Last week I unexpectedly came across some photos from two decades ago, when every night was a party and before substance use had hardened, and spent the last few days in a pit of nostalgia for that era. This was just what I needed to read to snap out of it. I have often noticed the parallels between the drug world and the fossil fuel addiction we take for granted, including activities like frequent travel. I've still also been left baffled how the allegedly eco-conscious digital nomads, boasting of their minimalism and being beyond "stuff", completely gloss over the fuel consumption and devastating impact of their regular jet-setting. I had such a person criticize me for using a dishwasher! But perhaps not such a mystery with a reframe - the list of defensive justifications for flying sure sound a lot like what I heard at 12-step meetings. Kudos to you for maintaining your 'sobriety' in the face of all this! I'll echo that not having money does make it easier.
Thanks again for sharing this - it's joining the piece you wrote on sugar beets and sweetness as some of my all-time favorites from Dark Mountain.
Thanks for this post Charlotte. I've been thinking about this a lot recently. I haven't flown in years, but haven't made an official 'no fly' vow yet. Flying was a big part of my early twenties, and it feels abrupt to have 'retired' from travelling at only 33 when world travel was my deepest source of joy and meaning, especially as someone who doesn't want to 'settle down'. I see my peers flying all over the world, revelling in its gorgeousness - all the smells, tastes, textures that I can only currently experience ghosts of through screens or words - travelling (ironically) to 'eco' gatherings, making interesting friends, while I'm stuck in the grey, unsmiling UK (though obviously there are parts I love). Am I jealous of them? Probably. There is a bitterness... I'm pissed off! And grieving the life I've given up, grieving that lost relationship with the other faces of the Earth. I might not feel so bad if this weren't the majority of people. Sometimes I ask myself 'why bother'? - I see many older folks - 'climate aware' - quietly saying 'fuck it' and splurging their retirement funds on flights, because they've also asked themselves 'why bother?' (when nobody else seems to be). I'm wary of becoming cynical (and I hope it's not too late). Anyway, great piece, love and miss Mexico, and love that pic of you!
Many thanks Hannah. I love that pic too. Just sums it all up. Yeah, really hard to not get on that magic carpet. I miss Mexico as well, and the desert. But you can't liberate the soul (or the Earth) in the pleasuredome. That's just an energetic fact. Annoying when you could just do with a glass of passionfruit juice .... All grounded best from the flatlands, Charlotte
I too travelled around and around and around the world, and then stopped, 16 years ago, and saw what seemed like everyone else keep going around and around. For many years I was steadfast in my choice, but the past few years I have been yearning for the home of my ancestors. Now I am just too broke to go anywhere much! It makes being environmentally conscious more straightforward in a way. Many thanks for your writing. I read 52 flowers ten years ago or more and was part of the beginning of a path I am still wandering.
I do fly now and then ( it’s so frustrating it’s so feckin cheap!) usually one way and then train and ferry back from Venice where I go every winter these days , that’s ferry to uk , stay in Holyhead train and Eurostar , stay in Paris ( I stay incredibly cheaply with a guy who is a clown , and rents his second tiny room on air bnb) the train to Turin stay with lovely lady abd her cat near the station ( another Airbnb but these are people renting out their spare room or their own bedroom…. Airbnb in the old way) but always use the ferry and train to the uk from Ireland where I live which is slow but so
Much more pleasant . I stay in a b and b in Holyhead or Fishguard to break the journey . Sailrail all the way.
Since I lived in a town I have become car free which is do
Last week I unexpectedly came across some photos from two decades ago, when every night was a party and before substance use had hardened, and spent the last few days in a pit of nostalgia for that era. This was just what I needed to read to snap out of it. I have often noticed the parallels between the drug world and the fossil fuel addiction we take for granted, including activities like frequent travel. I've still also been left baffled how the allegedly eco-conscious digital nomads, boasting of their minimalism and being beyond "stuff", completely gloss over the fuel consumption and devastating impact of their regular jet-setting. I had such a person criticize me for using a dishwasher! But perhaps not such a mystery with a reframe - the list of defensive justifications for flying sure sound a lot like what I heard at 12-step meetings. Kudos to you for maintaining your 'sobriety' in the face of all this! I'll echo that not having money does make it easier.
Thanks again for sharing this - it's joining the piece you wrote on sugar beets and sweetness as some of my all-time favorites from Dark Mountain.
Thanks Liza! Glad you enjoyed the pieces.
Thanks for this post Charlotte. I've been thinking about this a lot recently. I haven't flown in years, but haven't made an official 'no fly' vow yet. Flying was a big part of my early twenties, and it feels abrupt to have 'retired' from travelling at only 33 when world travel was my deepest source of joy and meaning, especially as someone who doesn't want to 'settle down'. I see my peers flying all over the world, revelling in its gorgeousness - all the smells, tastes, textures that I can only currently experience ghosts of through screens or words - travelling (ironically) to 'eco' gatherings, making interesting friends, while I'm stuck in the grey, unsmiling UK (though obviously there are parts I love). Am I jealous of them? Probably. There is a bitterness... I'm pissed off! And grieving the life I've given up, grieving that lost relationship with the other faces of the Earth. I might not feel so bad if this weren't the majority of people. Sometimes I ask myself 'why bother'? - I see many older folks - 'climate aware' - quietly saying 'fuck it' and splurging their retirement funds on flights, because they've also asked themselves 'why bother?' (when nobody else seems to be). I'm wary of becoming cynical (and I hope it's not too late). Anyway, great piece, love and miss Mexico, and love that pic of you!
Many thanks Hannah. I love that pic too. Just sums it all up. Yeah, really hard to not get on that magic carpet. I miss Mexico as well, and the desert. But you can't liberate the soul (or the Earth) in the pleasuredome. That's just an energetic fact. Annoying when you could just do with a glass of passionfruit juice .... All grounded best from the flatlands, Charlotte
I too travelled around and around and around the world, and then stopped, 16 years ago, and saw what seemed like everyone else keep going around and around. For many years I was steadfast in my choice, but the past few years I have been yearning for the home of my ancestors. Now I am just too broke to go anywhere much! It makes being environmentally conscious more straightforward in a way. Many thanks for your writing. I read 52 flowers ten years ago or more and was part of the beginning of a path I am still wandering.
Thanks Raven! All best wishes on the flower path…
I do fly now and then ( it’s so frustrating it’s so feckin cheap!) usually one way and then train and ferry back from Venice where I go every winter these days , that’s ferry to uk , stay in Holyhead train and Eurostar , stay in Paris ( I stay incredibly cheaply with a guy who is a clown , and rents his second tiny room on air bnb) the train to Turin stay with lovely lady abd her cat near the station ( another Airbnb but these are people renting out their spare room or their own bedroom…. Airbnb in the old way) but always use the ferry and train to the uk from Ireland where I live which is slow but so
Much more pleasant . I stay in a b and b in Holyhead or Fishguard to break the journey . Sailrail all the way.
Since I lived in a town I have become car free which is do
Liberating and slows life down in lovely ways.