A Time To Regenerate and Reflect*
As we are entering another month - the quarantine, the pause, the staying at home, the canceling of travel, the simplifying of our social circles has given me an opportunity to take stock of a lot of things.
It may be disorienting to feel disconnected from your routine, work or purpose and I really struggled with that initially. My work and my confidence are very intertwined and perhaps that was one of the many lessons this time period has. I’ve read it’s likely, and natural, to feel the full spectrum of emotions: grief, relief, rage, joy, fear, love, anxiety and perhaps moments of a surrendering trust and personally I’ve been very up and down.
We do not know how long this will last, but it is fair to assume that it will likely be over in a few months and that the deeply embedded habits within us and the forces of our modern culture will eagerly push us back into “business as usual.”
It is equally likely that a pandemic like this will happen again in our lifetime. Scientists have been warning us loudly of this very thing and researchers have proven that more deadly viruses are trapped in the frozen glaciers that are rapidly melting due to climate change. (source)
We were moving really fast and our lives as we have known them - our habits, our desires, our rent, our income - have been deeply woven into the machine of modernity that has kept us moving fast - with the promise that happiness lies just beyond the next bend, the next acquisition, the next rung up the machine’s ladder.
That machine depends on us moving fast or it doesn’t work at all.
All along the heartbeat of the Earth was there but wrapped in our chaotic pace we could not hear the cry of the birds or the sea turtles choking on plastic. The climate change research was too much to take in for most of us as we hustled to keep up - in our pace and modern culture, there was no place to process it. We know that its pace was unnatural and destructive - causing harm to people and Nature, extracting the Earth’s resources, exploiting marginalized communities, giving many of us adrenal fatigue and burn out.
Of course I am aware I’m immensely privileged to have a plenty of food, to be able to stay at home for the time being and to have the luxury of trying to find joy in “making do with what I have” and laying low in relative comfort but I’ve been thinking a lot about what elements of ‘normal’ I want to return to.
I will still consume and have a need for sneakers, dresses, skincare, make up and a desire to travel on the other side of this and I, and indeed no one, can claim to be perfect but I am committed to being much more conscious of the product and brands I choose to support ensuring they are in line with my personal values. I’m learning a lot about regenerative culture and brands that support these values.
In this pause, we have the possibility of stepping into the a new world that will take us beyond “when this is over” and into “what is possible”.
Here lies the possibility of co-creating a regenerative culture.
“Extractive”, “Sustainable” and “Regenerative” are different models of working, living, creating, and having our part in the web of life. Becoming aware of their unique philosophies is enlightening on a personal level and on a collective level of moving us away from the machine of modernity. (Source info)
EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES extract resources from the Earth and sell them in the global market for a price that does not reflect the true value. Ex: Mining of metals, lumber & deforestation, fracking for oil. The Earth, humanity, indigenous cultures, and our very future suffers at the benefit of a small group of individuals and corporations who seek quick profit. Think of the diamond industry that exploits slaves in Africa- it has a foothold abroad because of a brutal history of colonialism and slavery (*see the movie Blood Diamond or google it). Look at the oil industry - decades of war between governments to have access to oil, and generations of people suffering in war torn countries, for the benefit of cheap oil, which fuels the machine we have all been tied to. There are countless examples - it is devastating to realize our many comforts come at a huge expense of injustice and exploitation.
THE SUSTAINABILITY MOVEMENT supports renewable energy, values well being over growth, and suggests making business and personal decisions that take into consideration their long term environmental impact. However, within it’s word is the idea of “sustaining” and some environmentalists point out that we cannot sustain the increase of CO2 or the rate at which the sea level is rising - sustaining is not enough - it too will lead to a crisis.
REGENERATION implies bringing the living Earth back into health and vitality, with the goal of reversing climate change and creating right relationship. Regenerative agriculture grows food while also healing the soil - by building top soil, sequestering carbon, and improving the water cycle. Regenerative businesses seek to create equality among workers, give back to the community, source regenerative ingredients, and draw on the permaculture principles of: Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share.
Regeneration is holistic and provides healing for our culture and society, our Earth. Scientific evidence shows that organic agriculture produces greater biodiversity in nature, allowing plants and crops to thrive under its practices. Another benefit: Organic farming removes carbon from the atmosphere and “safely locks it away in the soil,” says Tracy Ryan, Codex master formulator which helps to “mitigate climate change as well.”
What this means for your beauty routine?
It means you don’t have to sacrifice your standards or the environment to improve your skin. To show their commitment to organic farming, the Codex Bia Collection carries COSMOS ORGANIC Standard certified by Ecocert—the most widely recognized global organic standard.
“Our respect for nature and the beautiful plant materials we work with goes further than organic standards,” says Ryan. “We understand that wild plants that are not commercially farmed are stronger and full of medicinal constituents. For this reason, we use wild harvesting methods wherever we can.”
*This post is created in collaboration withCodex Skincare who are committed to using regenerative practices in all all ingredient sourcing.
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