Finding Sustainability In Rural America
August 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Where did you first hear about sustainability? Did a friend tell you what it meant to live a sustainable life? Did you read about it first?
I learned from my family and my home state, Vermont.
Are You a Yankee?
I recently heard someone on NPR describing being a Yankee. If you ask a European what a Yankee is, they’ll say an American. An American will say a New Englander. A New Englander will say a Vermonter. And a Vermonter will say a farmer.
Yankees grow up self-reliant. Vermont farmers learned a long time ago to take care of what takes care of them – the soil. Unlike the Western U.S., Vermont doesn’t have virtually unlimited land. You only have so much land, and you have to make it work for generations.
While growing up, I remember watching my mother create balls of soap by melting down soap remains with those small soaps my father brought home from hotels. Granted, for most of my childhood, my mother’s only job was being a mother, so she had more time to devote to sustainability.
The Answer Is in Our Past
Some of us barely have time to handle the necessities of life, let alone spend time mending, cooking, clipping coupons, shopping for bargains, gardening, cleaning…. In our quest to achieve (some might argue, survive), we have lost some of the simple acts of sustainability many of our parents performed. We look to the media, the market place and the future to direct our behaviors. Maybe we should start looking to our past.
In traditional societies, the elders, the connection to the ancestors and traditional way, are honored. When a man or a woman has a problem they can’t solve, they consult their advisors – the elders. In the current Western world, we believe our sole salvation lies in the future and data. If I had more knowledge, I could solve this problem.
Self-Reliance
Obviously, I believe in technology’s ability to assist us; after all, I created this blog. There is great potential with what we are collective creating. Yet, there is something missing. We need more than knowledge and technology. We need the wisdom of our past so we don’t repeat a history we wouldn’t want.
People like my mother, who grew in rural towns in the Depression, understood what it meant to rely on the land—and each other—as resources. Traditional “self-reliance” is being repackaged as “sustainability”. Self-reliance sounds like “I don’t need anyone”; sustainability is about working together.
Sustaining Together
While I was living in Phoenix, my mother got me a subscription to Vermont Life. Every month included an article about a community coming together. Every month I would read the article in tears. Just writing this brings back the tears.
A family’s barn would burn down. That weekend the entire town would show up to rebuild the family’s barn. It was a party. Much like the Amish, Vermonters took care of each other. They took care of themselves.
I remember years ago reading an article about a town that created a halfway house for state prisoners. The community felt it was a good investment to support and train the men who were their soon-to-be-neighbors. My tears were flowing reading about how a local resident developed a new relationship with one of these men. The resident saw goodness in the man. He took great pride in supporting the development of that goodness.
My hope is that we can slow down enough to experience simpler pleasures. As we slow down, we utilize the resources of our past and our community to deepen our collective sustainability. Are you slowing down to sustain a deeper life? Let us know your challenges and your successes with living a sustainable lifestyle.
Where Do You Go
June 6, 2008 | 3 Comments
Escape is necessary. Modern lives demand a lot of us, sometimes 24/7. How do you escape your chaos? Do you accrue time and stress before you escape? Or do you go as needed?
Travel in the last decade has changed. Since 9/11, air travel is now a security experience. Green travel is no longer just for college students. Spas are popping up everywhere and range from your local hairdresser’s day spa to a complete resort such as Canyon Ranch. Hotel chains are falling over each other to be greener — more environmentally clean.
Our whole lifestyle is influencing how we travel. We want more than our traditional escape – we want to be renewed. Getting out of town is now a rejuvenation experience.
Tell us about your secret escapes and how you renew. Your excursion could be as simple as a nap or it could be trekking deep in the jungles of the Amazon. We want to know.
What are your Pleasures of Life?
May 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
What do you live for?
What do you think about when you go to bed? What do you dream about while you sleep? What do you lie awake thinking about? During the moments between other moments of action, what fantasies pop into your head? Are these experiences something you currently have in your life?
Sometimes in the pursuit of success, the enjoyment of life takes a backseat to the achievements of life. It’s time to surrender to the enjoyment of life in all its aspects. You don’t have to deny pleasure in the pursuit of success for success and happiness are not mutually exclusive.
Point of change
We are at a crossroads — we are being told that our future existence as we know it depends on us changing our behaviors. Our culture tells us that we must continue to grow to succeed. Our Declaration of Independence tells the world that we have a right to pursue happiness. Beyond these possibly conflicting positions is a place where the greater good for our fellow human and the planet is served as well as our needs.
New possibilities
One of our reasons for sponsoring Whole Revolution is to provide a vehicle and forum to support the changes the planet so desperately needs AND learn to enjoy the pleasures of the planet. Change that evolves from passion is much more sustainable and enjoyable than change that is forced upon on us for one reason or another.
When we slow down to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, we want to preserve them. A passion for healthy forests drives us to create better forestry practices. We shift from pushing from a place of rightness to leading from our enthusiasm. Internal or external opposing forces may then become our allies.
It is our hope at Whole Revolution that we can assist in co-creating a better life for all on the Four Worlds on the planet (plants, minerals, animals and humans) as our Native American elders refer to them. William McDonough, an internationally renowned sustainability architect, uses as his first criteria for design — “How do we love all the children of all species for all time?”
Our question to you is “How do we pursue our deep happiness while supporting the planet?” Please join us in sharing your passion of living a whole life.
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