of their place in the world. They were incredibly happy together on the trail, she says. They had such a simple purpose: just keep going. The people that they met along the way were wonderful, she says. Helpful in the true sense of the word, bringing her to a belief that maybe the world isn’t as bad a place as we all think, once you put yourself out in it.”

- Olive ‘Raindance’ McGloin

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/other-sports/olive-mcgloin-qa-my-feet-expanded-a-full-size-380420.html

-reducing my stuff. Giving away things for others to use (f.ex. an analog camera, clothes, books, pens, toiletries, kitchen stuff,.....) 

-i do not use make-up, and only use bar soaps 

-cleaning my home only with vinegar, baking soda & water

-i stopped buying packaged candy (well, yes i know. i should stop altogether!),

-stopped buying useless things/clothes etc & don’t go shopping anymore - i am saving so much time &money now! only buying what i need and in second hand or from the sales (never pay the full price of an item anymore if i can help it!). quality over quantity.

-i do not read leaflets/commercial advertisement at all, what a freedom!!!

-no more physical magazines, books or cd’s - reading & listening them in the library or buying as electronic downloads

thinking about what gear i need to take with me; pack, quilt, sleeping mat, a tarp+mosquito net OR a tent just a few clothes food water bottle, vargo bot + gas + lighter + stove first aid kit bug things

what else?

lately, i’ve been digitizing (scanning) my important papers. getting rid of piles and piles of paper, which feels liberating. 

also getting rid of (donating) stuff “i’m going to use, when.......”. yes, so right. things i’ve been keeping in the cupboard for years, not using.

It can become a game, like a competition with yourself. Once I was at a green event and I was bummed to see they were serving wine in plastic glasses. Now I like my wine but I had vouched not to use plastic cups again. It was a fun challenge finding a way to drink wine.

There was no kitchen but tables had flowers in mason jars. I grabbed a jar, cleaned it and poured the wine from a used plastic cup in it. Using the jar made a point with the event organisers.