The 90 Percent Rule

If you are reading this blog, you likely care very much about living a more natural life, both for the good of yourself and the good of the planet.  But it is very important to make sure that you are enjoying a quality life while doing so.  If we live very naturally and feel content and peaceful, that is great.  Then we are doing well in more ways than one.  We are happy and the footprint we are leaving on the earth will be gentle. However, if we go through our lives, making "the right choices" but feel deprived in some way or isolated from those around us due to our different ways, that is not ideal.

Life is about living, and enjoying where we are and what we are doing is a crucial part of the holistic life.  Joy is good and our natural way.  Sadness is a result of imbalance.  So for times when we feel deprived, whether it is of some food you love but know is not oh so healthy, or an activity which creates a less than ideal amount of waste but is so very enjoyable, remember the 90 percent rule.... If 90 percent of what you do is good for your body and the world as a whole, if some small percent of the time, you eat something that makes you happy, even though it may not be "good for you" or you do an activity that perhaps makes more waste than we aim for, or whatever.... you are still doing better than a huge percent of the world's population, or at least that of the "developed" countries.  Ironically it is the "developed countries" that seem to contribute the most to environmental destruction...

So accept that happiness is a crucial part of living a holistic life.  Happiness is contagious (and you want to catch it and spread it....).  Allow yourself guilt-free pleasures, and if that means sometimes eating what you generally avoid or doing something you generally don't do, that can still be important to your overall well-being.  Only you know the answer to what is your balance.  So stay balanced, allow yourself to be treated, and enjoy the satisfaction that comes from knowing you are trying to do the right thing, at least 90% of the time.... Hoping you have a happy day....