When avoiding cognitive dissonance beware of cultural dissonance!

Let's begin with a few definitions...

Cognitive dissonance:  The discomfort caused by the awareness of holding two or more contradictory ideas.

Cultural dissonance:  The discomfort experienced by people in the midst of changing cultural dynamics; most often characterized by changes which are unexpected, unexplained or not understood.

I think that one of the most important aspects of cognitive dissonance is that one needs to have an awareness of discomfort before one can identify those thoughts which are being held in tension.  Self-awareness is an experience that is often sought out as we age.  We grow in understanding ourselves different and separate from those around us; we seek to inventory those things which we hold that are truly of us and those things we have embraced as default.

In the process of this often we come across contradictory ideas, thoughts or values.  We are then faced with a choice...  ...can both be held onto at the same time...  ...if not then which value do we go with and why.  

But here is the aspect that I wish to mull over.  What happens if in the process of self-examination and increasing self-awareness I decide to embrace a value that is not held or endorsed by the dominant culture in which I find myself?  I do not spare myself discomfiture.   The attempts to ease the unease of finding myself in the throes of cognitive dissonance I am thrust into a dissonance of another variety.

Leaving and coming back home has opened my eyes to cultural 'concerns' about my hometown.  I think that is likely a very 'normal' experience.  But as I wandered through my time back I realized that I was not at ease at home.  As I explore the reasons for my dis-ease; I find myself having shed some of the normalcy of home for another normal.  And I don't want to give up what I have received... ...as I weigh out the values I hold, I find more reasons to hold on to that which I experience as more real.   But that reality is uncomfortable and darker than expected.

I came to this as I watched a documentary this week.  Cognitive dissonance came up... ...those who have heard the truth yet do nothing with it... ...those who believe the truth yet do nothing with it...   That's most people when they count the cost of change and decide it's too much to pay with no guarantee that the reward will make it worth it; besides they will tell themselves no one else is moving towards change.  One insightful commentator said that we are living in make-belief.  

Actually, I believe that many of us know that we are living in make-belief.  And that is what leads to the very normal condition of the human mind to live in cognitive dissonance.  At the same time we want to avoid the pain of the dissonance so we increase the pretense making excuses for the reasons why we can wait or why what we know isn't as serious as it is... This phenomena is evident in many arenas of life often resulting from a simplistic view of the issue in question.  A simplistic perspective, leads to a simplistic approach resulting in a potentially detrimental solution.

From a global perspective, our attitude towards caring for the world in which we live will likely begin with a measure of cognitive dissonance and then gently lead us into the depths of cultural dissonance.  We all have a list as long as our arms for the reasons why we continue unabated with a lifestyle of consumption.  We know that the natural resources that we extract from the earth are not being replenished.  But we do not treat these resources as if they are finite.  Take petrochemicals...they are all pervasive on a global scale.  We know that oil is harvested and not being replenished.  We know that whatever we take is being processed and burned and detrimentally affecting the health of ourselves, our children and our 'home'.  But we continue.

... dissonance ...

So as I try to live more consciously I find myself trying to live as if what is true is really true.  Then I become very aware of the luxury of a strawberry in the wintertime... ...a lawn in the summer... ...a dryer during the rainy season... ...a car any time...  But I struggle to live accordingly.  Should I not buy my children fresh fruit in the winter because the carbon footprint may eventually cause them more damage?  Should I avoid olive oil because I know it is being transported to me emitting air and noise pollution every mile of the way?  Should I avoid: rice, avocados, tuna, coffee, black teas, bananas, coconuts, black pepper, sea salt, seaweed... because they are not responsible choices once I begin to consider the impact of getting them to my table?  According to one set of statistics the average that a food item travels before it lands on our table is 1500 miles.  That is not acceptable.  But,...

And this is where I become dissonant... I live in a climate where the ground is frozen for almost as many months as it is not frozen.  I have growing children whose nutritional needs are important to their long-term well-being.  And here is the one that is the most difficult to deal with... I can not always afford to purchase the locally grown, the organically grown, the responsibly packaged, the environmentally sustainable...  So I live with disappointment and disapproval of my own decisions.

