Being a human is hard.
As inspired as I am by visions of a sustainable society run on clean renewable energy, that prioritizes the equity and well-being of all, and as hopeful as I am about new innovations and methods that contribute to that vision, I’m convinced that our biggest obstacle is ourselves. We’re not going to be sustainable until we start behaving sustainably. But that’s hard. Change is hard. Being a human is hard.
But as the self-help cliche goes, the first step to change is admitting where you are. And the path to sustainability is just like any other self-improvement, be it eating well, exercising, quitting (insert vice here), etc. In fact, I’d argue that making those kinds of self-improvements will make you inherently more sustainable. How? Because to me, sustainability isn’t about just sustaining. The true goal of sustainability is flourishing. It’s finding ways to live better while recognizing and respecting that everything is connected and that your actions have an impact on the world. (In fact, I kind of hate the term “sustainability” so from here on out I’m going to refer to it as “flourishing.”)
Recognizing that our actions have far reaching consequences is scary. It can cause us to freeze up in attempt to not mess anything up, or it can cause us to choose not to care in an attempt to free up mental and emotional energy. But by doing either of these things we’re giving up our power. If the problems in the world make you feel powerless, why would you give up what little power you actually do have?
The key is finding balance. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to care about everything all of the time. You just need to figure out what you do care about, build your own flourishing, and over time figure out how to use that to cultivate flourishing in the world.
How do I know all of this? Some of it comes from good ol’ fashioned book lernin’ (I do have a master’s degree in this stuff), but a lot comes from my personal experiences trying to live a better life, and struggles I’ve faced trying to be the perfect sustainable human. I’m fed up with judgemental “more sustainable than thou” attitudes, meaningless buzzwords, and one-size-fits-all solutions that ignore the reality that change is hard
I hope by providing a positive view that change is possible, and sharing how I see the world through the lens of sustainability (sorry, flourishing), while keeping it real about my own struggles, I can maybe inspire you to find your own path to flourishing.
Flourishing 