Abundance does not = Consumption
This is an amazing place, planet earth. Beauty and inspiration are everywhere we choose to see them. Science reminds us that the universe is infinite, and our worries about running out of energy seem ridiculous when we remember that the sun rises every morning without fail, and the waves and winds will continue to move as long as the planet continues to spin. There is far more potential energy roaming our planet than we can ever use – and far more than our finite fuels could ever generate.
We do not have a resource problem. We have an imagination problem. Our potential is huge, and our assets are great. When we allow ourselves to take a relaxed breath and change our perspective, shifting our awareness away from a prescribed path and imagining what is possible, we can easily understand that a much greater experience is available. Renewable resources are everywhere if we pay attention and think creatively. The earth is offering us unlimited supply.
Despite this generous offering, we cling to a model of scarcity which breeds greed and other demonstrations of fearful living. Our addiction to consumption is a testament to our fear of lack. We buy things we don’t need and complain about overstuffed garages or pants that are too tight. Our grocery and department store bags have become replacements for the security blankets we imagine we have outgrown.
This consumption is killing us. In an ironic equation, we really do have more than enough, but our fear of not having enough has created consumption patterns that are quickly leading to circumstances we will not survive. We’ve been blind to the larger costs and have become addicted to a way of being in the world that is thoroughly unsustainable. Although our greater resources are infinite, the global human economy has become addicted to non-renewable resources.
We live in a world of cyclical processes, yet we have entrenched ourselves in a network of linear systems. In other words, we take but do not replenish. We break nearly every nutrient and resource cycle we touch, and many people still believe that we can continue to take without consequence. We withdraw resources from the earth and redeposit them either in compounds that cannot be broken down or sterilize them so that they are no longer beneficial. As William McDonough has said, “we (are) operating as if Nature was the Great Mother who never has any problems, is always there for her children, and requires no love in return.”
We must write ourselves back into a sustainable equation, transitioning from a competition-centric model to one that is creativity-centric. Everyone knows something they can do to reduce the problem (stop buying plastics, use less fuel, buy things that will last a lifetime, give experiences rather than things, buy local and organic, grow a few vegetables, get involved with local community organizations, walk more, etc), but we’re at a point now where we need to take much bigger steps. We must work together as creative allies. Our ideas will be transformational when we come to the table with an open mind and respect the power of tapping into something bigger than our individual selves.
This is an infinite universe, and we already have everything we need. We ARE the renewable energy. Now is the time to think openly
and creatively about a new relationship with the planet – one in which we are living with the world rather than from it, giving back to our ecosystems more than we take.
This is an amazing place, planet earth. Beauty and inspiration are everywhere we choose to see them. Science reminds us that the universe is infinite, and our worries about running out of energy seem ridiculous when we remember that the sun rises every morning without fail, and the waves and winds will continue to move as long as the planet continues to spin. There is far more potential energy roaming our planet than we can ever use – and far more than our finite fuels could ever generate.
We do not have a resource problem. We have an imagination problem. Our potential is huge, and our assets are great. When we allow ourselves to take a relaxed breath and change our perspective, shifting our awareness away from a prescribed path and imagining what is possible, we can easily understand that a much greater experience is available. Renewable resources are everywhere if we pay attention and think creatively. The earth is offering us unlimited supply.
Despite this generous offering, we cling to a model of scarcity which breeds greed and other demonstrations of fearful living. Our addiction to consumption is a testament to our fear of lack. We buy things we don’t need and complain about overstuffed garages or pants that are too tight. Our grocery and department store bags have become replacements for the security blankets we imagine we have outgrown.
This consumption is killing us. In an ironic equation, we really do have more than enough, but our fear of not having enough has created consumption patterns that are quickly leading to circumstances we will not survive. We’ve been blind to the larger costs and have become addicted to a way of being in the world that is thoroughly unsustainable. Although our greater resources are infinite, the global human economy has become addicted to non-renewable resources.
We live in a world of cyclical processes, yet we have entrenched ourselves in a network of linear systems. In other words, we take but do not replenish. We break nearly every nutrient and resource cycle we touch, and many people still believe that we can continue to take without consequence. We withdraw resources from the earth and redeposit them either in compounds that cannot be broken down or sterilize them so that they are no longer beneficial. As William McDonough has said, “we (are) operating as if Nature was the Great Mother who never has any problems, is always there for her children, and requires no love in return.”
We must write ourselves back into a sustainable equation, transitioning from a competition-centric model to one that is creativity-centric. Everyone knows something they can do to reduce the problem (stop buying plastics, use less fuel, buy things that will last a lifetime, give experiences rather than things, buy local and organic, grow a few vegetables, get involved with local community organizations, walk more, etc), but we’re at a point now where we need to take much bigger steps. We must work together as creative allies. Our ideas will be transformational when we come to the table with an open mind and respect the power of tapping into something bigger than our individual selves.
This is an infinite universe, and we already have everything we need. We ARE the renewable energy. Now is the time to think openly
and creatively about a new relationship with the planet – one in which we are living with the world rather than from it, giving back to our ecosystems more than we take.