Who wants to hear that they shouldn't buy new clothes every season, they don't need a new "insert item of choice', smaller is better, less is more, if it's yellow let it mellow, your clothes were stitched by a child, your toilet paper is made of trees, your neighbor is everyone who is connected to you via your home, your clothes, your food, your pollution, your consumption...

In fact, sometimes my oldest child doesn't even want to hear it... she is aware of the dissonant sound.  Sometimes I become overwhelmed trying to make a decision on a food purchase.  Other times I simply harden myself against my own judgement.  

But the challenging part is that we, as a family, are trying to move towards a lifestyle this is responsible, sustainable, healthful, justice centered, grace filled and love imbued; and so we oft find ourselves in the realm of the culturally dissonant.  We need to find meaningful action... ...re-evaluate choices and priorities... ...plan for the future... because sometimes the loudest sound is a lone voice in a lonely place.

Easter Eggs, Groceries, and Old Friends

Well, DH and I tried to pick up some essentials yesterday at the local Superstore.  Wouldn't you know it...IT WAS CRAZY!!!  We had grabbed a basket and began to fill it when we were overwhelmed by the number of people there; as well as the amount of cheap Easter memorabilia.  So we shifted into reverse and escaped.  There were no casualties, but a striking reminder that we are in the land of the CONSUMER!!!!

Of course, when we got up today and chatted with friends about doing something 'easter-y' today we remembered that not only were we low on a few items...but we had no eggs.  We have not bought meat, dairy or eggs for the last few weeks.  The dairy free part is the most recent move...although I seem to recall a bag of fish in the freezer as I sit here... so we are technically in process still.  However, we are not as committed to meat free if the meat is ethically sourced...ie. acquired by hunting or free-range and organic.  It's about allowing animals the quality of life that involves the least amount of suffering.

DH has been reading John Robbins' The Food Revolution; I read part of it this fall.  I struggle with the graphic descriptions and so I skipped and skimmed through it in order to not fill my mind with disturbing images that result from my over active imagination.   Anyway, this book is going along way to convince us that factory produced meat is a major threat to sustaining an environment that is conducive to life.  And yet, the food industry seems to be relatively free of sensor from censure from the environmental movement, particularly in the part of the country which we now find ourselves.  Interestingly DH caught a session at a recent Eco-Conference and was surprised to see and hear nothing addressing the issues of factory farming and its impact on water use and waste disposal....if you think of it not only do you need a lot of water to raise animals well, but they produce tons of 'poop' that needs to be put somewhere.

All that leads to our current position of not laying down a hard line with our diet but to think about where our food comes from and what the larger impact of that food choice is.

Well, I am trying to draw myself away from that 'bunny-trail' onto the larger stream of consciousness.   Overwhelmed at the grocery store means no eggs among other things, no eggs means we have nothing to colour or to colour with...which leaves us wondering what to do for fun with our wee ones to commemorate and celebrate Easter.

As for 'Old Friends'...we had a lovely visit with old friends last night.  It was nice to chat and know that they already love us and so we could be free to work things out in conversation.  As we were making our way to the door we noticed a couple sitting at another table...  A couple we had met years ago just up for the weekend...more reconnections...  There is a funny feeling of joyous disconnect as you try to cover ten years of life in 2 hours.

And now to see what today entails...

Permeated by Ethics

So DH and I are in the process of re-evaluating life. As some of you know I have been in the process of moving my diet towards a vegan diet. Currently, we are moving our family's diet towards a more ethical and sustainable pattern.

But we don't want to stop there... how much of our life can be moved to choices that are ethical, sustainable, in favour of social justice, supporting us being able to love our neighbours... How far can we move our life to becoming a good steward of all that we have been given?

I have heard it observed that often people read the teachings of Jesus and short circuit things by assuming that the teachings are good ideas but impossible to live out. This leads to our current 'experiment'. Can we follow Jesus's teaching today? How will it change our daily choices? Could our priorities be transformed?

If we are going to be good stewards of our bodies then what will we reconsider in our eating patterns? If we are going to be good stewards of the environment then what will we reconsider in lifestyle patterns? If we are going to be good stewards of our community then what will we reconsider in our consumption patterns?

I suppose all I can say at this point is:
Watch this SPACE.

I am hoping to chronicle our families movement over the course of the next while.