I’ve spent many weeks and months covering the bigger picture of what lies before us. Perhaps its time for some dives into individual actions that we can all do to be more prepared for when this transition occurs; and occurring it is. We live in world that is intricately interdependent in multiple ways. Interconnected is one thing we need to aspire to be, but interdependent is a problem waiting to fail. For instance, exploitive food chains and corporate dominance of all aspects of our lives does not bode well for a sustainable future. What happens in one area of the world now affect us all. For instance, during the past 6000 years, when an empire would failed Europe, it didn’t affect what was happening in Asia, Africa, or the America’s.
“We like to believe we’re too advanced, too connected, too clever to collapse, but every fallen civilization believed the same thing.
What makes our moment different is scale. No civilization has ever been this vast, this interdependent, or this fragile.
We don’t gather our own water, grow our own food, or generate our own power. We outsource our survival to a network of machines and supply chains that we assume will always be there” Pathless Pilgrim.
Do you want a better world that exhibits all the aspects of true sustainable Living? Envision what that could look like and start to live it in whatever fashion you can manage at this time. If you start off with a sentence that it cannot work because… then guess what, you get the because – because that is the set of negative beliefs that create the mindset you bring forth.
The good news is that we – the ones truly awake to the needs of a sustainable future – are the metaphorical iceberg. Globally, about 10% of us are already poised to work this global change, with the remaining 90% waiting to see what happens. That 90% of course includes the developed world as thy pursue their hyper-consumerist lifestyles, and most of the developing world that want their turn at the frenzied feeding trough of market capitalism run by the 0.0001% at the dark bottom of this metaphorical iceberg.
If you live in the developing world you are already living a minimalist lifestyle, but probably aspiring for a better standard of living. If you live in a developed part of the world, and reading this blog, you are already aware of the high cost of living a high standard of living that negates real quality of life (the things that really matter outside of materialism). Materialism is rarely connected to a spiritual lifestyle, but a lifestyle that celebrates a high quality of life is more often than not connected to a spiritual perspective.
While I have critiques of the Scandinavian countries, living a materialist high standard of living yet still contributing to global ecological problems, they also have some excellent cultural philosophies (that most of us Baby Boomers once enjoyed) that emphasize quality that makes their lives less stressful than the rest of us in the developed world. It is these philosophies that are reflective of living sustainably. Since they live in highly variable seasons, they do not stress out with the seasonal variations of climatic fluctuations. They accept heavy snow or rainy summers and do not complain as much, but simply surrender to the weather and make the best of it. Indeed, growing up in the UK, I do not recall the long rainy, snowy periods even though they occurred. We just accepted inclement weather and celebrated those sunny days. I still recall seeing people sunbathing on sunny but cold winter days.
One thing that Covid taught so many was the value of silence, and the value of it and time with friends and family. We just enjoyed each other’s company, even if we weren’t doing anything special. That feeling of connection was an important part of our relationships that transcended materialism or the need to impress anyone. That’s an important part of what defines real community. We could disagree but we came together nevertheless to enjoy each other’s company. I remember just walking into my friend’s homes and chatting away as though we were family. The Scandinavians in rural setting and many still within urban environments still do this. It’s one feature my American Granddaughter, living in Copenhagen and dating a Dane, comments about. Meeting for tea or coffee and cake or biscuits is almost a ritualistic time set aside in order to feel connectedness.
Living a more minimalistic lifestyle is more fulfilling and less stressful – in short it makes life more enjoyable and costs little to nothing. What brings us joy comes from continual moments, not big events per se. It allows us to acknowledge others and in turn be acknowledged by them. What makes you joyful? Make that a priority – not what makes you popular on social media, but what connects you people in your life every day. Living Sustainably in a caring community begins at the personal level. Create your relationships now and when the crunch occurs, you’ll already be ready to interact comfortably with people who already care for each other. A benefit is that you stop stressing out about whether you can afford anything. Meaningful relationships are free. And an added bonus is that you can be more yourself and become more sovereign in who you think you are.
People who actively show care for each other also tend to acknowledge others through continual actions that express kindness. Interconnectivity (not interdependency) is a core aspect of a higher quality of life. It also promotes localized resilience as people rely on each other instead of fickle large scale supply lines. An interesting feature of my observations about Europeans (And I suspect much of the world as well – but rarer in the US) is how people get out into nature to ground themselves. When I lived in the UK and when I visit people in Europe, it is still notable how some point in the day (often early evenings) is characterized by evening walks around the neighborhood – especially so if woods or fields ere nearby. Walks in nature are especially good at destressing us. Indeed, the Japanese even have a term for it – shinrin-yoku – translated as ‘forest bathing’ that simply means immersing yourself in the atmosphere of forest.
Before I move onto more technical aspects of sustainability we can practice now, let me end this piece of developing connection and kindness with a sappy song, popular in 1977, also made popular in the film ‘Babe (1995)’ that expresses an intent to make a better day for everyone. It was a one hit wonder, but it was a global phenomenon – Why? Think about it. It expresses something that hits at the core of the human psyche, like an ancient memory of when life was better. (Similar to the 1971 songI’d Like to Teach the World to Sing). If you can get my item 1 (Mindfulness) achieved before the crunch, then the transition will be more of an adaptative event instead of a struggle for survival.
When you can break out of the mindset of material consumerism as a way of thinking, you begin to focus on things that improve quality of life that profoundly alter for the better the environment around you and consequently the worlds environment. As Robin Wall Kemmerer expressed (see recent posts on this site), we need to focus on ‘Environmental Restoration’ as a way to restore the world to a place where all life and human community flourishes. This restoration will start as a local focus, but eventually as people worldwide share their successes and continuing challenges, we will learn from each other outside of the global dominated system. Restoration as a priority is not a “policy debate, but a technical responsibility.” If we are not preoccupied with survival, then we can begin a profound psychological and cultural shift, where status, power, and material accumulation lose meaning.
Cooperation, creativity, and contribution become sources of fulfillment and our ability to thrive during this time of change. “Cultural diversity thrives without competition. Conflict declines as scarcity disappears.” Forget about creating a utopia. Challenges will be with us for a while (years not decades) but if we face them collectively, intelligently, and without hierarchical constraints, we can have meaningful progress that heals the world. Technical transformation can be done at the local level not possible with the global market economy – this is what transforms our world from a mindset one of scarcity to one of abundance.
To Be Continued ……………………
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