The term 'sustainability' and all of its interdependent fields of study is a vast and often confusing matrix of information. If you enter the term into a google search you will yield millions of results and the definitions of sustainability are dependent upon which category or field is in the query (economic sustainability; environmental sustainability etc)
If a person wants to learn about 'sustainable living' they could find themselves on a site that is selling recycled toilet paper or another that is preaching global warming. Our culture tends to categorize and compartmentalize everything and this tendency reveals itself to inhibit learning in glaring ways when we approach the subject of sustainable living.
Sustainable living is a journey and transition. If one tries to buy some solar panels as proof of sustainable living then he/she may be disappointed to find that their effort and gesture fall short of the ideal that they may have envisioned.
We have found in our journey thus far that maps and information are limited because they are not expansive enough to accommodate the ever growing body of knowledge and information that surrounds the sustainability movement. Therefore we have created a 'Tree of Sustainability" with 10 main branches that can grow exponentially.
The first step - or branch - is the most obvious, but often most neglected, part of sustainable living in terms of education, resources, and new information - Sustain Yourself. This covers all areas of human survival and thrival - Heart (emotions), Body, Soul and Mind. Evolution in all these areas is required to not only sustain ourselves but to regenerate and heal.
Our own energy as biological creatures seems to be constantly tapped with stress and survival yet there are very few resources that are 'common knowledge' available to help us regenerate and refill our constantly waning supply. Our own existence seems to be trapped in the same outer world delima of demand exceeding supply so we must stop and ponder the very belief systems that have created the constant 'lack' paradigm humans exist in.
It takes a ton of energy to suppress our emotional reactions to such a constant stress and threat to our survival and therefore our emotional evolution as a species is forever thwarted in the face of the terror of death. The toll this stress takes out on our body is seen in all of the disease and on our minds in the form of mental illnesses that stem from biological deterioration. And our souls...well that is a complex and seeming irrelavent part of our beings until we are down to the wire with death.
After one has been able to focus sustainability at ground zero - the self - then all the rest of the steps unfold in a natural progression. The Path of Beauty unfolds naturally as one seeks to regenerate and heal through accessing the arts, music, literature and of course, spending time in the natural world connecting with the greater world around us. And it is in the states of inner contemplation, that is triggered by walking the Path of Beauty, that it becomes inevitable a person will begin to reflect upon one's individual and our collective past, present, and future.
This is a natural part of any healing process and the concept of 7 Generations emerges. Pass the Feather is a about what we have inherited and what legacy we shall leave behind. Passing the torch to the next generation and developing a view of the future where life exists abundantly for our great-great grandchildren from the seeds we plant today.
These first 3 branches of the Tree of Sustainability are deeply personal and each person is going to experience their own unique unfolding and awakening - it is deeply spiritual but cannot be labeled or defined with dogma or religion. From this personal discovery and process a foundation is built that allows you to tap into your own purpose and 'mission'. From there you find your right place and work within the great transition and leap we are taking as humans and creatures of our planet Earth.
The next 7 branches become evident at this point...we must seek the knowledge we need through Sustainability Education. We become aware of our Organic Earth and discover the natural abundance that is indeed our birthright. Energy - an extremely important and vital part of regeneration - becomes a field of study and discovery that opens up new potentials for accessing and utilizing the unlimited energy sources around us through human brilliance and innovation.
Our homes - Earth Shelters - get re-examined and new 'green' homes are built with a new set of priorities and standards. Our communities begin to change/transform and the emerging EcoVillage model becomes the global norm and standard of how we live bringing the best out of our past into our present to sustain the future.
We see our business and governments quickly shift with the masses as "Leaders Who Follow" emerge from our collective push to change the status quo. And at last the saying "Think Global and Act Local" manifests through the Globalocalsphere which is the hundreds of thousands local and global initiatives in alignment with our collective vision of a healthy and sustainable world.
The Tree of Sustainability embodies the context and provides a means to organize and structure all of the vast compartmentalized knowledge so that we can work together in cooperation.
We can see and understand the different parts and roles we must play to sustain life for everyone and everything in Interdependent balance.
It is a priviledge and an honor to be a part of this journey and as we awaken to the grand transition that is occuring we walk in gratitude and reverance for LIFE.