Ruth: Life is too short to get stuck in a rut

Ruth: Psychologist, designer, environmental-activist from Switzerland. The women who never wanted to get stuck in a rut. That’s why she changed her life. Not once – but three times.

Why did you change your life three times?

“Aging in Switzerland is extremely boring” – why?

Do you feel like a missionary when you work for recycling projects in Bali?

Background information: Ruth is setting up a recycling project with Balinese farmers – let’s could call it “organic farming 3.0”. It’s an innovative method to combine waste management and permaculture. In a nutshell: Non-organic rubbish gets recycled. Organic waste is used to produce a super high-quality compost which doesn’t exist in Bali yet.

I was brought up in Switzerland in a very Catholic region. As a kid I wanted to become a missionary. I found it fascinating to go away and help other people. A short while ago I retired. Finally I have the time do something which is in a way similar to missionary work. But it has nothing to do with religion. I want to help locals to do something against the rubbish problem and at the same time support organic farming. I think there’s so much knowledge in the Western world. But at the same time I find it extremely difficult to share this knowledge with the Balinese people.

I love my local friends, they are so kind and lovely. But, on the other hand, they live in their own little bubble, they have their way of thinking and their way of doing things. It’s such a challenge to raise awareness to the waste problem on the island. I am trying to make them realize that plastic in the rivers, at the beach or in their backyards is affecting their daily lives. That’s why I think it’s their job to do something against it. Traditionally Balinese burn any rubbish. Seriously, burning plastic? Sometimes I get very frustrated. But that’s what I call the cultural gap.

Your husband’s death was a huge challenge. How do you cope with extreme situations like that?

What has been your biggest learning experience so far?

Stop feeling sorry for yourself, this will never make you happy. Instead, take responsibility for your life. Change your life if you aren’t happy. Life is too short to get stuck in a rut. Don’t blame other people for things that happened to you.  If you want something different, you are going to have to do something different! Another thing I learned: Sometimes my expectations are just too high. For example I am a bit of a clean freak. And sometimes I am so frustrated if things don’t get cleaned properly here in Bali. But then I say to myself: Relax, don’t make such a big fuss about it, don’t complain. Because it’s just the way it is.

Your life motto?

I’m a doer. I don’t I don’t like watching my life pass me by. That’s why I changed my life three times completely. So far. Life is too short to get stuck in a rut. I don’t want to waste my life by doing the same thing every day. I want to create my life, explore new things, there is so much interesting stuff out there.

All the best for your recycling project, Ruth. We keep our fingers crossed that the new way of recycling and composting will be picked up by other farmers very soon. And keep on exploring!

Organic farming 3.0 – Ruth’s recycling project with local farmers

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P.S. Ruth and her team are offering organic farming tours for tourists, too.