Depending on where you are in your sustainability journey, you might find yourself surrounded by like-minded pals who understand your desire to make the world a better place. Or you might feel completely isolated as if you are the only person in a thousand miles that understands your values and way of living.

In my experience, the latter is usually the case, as well as for many people I meet who are following a green lifestyle.

No matter what though, once you embark on this journey, you know there’s no turning back. Once you know what you know, there’s no unlearning it, and your consciousness will keep you on track and moving forward.

However, it can be incredibly disheartening and isolating to realize you are the only around who wants to eat out at a local place that uses real dishes when getting together with friends, or who brings her own straws when going out.

It can be hard to deal with the stares and judgement (even if silent) from close friends, family members and co-workers who are not following a sustainable path in their own lives and might not understand your choices.

Sometimes there are genuine questions and interest from them, other times these can become full on discussions that you might not be willing to have, and it can cause strains on your relationships.

So how do you navigate your day to day life with intentional actions while feeling confident in your decisions, especially when confronted with regular skepticism from those around you?

Find your Tribe

There are many times that I find myself asking if I’m the only one collecting batteries and dropping them off at the hazardous trash collection, or washing my makeup remover cloths, or using real dishes for everything.

It makes you wonder if there’s even a point in doing all this if you’re the only one taking action as far as you can see.

I want you to know that everything you do counts!

These seemingly small actions add up to a big impact at the end of the day, even if you can’t see it.

Luckily, we live in a wonderful time where it’s easier than ever to find like-minded people who understand your lifestyle and can be a wealth of support, especially if you ever find yourself isolated and in need of reassurance.

It’s not easy to go against the grain, and this is why community is so important, especially at times where you feel you are the only one around who cares about the future of the planet.

I was so pleased to find that there are many Facebook groups that cater to a sustainable lifestyle, as well as ecopreneurs or others interested in learning about sustainable travel, sustainable meals and everyday sustainability practices in general.

You may also find Meetup groups in your area related to sustainable living, gardening, permaculture and veganism that might already be building community around you.

I personally like to belong to lots of groups, and in a way not belong to one particular philosophy or way of doing things, as I find it can be restricting on my personal growth. What I mean is sometimes if you belong to a group, you must think like the group in order to be in it. Therefore, belonging to different groups and creating my own philosophy of life is something that suits me and my lifestyle, and I encourage you to do the same.

Keep doing what you are doing! You are making a difference, and it’s ok to take it slow when changing your lifestyle and adjust as you go, remembering to be flexible with yourself.

I have not yet created a Green Luxury Living group but would love to know if you would be interested in having a forum to discuss the topics from the blog! Let me know in the comments!

Much love,

Angélica Renée

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