Sustainability (noun)

The principle of meeting our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. The practice of humans (re)integrating our way of life into a functioning component of a healthy ecosystem.

The reality is sustainability is a big concept with critical importance and I’m saying that to say:

1) Even though the what we may be working on together are smaller projects and initiatives with the goal of making shifts in our own lives and communities and creating spaces and understandings that allow those shifts to happen, I believe it’s important that through all of this work what is really happening is folks are developing their own sustainability lens. A lens by which to filter the world around them and their own actions to drive actionable changes with more ease and less effort going into the future, and to have the confidence to do that.

The development of this lens requires us to really also look at and gain an understanding sustainability within the big picture- and to be able to hold the reality of the big picture without falling apart into overwhelm. It feels big as first but wow does it make all the little thoughts and decisions much easier for folks to process on their own to become confident in their abilities.

2) It’s not just a buzz word. I tell my students and clients- really sustainability is a value that you’re simply learning to cultivate and honor in all of one’s actions. I’m a values-based person and practitioner- sustainability is one of my highest values, if maybe not the highest, in my life. It is an ethos and my mission behind my services I offer. It’s not just a cute buzzword for marketing, it’s the belief that sets the goals and motivations and probably the reason why you are here reading this!

So, I’d love to take a moment to unpack the big picture a bit here so we have a shared context as you enter into work with me. This will by no means be a complete unpacking of the concept but if you’re here, curious or ready and excited to improve your own sustainable ways of life in your homes and gardens, I think it can be helpful to give a bit of context to this concept and why I think this work is so important for all of us.

The reality is the concept of ‘sustainability’ exists because human societies in the global north (defined as countries with high economic- and therefore consumer- and political power) are living so far outside any naturally functional ecosystem that they are destroying the ability of not only future generations- but also existing generations in many parts of the world- to be able to meet their needs. We are not being good neighbors or community members or citizens- however you like to think of that. The reality is- our systems decided that earth’s resources can be treated as if they’re infinite and they exist to serve us…but they are finite, and this is an absolute parameter.

Humans lived for generations understanding they were part of the ecosystem- they understood that Earth gave them what they needed to survive and that they had a responsibility for caring for the Earth so it could in fact continue to provide these things. Care went both ways. In our societies in the last 100 years in the global north, our systems shifted to us using more than our fair share, to taking without giving or without any thought for whether there’s enough or to where it’s even coming from. From sourcing raw materials and the places we take things from to the manufacturing of products; to packaging and shipping; to the impacts these processes have on the surrounding environment, and to the labor of people that is used from start to finish in any of these processes- this is all part of the disconnect of care. We became disconnected and distracted away from our inherent sense of balance needed for life. When it comes down to it, this concept is complex and inextricably intertwined with and requires the examining of colonialism and capitalism and late stage capitalism we find ourselves in, as well as all manner of sociological concepts, wealth and class issues, indigeneity and land rematriation. It’s funny that it’s a ‘new’ concept- because really all it asks of us is to remember what once was before this disconnect. And plenty of communities- Indigenous Peoples in particular and people of the global south- already live within these principles. Yet, they are paying/have paid the heaviest price for the imbalance driven by the global north.

For those of us who grew up and/or currently live within the way of life you were taught in the global north, we hold the greatest responsibility to begin reigning our ways of life back into balance and to reconnect to what a healthy, global, functional ecosystem is. We hold a ton of personal and collective power to be able to reduce harm and actually have beneficial impacts. By developing practices of intentionality, being conscious about our actions and staying curious to find better ways, and embracing our agency to make positive changes and shift our cultural footprints, citizens of the global north can have major impacts locally and globally.

I don’t sugar coat or bypass the reality of our current environmental crisis in my work. We’re making things more beautiful, more balanced, healthier; we’re reducing harm and hopefully improving conditions and- rebuilding that fundamental human connection to nature and the land. And to do that we have to recognize the bigger picture about why it is important that we make these changes.

There are big problems to be solved- giant corporations and companies to be stopped and major policy changes to enact. I know those facts and that bigness are often used in rationale to tell people that their own actions are too small and don’t really make a difference and that it’s unfair to ask us as individuals to make changes and sacrifices in the face of this- but I think this is where the importance of two things being true at once becomes apparent. This rationale excuses the massive power and influence of collectivism and where that starts from. I believe that for most people who want to help and see a sustainable world come about, their journeys as individuals start in our smaller spheres of influence: in our own habitats- our homes, gardens, and lands we live on- and in households, communities, heads and hearts.

My goal and belief is that when individuals embrace their individual power to enact positive change, they become much better equipped and quicker to recognize how they can combine their power into a collective one. Particularly as for many in the global north, this work includes relearning how to embrace and participate the joy of being part of something greater than themselves, of being in the collective.

The systems we live within, while they do control many aspects of our lives, are also dependent on us. When we shift our culture, values, and way of life, we send a big message and begin to force power players in these systems to make shifts should they continue to want your dollars, attention, and time. You hold a lot of power. We, together, hold a lot of cards.

My main goal in helping people develop their deeper understanding of sustainability and in designing their lives and spaces to intentionally be able to uphold this value is to empower us to demand a more sustainable world from the bottom up- out of care for ourselves, our future generations, and all other fellow humans around the globe.