My name is Christiane and I'm happy to share with you some of my story towards a more sustainable lifestyle and also speak honestly about some of my background having lead to it all in the first place.

I live in beautiful green Austria, where we really are blessed with great nature, most of us having grown up spending loads of time outside. So did my generation anyway! I'm 24...... - naaaaaaaaaa.

I'll be 44 in August and, honestly, most of my adult life I used to be one of the "bad ones", one of the usual consumers. For sure still buying much less than most people, since I always had to take well care of my money, but hey, this doesn't make the way I consumed any better. I lived the hard working girl life, well, "life" actually is the wrong term for it. I had no life. I've been through quite a lot since very young age already, turned into a "functioning" girl - woman - always being super fast, super strong and perfect on the outside to make sure I'd get through with the least hurt from other people or life itself... not only such is never any way good for oneself, it also had quite an effect on the kind of consumer I was when always fighting and under pressure. Food shopping happened super fast, grabbing what my body asked for, I hadn't thought much about the odd plastic wrapping, it's impact, the origin of food or the single use items I bought. Skincare was full of chemistry and all I worried about with fashion was, whether I could afford it and how clever and strong I'd look in it. I had neither noticed, that my mental and physical systems had begun to break down nor realised nature's system doing the same all around me. I was almost blind to all this. Not that I'd never loved nature or its beauty all over; whenever (but rarely) I had a still moment I did watch the birds and maybe went for a hike. 

But here's the big, very big point which was wrong in all aspects of my being, and also the point why you had to read through all above: 

It all happened UNCONSCIOUSLY! 

And this is key to it all in my opinion. You can't change and make a change if you aren't fully consciously involved.

My journey then began in two steps. The first one was taking a short trip to a place I used to work in my twenties and where I felt super safe and life was good for the first time and a little while. Spending a few days there had a huge impact and shown me how far away I'd moved from the person I really truly had been. It was almost like a punch in the face, starting a long way of fighting, accepting and beginning to slowly find myself again. Change had started, this was 2016. I began to question a lot of things, habits, feelings, people, my whole life structure... I knew all I wanted was to truly be myself again. The woman always smiling real smiles which come all natural (think of my account name now), grounded and being myself inside out. My real self was much more still, soaking up nature to keep a healthy mind, loving plants and blossoms, picking berries, wearing my old scruffy Timberlands, not worrying about becoming dirty, digging my hands into soil, waiting to smell the air after a summer rain shower and: loving all animals 

Well, this love for animals made me think more about my skincare and going sick of the facts behind some big brands sales..... This was kinda like my eye opener into questioning a lot. I started to change my skincare into organic products making a huge stone begin to roll through my life. Once you've started to get some information, read articles, checked out other brands.... oh I soaked it all up!

And, well this love for animals, it also brought me to rescuing my dog, Emma, from shelter. Best decision ever. She made me spend much more time outside in the green. Time to ground even more, time to breathe, time to let go and time to question things, time to begin to find myself. Another side effect: Seeing the horrible way some people treat nature and full of anger, but also sadness and many feelings about it, I began to grow the habit of collecting the trash left behind. I would've felt a criminal walking past it. This brought me to reading even more, to soak up facts... and to be a real pain for some people! Step by step I began to make more simple changes. Bathroom, then kitchen, food (my body is so grateful!!) 

Well, I lost some friends 

But I gained a better, greener self ❤

Still working in my last job (I am open for new things now! Yeaiiii!!!!) aside to it I started posting about all this on Instagram, oh, and how many likeminded people I found!! Ideas to share, experiences and advice, DIY and recipes....from all kinds of people from all over the world. It is incredibly wonderful seeing how many of us are doing their best to make this planet a better place again. And what we all have in common is consciousness and the awareness of how much little changes can be a huge impact towards a more earth friendly life. 

I had to leave my job and change my life big time when I ended up in a burnout last year. But this gave and gives me even more time now to learn. Learn about me and about what good I can do to myself as well as the planet. And I love it. I've found what really fills my heart and soul. All you find in my posts is authentically me trying to motivate others to make the same good steps towards a greener world and maybe also to themselves. It is easy really, once you open your eyes and take a conscious look inside.

Sustainability means more than changing your habits. It means changing your mindset and heart first and very consciously. A super stressed, always fast and having no life person will not be able to lead a sustainable life, because there's no time for being conscious and aware of the needed action. The whole way of seeing our own lives has to change a little or sometimes a lot. It means slowing down, being still and connecting much more with what all our origin is – nature.

We need to understand how little it really takes to have a fulfilled lifestyle, to show respect for our great planet, to treat it just as we really expect to be treated ourselves by others! In fact, my opinion -  we need to bow to it.

Nature is an absolute gift, able to make life!

I mean, hello? It's a miracle and pure art!!!

And it's been so patient with us through centuries, it is very very much time to do all we can to help it recover as much as possible. 

We owe it to Mother Earth. 

Love Christiane💕

Connect with Christiane here @smiles.and.green life

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