Learning from scarce resources

If ever there was doubt about climate change, this year, especially on the west coast, quelled those doubts. There was very little snow this year, a disappointment for skiers and boarders, but more importantly it mean there was significantly less water in the reservoirs. Then we experienced one of the warmest and driest summers on record. The brown grass on everyone’s lawn and on city green space is now the new normal. We kept reminding ourselves that the grass will come back and will be green again when it starts to rain. And then this weekend our prayers were answered, sort of. The rain came but with it heavy winds and fallen trees and branches, another casualty of the warm dry weather. I hope any of you who endured power outages have now had your power restored.

So what can we learn from the worse drought in memory in this area? What does having to manage scarce resources teach us about life and our habits? As I reflect on the changes in our environment and the profound impact on us two things come to mind: how important it is to appreciate what we have rather than wanting something else and, secondly, how the skill of being flexible and adaptable in changing situations is key.  So we had to hand water our flowerbeds. Many looked for ways to conserve precious water like using drained water from into the dehumidifier and extra cool kettle to water indoor and outdoor plants. We take shorter showers. More industrious folks were capturing bath and shower water – kudos to them. Learning to be flexible and adaptable is not easy, especially for adults used to their habitual routines. Some habits are very useful and serve us well. Others might be less useful which we only find out when we take the time to carefully examine them and see their effects and then try a different way.  Try something as simple as sitting in a different seat at your kitchen table or on the bus or in a theatre. Try eating a part of your meal with your non- dominant hand.