Our beloved, beleaguered home planet needs humans who are either smarter or dumber. We’re bumbling somewhere in between, peering at the primordial birth of the universe with ingenious telescopes yet failing to take care of our homes, forests, and fellow species.
Throughout history, eras have come and gone, and ours, clearly, is on the way out. The good news? It will be more satisfying to create a new way of life than suffer the continuing decline of an obsolete one. I propose that as a species we embrace the inevitable: since exponential growth is not possible on a finite planet, let’s meet essential needs directly by restoring nature and enriching global cultures; converting shame and confusion into pride and clarity. This will be a return to who we are in our guts, psyches, hearts and hands. We’re adventurers and risk takers, not meek, obedient consumers. We’re story-tellers, yet look at the shameful story we are telling, of a dystopia in which industrialism devours the planet while we watch. Since the story line foolishly places the natural world inside the economy, apocalypse begins to feel unavoidable. To save the biological niche we share with other species, we first need a healthier vision, not about deadlines and dying species, but lifelines and living wealth.
Are we equipped to make changes this sweeping? Of course. Across all continents and throughout all of history, we’ve shared the same aspirations: Safe places to live, where we have solid connections with people we trust. Less anxiety and more laughter. An abundance of leisure time to be creative. A sense of meaning, and compassion. We all just want to feel alive!
By working on our shared, nature-centered mission we’ll develop brilliant ways of farming, producing power, and sheltering, wisely emulating the strategies of other species. (How exactly does the bee produce honey without harming the flower?) But our first priority is to define the mission, with inspired input from citizens, scientists, and spiritual leaders.
We need to dethrone and discard destructive assumptions and addictions that favor some but crush others. A three-step recovery program can make change feel achievable: 1. Acknowledge that we truly face an urgent, existential crisis; 2. Silence weapons of mass distraction and work together, nothing left to lose; 3. Spontaneously change our collective identity, our way of being, which can happen almost overnight, as did our entry into WWII. New ways of rewarding useful work will redefine the very meaning of “success.” We’ll turn our backs on the cheaters, once again conferring status for generosity, service, and courage rather than money and power. Individually, we’ll create our lives rather than passively letting them be created. Collectively, we’ll guide our inventions ethically, rather than following lifeless footsteps. With an unstoppable civic momentum as at Normandy Beach we’ll strategically calm an industrial metabolism that has scrambled the planetary flows and natural cycles that enable life on Earth.
There are many examples of cultures that have gone down this last-chance trail. Take the Japanese Tokugawa period (17th-19th centuries), when resources like wood, clean water, and various minerals were in short supply. The shogun rulers acknowledged that their nation was in crisis and, because of resource constraints, the Japanese culture adapted a new ethic of moderation, respect, and efficiency. An attachment to material things was seen as demeaning, while the advancement of crafts, rituals, and knowledge were lauded. Strict policies for reforesting and protecting water supplies were established. Improvements in social infrastructure yielded truth-based education and nature-based healthcare. Rituals and disciplines like fencing, martial arts, literature, and the tea ceremony were elevated as a new form of wealth – one which didn’t rely on the markets. This enriched culture agreed that it wasn’t large, hard-to-maintain houses they wanted, but large lives rich in discretionary time. Simply put, they changed their identity. In fact, the Japanese retain cultural wisdom born in that era. The practice of mottainai expresses disdain for anything wasted, while bonsai is an expression of respect for the beauty of nature.
Western cultures can easily follow a similar path. More than a third of the American population can be labelled “cultural creatives” who value the luxuries of time, nature and relationships more than monetary symbols of success. If we follow their grounded lead we’ll stop producing more than we need to be happy. “Compare and despair” will be socially banished while cooperation, empathy, and ecological design become defining characteristics of a newborn civilization.
Think of a backpacker on a forest trail alive with bird calls and a thundering waterfall. She doesn’t want excess junk in her backpack, just well designed, lightweight items like binoculars, flute, and cook stove. The value and wealth she seeks is in the experience itself. She’s not doing without, but deliberatively doing within. If we simply change the symbols of our lives this ageless way of being will deliver a sense of wonder, a gladness to be alive, as if life itself was a mind-opening, spirit-lifting hike in the mountains.
David Wann has authored or coauthored ten books about sustainable designs and lifestyles including the industry best-seller Affluenza, and has produced five award-winning documentaries on similar themes. He is a founder of a Cohousing neighborhood where he’s lived for 26 years, growing organic produce for 27 households.
