Its Not Easy Being Green 

 In the interest of being a bit more eco-friendly (that means economy friendly, as in the price of gas is going to kill me), I decided to ride the trike to the store with the trailer.  Lilo wanted to join me, and looking at the grocery list, I decided I might just be able to fit everything in the trailer.  As it turns out, I could, but the weight was almost lethal.  I hadn't downshifted on the front chainring as far as I thought, and I ended up stuck on the steep driveway leaving the store.  Fortunately some Good Samaritan pushed the trailer for me, so I could get to the spot where I could successfully downshift.  The ride home (all 2 miles) was incredibly challenging, and I still have sore muscles from it.  Whether or not I do it next week remains to be seen - but probably will.

I was only kidding a little bit about the being green part.  There is also a motivation to not be guilty of such conspicuous consumerism.  I don't necessarily buy all of the global warming stuff (notice how it is now morphing into global climate change), but there is an Orthodox notion of not using more than you need.  Part of the reason for that is the notion of humility.  A humble person won't take more than necessary.  I heard a priest the other day referring to some teaching of St. John Chrysostom when he counseled people to only have houses of a size necessary for their families.  Small family, small house.  I wonder what Al Gore would say about that.

So, taking the car less seems appropriate to the goal of being more humble.  It has the fortunate side effect of reducing pollution and improving my fitness level.  Many teachings of the Church have these wonderful additional consequences.  Fasting is another.  Everyone talks about how important it is to eat more vegetables and less meat.  Being Orthodox, you can't eat meat for about 1/2 the year, and are nearly vegan for the rest.

One shouldn't be Orthodox because its environmentally friendly, or healthy.  Its just interesting that there are these consequences that I suspect are reflective of God's love for us, and were not "designed" in by the Fathers of the Church.

Its a good thing.