Day 47 Adopting the 5 Minute Shower and other revelations

Truthfully, I'll have to start timing my shower tomorrow, as I just thought of this change, and have already had my shower for the day. Does it help that I don't shower every day? According to treehugger.com, a typical shower takes as much as 230 L (60 US gallons) of water. Ok, so if I shower every other day for a year, and take a typical shower, that's 41,860 L a year just for showering! The 5 minute shower is in. Taken in darkness, of course.

And now for the other revelations. When I lived in Ottawa, I was struggling to stick to a very restrictive diet. I asked my meditation coach how to go about sticking with it, when it seemed the challenge was so big and long. She suggested that I adopt the mentality of 'just for today'. So, instead of thinking of "I've got to stick with this thing until I reach my goal", how about "Just for today, I'm going to eat this way. And tomorrow I might do something different, but for today, this is it."

When I started this green challenge, I didn't set any limits. No year, or two years. No I-want-to-make-no-impact. I'm just going on this journey for as long as I can, and seeing where it takes me. Is there an end? Maybe. Where is it? I don't know. But I do know this: the actions I am currently taking are making a difference, and because I'm doing one thing every day, this challenge has been easy to stick with. Which leads me to believe that if I can incorporate other healthy changes into this one-a-day plan, I can stick with them as well.

From now on, this blog is no longer just about "going green". It's about eating better, getting active, and generally living better, all while paying heed to the planet.

I just finished reading Meghan Telpner's book The Healthy Cookie: Unbaked and I am feeling totally inspired. Here is yet another girl my age who, instead of curling up in a ball and crying, took charge of her medical condition, changed her life, and spread sunshine and rainbows to everyone along her journey. It made me realize that I can get myself out of the rut I'm in and start doing something with my life, my talents and my gifts.

Another inspirational person who has recently come into my on-line life is Ashley. Her blog, Dancing Through Life, is the story of how she got off her now-smaller butt and found health through smart eating and a passion for staying active.

So I ask ya. If they can do it, why can't I? Why can't I follow my bliss, do what I love, perhaps go back to school and take charge of the life I've been given?

I'm scared. Scared of failing, scared of wasting even more of my life than I already have, scared of not being able to support myself (I can't right now). My boyfriend and I broke up last night. Right now, I am lost in a sea of depression and confusion, with so much running through my head I don't know what to do first. But instead of listing all the reasons why I can't follow my dreams (which would be really easy to do at a time like this), I'm going to keep looking for work, thinking about school, and scouting for a new place to call home. And tomorrow, I'm starting a slim-down plan, because seriously, the state of my body brings me down, and with everything else I have going on, that's one thing I can start working on right away.

Sure, this wasn't the quippy little post I usually put out there, but I needed to get these things off my chest. I need to validate in writing that I am worthy of love, capable of greatness and that I can keep moving forward.