“One of the ways that humanity is controlled and contained is by manipulating us to live vicariously through the ‘cool,’ the rich, the famous. This is fundamental to predatory marketing constructs. The more identified we are with someone else’s (allegedly) amazing life, the more disidentified we are with our own. And the easier it is to get us to purchase products that benefit only them. At its heart, (unconscionable) consumerism preys on the uncentered, the self-hating, the shamed. The more diminished our self-concept, the more willing we are to live our lives vicariously. In our efforts to equalize human access, we must deconstruct this little game. We must turn away from the illusion that someone else’s life has more value, and wholeheartedly embrace our own. YOUR life is your path. The path of you.” Jeff Brown.
The Brown quote states what is obvious to many of us. Yet we remain stuck in the rut of our own making (see prior posts Why we Stay in the Rut 1-3 {May 2018}). It’s why as my research showed, despite so many of us (over 30%) wanting and working as we can to make this transition to sustainability seem stuck, because over 70% (40% logical idealists and 30% utilitarian’s) are unable to leave the rut of consumerism (see earlier post Richard’s Research on Worldviews and why he is optimistic about a transformation {June 2018}). But, as I have emphasized many times it will take a spiritual leap in the way we think about the natural world and each other (see prior posts Spirituality 1-3 {March 2018}) and Spirituality vs. Religion, and Deep Spirituality {all April 2018}). We literally cannot keep thinking we are in control of the planet and continue to try and Anthroform it (not a real word yet, but terraform is to make a planet habitable by life as we know it, so Anthroform is to change it all only for human needs).
We are already realizing that the downside of Anthroforming with the imminent collapse of many ecological systems worldwide. Biodiversity is not just a nice biological word to get us to think about saving key life forms, it’s a recognition that everything from big mammals to the humblest of microorganisms all interact synergistically – you probably recall the cute phrase from your first days at school – the Web of Life! As a single species have been tearing out pieces of the web thinking that it will somehow remain as a web – pure hubris on our part. Everything in nature is about the flow of energy seamlessly moving through the various levels of the system, such that the waste of one organism becomes the food of another. There is a good term for this organization of life – ‘Holarchy’, where each ecological element is a coherent entity in its own right, and yet, an integral part of the whole, where the health of one, affects, and is dependent on the health of the whole.
I always refer to us as sovereign individuals but needing to exist within complex community. When we look at the universe from the smallest quantum fraction to the largest galaxies, we see that it is an intricately mathematical and geometrical wonder that is Fractal in nature. Naturally, a holarchy is the hierarchical aspect of this that is composed of Holons – autonomous self-reliant units within the holarchy. I dwell on this idea because it is crucial you understand and think of yourself as a valuable and essential individual and yet are naturally part of something bigger. Each cell in your body is discrete, self-contained, and yet demonstrates self-directed behavior as is evidenced, for example, by the whole of your body with its heart, lungs, liver, brain, kidneys, spleen, etc. Systems nested within other systems.
We modern humans love to compartmentalize everything and separate it out. This is true of the way we now live in which we now organize our cities with zonation. While this is nice in order to put heavy industry well away from desirable home dwellings, it pushes the impoverished in to the path of harm from pollution from such industries since they cannot afford to live anywhere else. Our society and our economy are run the same way. Nature works in a holistically and regeneratively steady state way that allows all life to flourish, and when conditions change, the whole system sets about rebalancing itself. Note I said steady state, not static state, because change is a natural component of the system that allows adaptation when conditions vary. A wholistic system is life affirming at all levels, and that is what we need to aspire to in our goals for a better world.
As I have said several times, sustainability is so much more than green technology, it is an awakening of a whole mindful consciousness. Spirituality isn’t religiosity. Spirituality is a feeling, sense, or belief that there is something greater than oneself beyond the five senses that connects us to a greater whole. Opening the heart is an essential aspect of true spirituality that creates relationships, values, and life purpose. It’s not just living and surviving, which many seem to suffer, but thriving in being who you want to be as a sovereign entity within a broader scope of community at different levels. It’s about fun, happiness, and well-being – it’s life-affirming. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors understood this and today’s indigenous peoples understand it still. We got lost on our way to becoming civilized when we mistook technological convenience and Standard of Living for a healthy way to live and thrive. Now imagine instead of being an insignificant and miniscule cog in a massive and exploitive corporate system, you are a small and highly significant cog in a thriving community system where value is gauged by your contribution to quality of the global whole as well as to yourself.
“It’s a bold idea to transform the very basis of our civilization to one that’s life-affirming. But when the alternative is unthinkable, a vision of a flourishing future shines a light of hope that can become a self-fulfilling reality. Dare to imagine it. Dare to make it possible by the actions you take, both individually and collectively—and it might just happen sooner than you expect” Jeremy Lent.
To Be Continued ………………..
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