Is ‘good enough’ good enough?
9th February 2023 - 2 min read
Switching single-minded perfection to all-round ‘good enough’ seems to me like a good way to take care of the planet.
We moved house at the end of 2022 and my big ideas for a second-hand Christmas went down the toilet. There were some pre-loved presents but there was also some new stuff. The reality is that if I’d spent time searching for everything pre-loved, I probably would’ve broken. Being broken at Christmas time isn’t much fun for anyone. It generally carries over into the new year, with the feeling of being dragged along behind a car and, by February, you’re a bloody mess!
What looks like a lapse of dedication to the second-hand cause might turn some readers off because sometimes people really want to get it exactly right, all the time and, as the person running a movement to reduce waste, there’s probably the expectation that I’ll be like this, 100% pre-loved, 100% of the time. I’m not. I’ve been an environmental extremist. I was a pain in my own (and everyone else’s) arse and gave myself heaps of grey hairs. To cut a long story short, while I might have been doing a pretty great job of recycling every bread clip, travelling to several different shops each week to get package-free groceries and scouring second-hand marketplaces for my wardrobe etc my children and husband had to deal with a stressed out boss-o’-the-house who was pushing everyone through the grind of life (to where? I don’t know!). What’s the point of living when the here and now becomes a really un-fun fear-based grind?
At this point in time, I’m pretty happy going for ‘good enough’ in as many life areas as I can and I try to create as much joy as possible in everything I do because “YOLO Skysie!” as my niece Grace says. As my kids get older and life keeps changing, I can step back at each point and decide what I can do to keep things running smoothly. The time we dedicate to each area of life is going to change from when we are single and working full-time to when/if we have little kids to when we’re verging on retirement.
Like you, I’m fully dedicated to not trashing our lovely home planet AND I’m also fully dedicated to living a beautiful and joyous life that my kids might like to take inspiration from. If they’re content, well-balanced people who love growing meaningful relationships, creating things and exploring the world, all while being thoughtful about the impact of their actions, I believe they’ll be less likely to feed dissatisfied emotions with stuff that wrecks our environment. They might also take positive action rather than action that comes from panic and fear.
Balance is what we’re all aiming for and if that means a Christmas with some new stuff so the other areas of life stay intact, it seems like a pretty OK compromise to me. The Gift Rebellion came about to give options (I love options!), not to create more black and white thinking. If your efforts at pre-loved gifting last Christmas felt below-par to you, well you’ve got today, this week and the rest of the year to do what feels good and right to you. It doesn’t need to be stressful or tiring. Knowing we have options and can be creative and generous in all areas of our lives is energising. We can do this year after year because it feels ‘good enough’ and brings joy. I think that’s sustainable living.