My family stopped buying bottled water in August of 2007. To my dismay, it wasn’t because of me.
No, it wasn’t my constant pestering whenever I came home from college for a visit. It wasn’t the re-usable Nalgene bottles I had bought each of them, in their favorite colors, for Christmas the year prior. It certainly wasn’t my empty threats, my harsh squinty-eyed looks, or my warnings of unnamed “toxins” that my brother scoffed at like claims of UFO’s.
No, it was the New York Times. My favorite newspaper.
[Stab in heart]
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I was asked to say something as a beta pledger for Ten Habits.
So a month ago I made Pledge #2: Leave the car, one week a month, for six months.
I live in San Francisco–where every conceivable need is steps away–so not driving the car is actually a better option most of the time. Over the last month, I’ve really enjoyed taking the bus, the N-Judah and BART, carpooling with friends, walking more, and just slowing things down a little. The slower pace has opened up the San Francisco community and landscape in a way that can only be seen on foot, revealing totally hidden alleyways, crazy urban staircases, and secret views i somehow missed over the last 12 years.
More unexpectedly, not driving a car has invited a calm into my life I think stems from slowing down the speed of my life, shortening my to-do list, tempering my western expectations of productivity, and in general choosing quality over quantity right on down the line. So instead of trying to do eight things in a day, I’m doing three things, but I’m doing them very well. I’m benefiting from the lesson. So far, for me, the math has been really simple. Less Driving = More Awesome.
Cheers.
Bain, San Francisco
