Earth Hour

It always seems a bit odd and unfair that Earth only officially takes center stage for a single day in April (April 22^nd), and a grand total of 60 minutes in March. This year, Earth Hour felt sort of like an afterthought, as I only remembered it the day before. But we are currently doing some renovations to the house, and we were lucky enough to have a good friend lend a hand (you know, that one reliable friend with the equally reliable pick-up truck?) so we kept him for dinner.  At some point, we sprung on him that we would turn the lights off for Earth Hour after dinner, bust out the candles and play cribbage or something.

As usual, I was afraid of being perceived as silly or weird (that’s another post altogether...) but our friend didn’t bat an eye and we settled at the table with a few candles, a cribbage board and a deck of cards. We have this old gramophone in the dining room, a shabby thing that my parents bought to furnish their house in the 70’s when antiques were cheap, and at some point during the evening, my husband decided to give it a spin. The poor thing hadn’t been used in years, we had to crank it some and fiddle with the speed a bit, but it soon filled the room with the wonderful crackling sound of old records. What felt positively silly at first turned out to be such an enjoyable evening! The phones were off, the conversations were on, and we had a lovely, quiet and relaxing time. It was great. 

But I realized how ingrained technology is in us, because one of my first thoughts was to reach for my phone, snap a picture or take a video of the gramophone, and post it on social media. The pull of “likes” and the instant gratification of appreciative comments did not win just yet, but it made me so much more aware of this underlying notion that things don’t really exist or matter until they are posted online anymore. That an event or experience somehow needs to be validated through Facebook or Instagram... A “thumbs up” often feels like a stamp of approval, officializing a moment... 

Regardless, all through the evening conversations flowed, about slowing down, about sustainability, about climate change, and the pervasive presence of technology in our daily lives, and how used to it we all are. We talked about needs and wants, about the value and satisfaction of putting extra effort in a task instead of constantly buying the next thing supposed to make it easier. How much easier, exactly, does everything need to be? How much faster do things need to go? When and what is enough? We talked about gardening, hunting, and just enjoyed playing cards and being present. I enjoyed being in a warm home, my belly full, our son sleeping soundly upstairs through the noise music of the old gramophone, my husband and our friend around a few candles. At that moment, I truly felt like what I had was enough. 

Clearly, the purpose of Earth Hour is not to radically reduce our electricity usage for a single hour in a year. The “event” itself may have lasted only an hour or so, but the conversations we had and the ideas it sparked still linger in my mind today. I am considering unplugging like that more often. We will crank up the gramophone and light the candles again. We will chat about the big stuff and the small things, we will enjoy simple pleasures and solid friendships (with or without pick-up trucks).

In my case, it drove home the point that no matter how cynical we get, we can always do a little more towards living a life that is a bit more connected, a bit more sustainable, a tiny bit greener. Earth Hour could become a regular thing in this household, allowing us to unwind, connect with our loved ones, our friends, and just be. It could be a time to assess where we are, what we do, how we feel about it all and share ideas and tips. Which is a bit my goal by contributing to this collective blog: to continue the conversation, to connect with others who cannot sit at our table and feel the glow of the candles. Welcome home!