{"id":21972,"title":"Welcome to Grow Your Own Life","description":"Welcome to my first GYOL blog.","content":"

Hi, I\u2019m Ross Minton and this is Grow Your Own Life!<\/strong>

Is something I am sure many of you have heard me say on my YouTube Channel.
Where I feel a lot more comfortable communicating my ideas away from the written word,
because being dyslexic, words, spelling, and grammar aren\u2019t my strong points.
So please bear with me, as I attempt to become a Blogger and use far too many commas!

Rapid Bio\u2026<\/strong>
I\u2019m almost 40, Sustainable Artist from Shropshire, England.
That\u2019s in the middle, to the right of Wales, in case you wondered.

I have a rare muscle disability and for a few years have tried to encourage more people, especially those with disabilities, to get outside to help improve mental health and get back to nature. Screen time and the ease with which we can now live lives \u201cremotely\u201d has huge benefits for society and especially the disabled community, but the internet, social media, and apps are designed to hold our attention. They are addictive & it\u2019s far too easy to get stuck in a rut.
Which isn\u2019t great for our mental or physical health.

This is why I now use app times and limit my use of Social Media to 2hrs a day and have all my notifications muted. Trying to live life on my terms not that of an algorithm.

Being outside more has massively helped my well-being.
One of the worst parts of my disability is the fact I have no idea when it will flare up. I\u2019m in some degree of pain 100% of the time and so all tasks require a decent level of planning.

Two \u201cactive\u201d days in a row is a non-starter for me, if I have tasks to do I must always plan a rest days after, or risk severe pain. Thus a lot of my life is unfortunately spent inside resting.
Making it even more important to get out when I can\u2026 We\u2019ll touch on this more in future blogs.

I have two allotments and enjoy so many outdoor pursuits from Fishing to Metal detecting. Play football & cricket and am raising my children to be sustainable humans.

My Ethos\u2026<\/strong>
I\u2019m an Environmentalist and find myself increasingly worried by the lack of Climate Change awareness & Don\u2019t get me started on the Climate Denial Grifters. I\u2019m sure if you follow me on Twitter you're fully aware of this, as I try to call them out at every opportunity.

All Humans need to do better. We have known for decades the climate is changing due to us.
So why are we not doing anything about it? The Truth is sustainable living saves YOU money and I like saving money. It gives me more to spend on the kids & real ale!

Being Frugal became something of a dirty word in the 90s, we were all encouraged to spend and throw away. \u201cBig Boom Economics.\u201d Billions of tons of single plastic tat, shipped worldwide so we could have easy Lives.

We. Yes WE have done more damage to the planet in the last 40 years than all previous generations combined and I will no longer wish to be part of it. So we reuse, recycle and make do and mend everything we can, for the last year we have even stopped the weekly \u201cbig shop\u201d and now use a local food waste project. Feeding ourselves for \u00a310 a week with perfectly good food that would end up being thrown away. Last night I had smoked salmon and Wagu Beef all saved from the landfill & now in my belly. In fact, we probably eat better now than we ever have!

My Art\u2026<\/strong>
I have always worked in the creative industry. Firstly as a Graphic Designer & Photographer. Later in Packaging Design & Advertising. I had a lovely little career until a well-known UK Brand made me redundant due to my disability. Something I\u2019ll definitely touch on in the future.

This led me to become very depressed, as I found myself unemployed for the first time aged 30 years, and The DWP was about as disability aware as an overripe Pumpkin with Theresa Coffey's face carved in it! Needless to say, I fell into a dark place and it took a few years to discover the urge to be creative again, but I bit the bullet and decided I\u2019d try to go it alone as an independent Artist.

Since then the creative drive has come flooding back & it rooted itself in nature, biodiversity, permaculture, and the Environment. In Art School, I was obsessed with Piet Mondrian\u2019s Tree painting and now find myself taking a lot of inspiration from converting the natural world into simple shapes and colors, but I also love a doodle and have a passion for creating abstract meadows.

If you\u2019d like to see more examples of my Art, please follow me on Instagram
Grow Your Own Life - Art & Life!
https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/grow_your_own_life<\/a>
or at
The Wonky Doodler. - Just Art!
https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/The_wonky_doodler\/<\/a>

For any more info please get in touch.
All the best GYOL <\/strong>
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