Future Tense
Sustainable lifestyles — what will last and what won't.
When you think about "the future," what comes to mind? Having a family? Global economic collapse? Building a home? A permanent "war on terror"? The next paycheck?
Or, maybe, you avoid looking ahead because it's all so damn iffy these days. When I think about the future, I wonder what will happen here in our corner of the world if "something" happens and trucks can't bring in our worldly supplies and necessities. What the hell am I going to do when I can't get my daily dose of British tea?
Flippancy aside, if you keep an eye on the news, you know that this past summer we were shown clear examples of how the infrastructure of our cities is collapsing. The bees are disappearing, as are several marine species, and of course we all know by now that the Arctic ice is melting. Unfortunately, we no longer have the option of saying, "Well, it hasn't happened here yet so I can ignore example x, y and z."
It seems obvious that if we don't make radical changes in our approach to life, then the planet may decide to do without us. Do we want to ignore what's in front of our faces because we feel powerless to change or solve the increasingly critical problems? Feeling powerless is a copout.
These times are screaming at us to change our consciousness if we want to have a future. Without a shift from individual to community consciousness, a sustainable future is impossible. From "I" to "we." From "me" to "us."
Obviously, throughout history, people have come together in groups to accomplish the task at hand. Even when the Land of Enchantment was the wild, wild West, where rugged individualism was god, people always helped each other out in times of need. The Mormons are a great example of an intentional community — a belief system combined with a structure and an intention — that has sustained itself through collapsing economies, droughts, wars and internal disagreement.
The shift in consciousness called for these days means moving from hierarchical systems (one boss, many peons) to a more hetaerarchical system (where leadership can be rotated based on expertise and need.) Instead of pulling the wagons in a circle to protect us from the danger "out there," we will seek to find common solutions with our so-called enemies. Can you imagine how the world would be different today if the first whites had approached the invasion of America in that way?
Today, we may still be in the "wild West," but it's not 1880 and it's gone way beyond individuals claiming and defending their own resources. Rather, a sustainable future will be based on the "community homestead."
Wikipedia defines "sustainability" as: "Humanity's investment in a system of living, projected to be viable on an ongoing basis that provides quality of life for all individuals of sentient species and conserves natural ecosystems."
Creating a sustainable future is about ensuring that our children and their children have an Earth to inherit. And that they will never have to be pawns in someone else's war.
Is an endless war in Iraq sustainable? Is the current health-care system sustainable? Were subprime mortgages sustainable?
The shift in consciousness needed for a sustainable future means a move away from "seeking the highest profit margin" to "seeking the doable and workable."
I believe we are being held in check by our fears and doubts — conveniently spoonfed to us by corporate interests. Since the democracy we live in is not likely to relinquish the concept of "profit first and foremost," particularly with the current marriage of business and politics, it will be up to individuals and their local communities to ensure that their quality of life remains intact. . . into the future.
A sustainable future means living and working FOR each other, rather than in competition with each other. It has to start locally and not be dictated to us from somewhere "out there." Indeed, dealing with local issues is one of the best ways to resolve that feeling of powerlessness.
A sustainable future might require giving up our cynicism, arrogance or "poor me" attitudes. It might require finding the hope, innocence and peace that sit deep inside our beings.
It will definitely mean sharing resources. Wouldn't we reduce the overall carbon footprint (plus the high individual expense) if we SHARED washing machines, stoves, cars and trucks, even gardens? It will mean tending the land around us as if it were as important to us as breathing. It has become obvious that permaculture application is the only sustainable answer for the desert Southwest ecosystems.
Sustainability DOESN'T mean we have to all believe the same thing, think the same way, be vegetarian, share toilet paper, or drive hybrid cars. It doesn't mean losing your individuality; it means sharing it.
What I see around me is numbness and fatigue: people going around in circles trying their damnedest to simply survive from paycheck to paycheck. I also see an overall sense of confusion as to how the hell the American Dream got so messed up, and what the future holds for said Dream.
Are you ready to build another Dream? One that is sustainable for the next few hundred years?
If you have been thinking about your future plans, please consider attending a forum organized by Hi-Desert Sustainable Living on "Ecovillages, Cohousing & Other Community Living Options." The first one will have passed by the time you read this, but on Wednesday, Oct. 17, Liz Walker, co-founder and executive director of EcoVillage at Ithaca (EVI), will be speaking at the Silco Theatre in Silver City. She is also a co-founder of Gaia Education, which has developed curriculum on creating sustainable communities that has been endorsed by the United Nations in its Decade for Education on Sustainable Development. She travels internationally to bring her expertise to communities like ours, and I hope you will pass the word.
The future IS ours to create.
Siri Dharma lives in Grant County and loves it.