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There are environmental, economic, and logistical things to consider when deciding how much of a locavore to be. But is buying local spiritual?
Our Beliefnet blog brother Gus diZerega has a fascinating post over on A Pagan’s Blog about this very question. He says:
“Spiritually, buying from [a] larger perspective recognizes we are
anything but isolated egos seeking to serve our ‘preferences.’ As wise
people have known for millennia, and as science is demonstrating on
even very subtle levels of our lives, we are who we are because of our
relations. For example, the New Scientist reports on research
showing our behavior is powerfully influenced not only by our friends,
but also even by their friends whom we do not know. We are more likely to be depressed if the friends of our friends are depressed! Even if we do not know them. Our world is subtle.”
I like how Gus is basically defining spirituality – a very hard thing to define – as community. Living a spiritual life means being connected to, and responsible for, those who share our zip codes. It is a very individualistic world we live in, and spirituality is a vocabulary that many of us use to transcend the isolation epidemic.
I buy locally a lot, but then again, I am lucky enough to live in a town where the only “chain” restaurant is a Boston-area chain (Not Your Average Joe’s, and it’s delish) and even the movie theater is locally owned. I’m not sure I would choose “spiritual” to describe my local-buying choices, but I would use words like “connected,” “community” and even “meaningful.” And maybe that’s all spiritual buying is.
But is “buying spiritually” a luxury, especially in tough economic times? A penny for your thoughts….