Is your only outdoor activity a dash from the shopping mall to your car? When was the last time your kids let go of their tech toys long enough to enjoy playing in the great outdoors?
Consumption addiction and the siren call of technology have not only disconnected us from Nature, but have had devastating effects on the planet’s life support systems. Our modern lifestyle so hypnotizes us that we don’t realize the way we live is damaging the Earth. How can we awaken from the destructive trance of modern living and all it entails? This is a question that needs to be carefully considered and answered.
It is essential that we find a simpler way to live on the earth. We need to rethink what constitutes the good life. It is necessary that we take the time to do some really deep and totally out of the box thinking about how to live on the Earth without destroying it. Ted Trainer, Samuel Alexander and Cicely Andrews are three individuals who can help jump start our efforts to change our lifestyles.
Ted Trainer, author of The Transition to a Sustainable and Just World, has developed an international following for his writings on simple living. He believes that we need not fight against consumer-capitalist society, but build an alternative to it. He says,
… reforms to consumer-capitalist society cannot achieve a sustainable and just society. Nothing of lasting significance will be achieved unless it is clearly understood that our efforts in these local initiatives are the first steps to the eventual replacement of the present society by one which is not driven by market forces, profit, competition, growth or affluence.
Dr. Samuel Alexander, lecturer at the Office for Environmental Programs, University of Melbourne, Australia, and editor of Voluntary Simplicity: The Poetic Alternative to Consumer Culture, maintains a web site which is a comprehensive source of information.
Another inspiring source for simple living is Cecile Andrews, a former community college administrator. Cecile is active in the Seattle Area Happiness Initiative and the Transition Town movement. She is the author of several books on simple living, including The Circle of Simplicity, Less is More and Slow is Beautiful.
Sometimes it seems that it would take a heroic effort to change the way we live, but it’s an effort we need to make. Transition Town Media’s Heart and Soul Group members are taking on the challenge and starting the conversation.
Here’s hoping that you will be a hero and not only start the conversation in your town, but keep it going. You may find that there are others who would welcome the discussion.
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