Voluntary Adversity

Voluntary adversity is a denial of the comfortable life.  It is practised by forcing oneself out of a life of comfort and convenience and into a life of challenge and voluntary hardship.  In pursuing our green lifestyle we became aware that we were going about it somewhat differently than most.  Articles in popular 'green' publications tout the stories of people building large homes complete with massive solar arrays, wind turbines, solar thermal and generator backup systems all in an effort to live a green life without sacrificing any of the creature comforts they have become accustomed to when living on the grid. Although I applaud anyone pursuing a more sustainable lifestyle it seems there is a missed opportunity here. 

Going green is an opportunity to escape the 'comfort trap'.  The comfort trap is a state of mind conditioned by our consumer lifestyle. There are several pervasive messages generated by the consumer media machine and one of the most powerful is the one about comfort.  This message has been delivered so successfully that we have become conditioned to believe that comfort is a thing to be pursued and is, in itself, a kind of benchmark of success.  We want more comfortable homes, furniture, cars, food, clothes, shoes.  Even the air around us and the water we bath in must be comfortable and we are willing to pay for it.  Comfort costs money so the more comfortable we are the more successful we appear.  Comfort and convenience are consumer traps so compelling that some of us live our lives in their pursuit.

The problem with the comfort trap, of course, is that comfort is not healthy. Our bodies were not made for comfort.  Living the ultimate luxury lifestyle will kill you. Comfort food is processed 'convenience' food which contributes to epidemic levels of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Our bodies are designed to be used and when our lives become soft and comfortable they begin to degenerate. Muscles atrophy over time and bones become subject to osteoperosis. Our bodies need rest but they don't need comfort.

We are healthier when our lives are not so comfortable. Escaping the comfort trap was one of our goals in adopting the green life.  We wanted our lives to be a little harder, not softer.  We wanted to do physical work that had some meaning for us so chose to renovate a hunt camp by ourselves and, when it came to deciding how to rebuild, we decided on timberframe simply because it will be harder and not just physically harder but mentally harder as well. Working against obstacles makes us stronger.

This we call voluntary adversity.  Our lives could be much more comfortable if we wanted but we have found the rewards of hardship are greater. It may seem odd to deliberately choose to be uncomfortable but that is only because our culture has bought into a message that denies the nature of our physical character as human beings in its attempt to sell us comfort and convenience.

Lest it be said that we oppose all forms of comfort or convenience, let me clarify that what we seek is a balance and going green for us has provided an opportunity to find a better balance.  Modern convenience has freed us from some of the more grievous kinds of physical labour that previous generations suffered and held out the possibility of free time to pursue more enlightened activities.  Unfortunately, that time has been squandered in the pursuit of even more comfort and convenience to the point where, again, it has become an end in itself. 

We have simply taken a step back by eliminating all conveniences that we don't need in order to live a sustainable life.  We now live without a washing machine or a refrigerator but we do have a generator and we still drive a vehicle.  We are still working out just what we need in order to live in such a way that all our physical needs are met with time left over for personal pursuits.  The balance that works for us may not work for you but going green is an ideal opportunity to find your own and live a life that is sustainable for your body and mind as well as your home.

How to live a life of voluntary adversity:

• Grow your own food
• Cook from scratch
• Compost
• Build it yourself
• Improvise
• Heat with wood
• Collect rainwater

All of these things require physical effort and/or mental agility while providing for your basic needs.