Small, simple, shared

It has been over a year since we have started blogging on issues of energy and environment. We hope our endeavour to disseminate information and encourage discussion has been noticed. Well, hope is what is left in the end! Unless we hear from you, we can only assume that the blog is being read. It is our belief that any debate is meaningful only if touches a wide audience and provokes questions and suggestions. There is no single truth, whether one exists in the philosophical dimension or the physical one! Let us learn and widen our horizons by sharing our ideas and thoughts more openly.

Share. Yes, as advocated by an expert in social media and web technologies, Chris Brogan, when he provides the strategy for business planning for 2010 in three Ss: small, simple and shared.

Whether one believes in unlimited resources or limited growth, there is growing consensus that the way to go today is local, or small. Whether this means going for smaller homes or cars, it makes economic sense as also easy manageability.

As to simple, Chris talks of ‘Talk simple. Make deals simple. Do nothing complex, because so very little needs to be complex. Remove steps everywhere. Make everything brief and simple.’

Edit your rooms. Simplify your wardrobe. Control your buying. Move into a small home. Travel in a small car. Smaller incomes can well sustain small homes and simple lives. Learn to think ‘enough’! Zen habits as he calls it.

As to sharing, more people are rediscovering the benefits of joint living. What was once within the family is now extended to beyond. Many communities are realizing how it makes sense to commonly share goods that are rarely used.

Not only are we making our lives more relaxed and meaningful, but also helping to save scarce resources like energy, food and water for the coming generations.

Do you agree that this could be a good resolution for the New Year? Are you or anyone you know doing things on these lines? Write in to us. Share.