The Love Plan

On Monday March 1st, we visited Rob and Angela from The Love Plan. The Love Plan is a small-scale, ecological, intentional living homestead in Mt Dora, Florida.

Let me sketch the picture. Rob was working in their lush, tropical front garden when we visited. He was soft spoken, tall, fit, with radiant skin and long, braided hair. Angela came out of their modest, neat little house to greet us. She had vivid eyes, almost knee-length hair, apologized for her casual attire (no apologies needed, the weather in Florida screams “casual dress code”), and she chatted away. We immediately felt welcome.

~ Sustainable practices ~

Seated outside on their front porch, the conversation flowed naturally. Their main sustainable habits include growing their own pesticide-free fertilizer-free fruits and vegetables, using natural materials without toxic finishes or glues, composting kitchen scraps, minimizing waste, minimizing their amount of clothes, living simply, going low tech instead of high tech, eating a mostly raw vegan diet, building their own furniture using their own ideas and designs to build for what they need. “It’s a work in progress”, they said, “things (literally) take time to grow”. There is no “instant” path to sustainability. Before you dismiss this as just stereotypical hippie stuff, read on to learn about the reasons and wisdom behind their lifestyle.

~ Why ~

I asked them what their main reasons are for living the way they do. Angela brought up personal health and wellbeing as a main driving force. Minimalism, or not consuming more than they need, actually improved their wellbeing.

“How can I take more than I need, when others have less than they need?”

It starts with individual need versus greed. “The problem is”, Rob said, “that most people are out of touch with what they truly need”. They follow external impulses (for example, marketing messages telling them what they should buy or consume, or peer pressure). These external influences can distort individuals’ perceptions of what their own needs are, so they end up living a lifestyle that isn’t serving their own inner wellbeing. You end up stuck in a rat race to sustain a lifestyle that isn’t serving you well. This reliance on external impulses also degrades ones’ creative thinking or “mental immune system”. The concept of “free will” doesn’t really mean much if you don’t know your inner reasons, your true free will. Rob stated that if every individual would discover and reconnect with their inner voice, think critically, and is true to themselves, society as a whole would be better off.

“The collective can only thrive if individuals thrive”

We don’t live in a vacuum. Angela added that our society has its subtle ways of oppressing each other. “If you take away oppression of people, people would naturally bring their ideas to the table, because there would be no forces stopping them from sharing the diversity that’s in us all. Ideally, try to think without judgment, in a supportive mindset”, she said.

~ Benefits ~

What are the tangible benefits of living sustainably like Angela and Rob do? Angela illustrated this with one example: the simple decision not to own a car has lots of downstream benefits (Btw, I noted she referred to it as being “car free”, not just “without a car”, implying cars can be a burden).

• Physical health: you naturally end up walking a lot, carrying grocery items. Free cardio and strength training!

• Traffic/pollution: fewer vehicles on the road means reduced pollution, fewer traffic jams, less road noise, safer streets for crossing pedestrians, bicyclists, and wildlife.

• Social contact: when you ride a bus you can say hello and connect with people, when you walk on the street you naturally encounter others (which you don’t when you’re in a car).

If you start thinking about it, most sustainable lifestyle decisions trickle down to a variety of benefits you couldn’t even conceive of. You end up living more on a human scale. And the car-free decision is merely one example of many.

~ Downsides ~

Sure, it takes some adjustment. Rob (who grew up in Los Angeles) admitted you give up some conveniences, but the benefits outweigh the costs. Angela suggested you can plan to avoid minor discomforts. For instance, you don’t need an air conditioned car if you just walk in the early in the morning when it’s still cool, rather than midday. Simple common sense things.

~ Relation to society ~

Rob and Angela participate in mainstream society to some extent: they want to be connected to others, not build walls, and stay open. That said, they do avoid many commercial aspects of society such as big entertainment complexes, strip malls, etc. They critically question the negative externalities of such structures (e.g., Were trees cut to clear the site? How were workers treated and paid?). Rob also adds “Make no mistake: such infrastructure was not built to meet human needs, it was built to grow the GDP”.

“Expanding the economy

at the expense of people and the planet

is unsustainable and immoral”

Discussions about re-envisioning society are often surrounded by gloomy cynicism and despair. Yet, Angela and Rob remain hopeful and positive. The world will be what we make of it. Power lies in each individual’s hands: “It’s up to you, don’t wait on the system”, Rob adds. Our attitude helps to build our reality. If consumers change, the market will have to change accordingly. And that change will be lasting, because people will be doing it for intrinsic value and benefits, not under external pressures. Change must come from themselves, not through coercion or oppression (that’d be unstable or temporary change anyway).

“Be connected to others, don’t oppress”

Rob and Angela echoed what we’ve heard at other ecovillages and intentional living communities: We are all connected. If individuals are healthy, the community is healthy. Rob adds something that stuck with me: “When people are taken care of, and they are meeting (not exceeding nor undermining) their individual needs, they will not be selfish, they will not be taking from each other, there will be no envy or greed.”

“Life is supposed to be a joy”

Rob and Angela met on Green Singles, lived in Los Angeles and then in an off-grid community on the Big Island of Hawaii, and explored 9 different ecovillages throughout the USA before starting their own homestead in Florida in an existing neighborhood. Why? They figured the impact of transforming existing neighborhoods could be even greater than creating a new “neighborhood” (ecovillage). The houses in suburban America are often situated on plenty large plot sizes (about ¼ to ½ of an acre) to allow for self-sustaining regenerative agriculture. This way you can make the best of existing infrastructure (even though that model of city planning is far from ideal), while also inspiring your neighbors. You literally and figuratively plant a seed in your neighborhood. Wholehearted thanks to Angela and Rob for sharing their time and wisdom.