Can Anyone Enjoy a Better life? Sustainability is the Key
T Jalinski
7/11/21
Controversial? Expensive? Or a natural function of life. Until recently, I hadn’t considered the magnitude of the idea. Trying to implement practices in an environment so influenced by marketing and profits seemed overwhelming. Many people view sustainability as environmental responsibility, but that is just one of the three aspects of the principle. The entire idea is a balance of economics, society, and the environment. How does this relate to life? The simple answer is sustainability is the same as love. Love flourishes in a place of mutual benefits. To thrive in an enjoyable relationship is a natural function of life. What motivates you? Finances? Social Justice? Conservation? Sports? Politics? The question that motivates me is why we choose the hard way to have more fulfilling lives? With a slight attitude change, our lives would be easier. Never has it been this easy to spread ideas. Media and social media have changed the way we live. Interaction is unlimited. Is it mostly chatter? A Chaotic distraction? Maybe but it also has a significant influence. Sensible communication and discourse are potent tools. Together inspired by love, sustainable living becomes attainable.
Love and the attitude that supports it are synonymous with sustainability.
This is a picture of my puppy, Oliver, and me at the La Brea tar pits. He was a kind dog, and I spent my time making choices that mutually benefited him and me. We took this trip just after he turned one, and Oliver and my wife accompanied me. Pet lovers treat their animals with the utmost respect and kindness. Sustainability replaces the pets in our lives with our earth and neighbors and financial responsibility. It would be easy to criticize our leadership, but that would contradict the subject of this paragraph. However, it is ironic that many of our politicians have taken part in the peace and love movement in the late sixties. Our personal attitude determines our opinions and has excellent potential to motivate us toward sustainability. If that isn’t enough, the savings because of personal sustainability should be. As caring citizens, we have the power to improve the exploitation of our planet.
This is not directly about global warming. It’s about reducing personal effects while enjoying the benefits. It’s also about reframing ideas about what sustainability is. Awareness is our most effective tool for the desired improvement. Let’s use the happy meal as an example. They made it from heavily subsidized food sourced from feedlots that pollute and exploit the environment. It comes with a plastic toy usually discarded with the bag they delivered it in. Except for the toy, this describes most of the food choices at the most popular restaurant chain in the world. Why do we choose McDonald’s? Because we know what to expect, and our perception is, it’s cheap and convenient. The car we drive-thru in also is unsustainable in the current system. If we loved ourselves, we would mainly approach this decision differently. Ignoring our better judgment negatively affects us. The suggestion that these choices are okay is affecting our children for a lifetime. That is the answer to whatever happened to this generation. Changing our attitude from the “what can you do about it” idea to the “I can do something about it” concept not only improves our lives, it suggests to everyone that it is possible. We can only achieve balance in the frame of love. Concern for others is the awareness that needs to be fostered.
Before my grandchildren were born, I explained to my sons that their children would learn something from every single action they witness. The answer to the question “What happened to the kids? “Is what we are seeing is a collective breakdown of the loving attitude in the family environment. The erosion has been happening for generations. Just like global warming is a cancer of living in an environment that makes it easy to overlook small principles until they cannot exist.
It is slowly eroding our collective fundamentals that support the love. Injection of greed motivated capitalism, and distraction adds fuel to the fire. The relationship between work and family causes many challenges, but if framed in love, the priorities are apparent. Because you work for your and other’s benefit, a happy you is what makes that sustainable.
Who is the benefactor of a loving attitude? Everyone is the answer. Respect, discipline, empathy, understanding, and awareness are all fundamentals of a caring environment. The essential fundamentals are necessary to foster community cooperation and respect to advance sustainable programs. I’m not afraid of global warming or running out of fuel, as these problems are beyond my control. I want to flourish while I’m alive and encourage those around me to do the same. Oh! And balance my budget. Sustainable action has saved my family and company thousands of dollars a month. Having heard the saying “work smarter, not harder” has come to fruition in my personal journey. I realize my actions set examples for others and have sparked discussion about sustainability.