The
extreme focus on materialism is disastrously affecting the
environment and biodiversity. Still, it is also affecting our communities
with lower levels of trust and a general lack of concern of the
well-being of others. Something seems rotten at the core. At both the collective and personal levels, our values are maligned with a
sustainable future. Greed, conquest, acquisition, power, control are
not only prevalent values but are also rewarded and valued
throughout Western society. These values are reinforced through the
media and pop culture with programming that essentially tells us we
aren’t good enough, leading to an epidemic of apathy, despair, and
depression. This hardened world compels many us to erect walls and
barriers to protect our hurt feelings, most of us at a subconscious
level.
When 7 billion people are encouraged to take and consume
as much as possible (it’s good for the economy, after all) rather than
just what one needs, it leads to
infinite material demands. When the planet is finite, we have a problem.
Suppose we are serious about creating a sustainable society. In that case, we must ask, “what are the sustainable values that form the foundation
of a society that can sustain itself over millions of years?” It
obviously cannot be a society that predicates well-being on exponential
growth of the economy, natural resource use, and pollution. So just what
are sustainable values?
This pillar explores the concept of
sustainable values – values such as empathy, compassion, kindness,
trust, integrity, transparency, love, gifting, honesty. The one thing
sustainable values share in common is their abundance. To be greedy and
self-interested generates a mentality of scarcity. It turns everything
into a zero sum game. More for you is less for me. But sustainable
values are different. If I offer love, it grows. When I empathize with
another and they feel the courage to reciprocate, both are better off.
Sustainable values embrace Nature’s natural tendency towards abundance.
Inside each of our hearts, there is a knowing of a world the way it is
supposed to be. Can we develop the courage, personally and collectively,
to dare to live according to the values we know to be true?
The
extreme focus on materialism is disastrously affecting the
environment and biodiversity. Still, it is also affecting our communities
with lower levels of trust and a general lack of concern of the
well-being of others. Something seems rotten at the core. At both the collective and personal levels, our values are maligned with a
sustainable future. Greed, conquest, acquisition, power, control are
not only prevalent values but are also rewarded and valued
throughout Western society. These values are reinforced through the
media and pop culture with programming that essentially tells us we
aren’t good enough, leading to an epidemic of apathy, despair, and
depression. This hardened world compels many us to erect walls and
barriers to protect our hurt feelings, most of us at a subconscious
level.
When 7 billion people are encouraged to take and consume
as much as possible (it’s good for the economy, after all) rather than
just what one needs, it leads to
infinite material demands. When the planet is finite, we have a problem.
Suppose we are serious about creating a sustainable society. In that case, we must ask, “what are the sustainable values that form the foundation
of a society that can sustain itself over millions of years?” It
obviously cannot be a society that predicates well-being on exponential
growth of the economy, natural resource use, and pollution. So just what
are sustainable values?
This pillar explores the concept of
sustainable values – values such as empathy, compassion, kindness,
trust, integrity, transparency, love, gifting, honesty. The one thing
sustainable values share in common is their abundance. To be greedy and
self-interested generates a mentality of scarcity. It turns everything
into a zero sum game. More for you is less for me. But sustainable
values are different. If I offer love, it grows. When I empathize with
another and they feel the courage to reciprocate, both are better off.
Sustainable values embrace Nature’s natural tendency towards abundance.
Inside each of our hearts, there is a knowing of a world the way it is
supposed to be. Can we develop the courage, personally and collectively,
to dare to live according to the values we know to be true?
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