I was recently invited to speak to a sustainability class at the UW La-Crosse. It is the end of the semester and the professor wanted to motivate them to act and to not see sustainable choices as sacrifice. I agreed, but first I had to wrap my head around the idea that I was sacrificing something. I looked closely at my choices to live on a community-sustained farm and to move towards energy independence. While the choices are not the norm, I could see no sacrifice. As my Mother once observed and said to me, “You know where your food comes from, you know where your water comes from and you are surrounded by loving people, there is nothing bad in that.”
I began the class by asking each student to tell me their name and what was their take away. They are majors in environmental studies and I was impressed by their understanding and conviction towards fostering change. However, one theme that stood out was the sense of difficulty that lies ahead in moving our society to one that is sustainable.
Here is where my homework paid off. I reminded them that the word sacrifice comes from the word sacred and therein is the key. The greatest sacrifice is not following your heart. The heaviest burden is to live in compromise.
When we move towards a more sustainable life, we are moving towards something, not away from something. It is a massively creative act and definitely a challenging one. As we move towards that which we love, life simplifies and appreciation grows.
When you wash your hands, to wash off dirt, you don’t wash off skin. You need that skin. In the same way as you walk the path of sustainable living, you discard what you can as you can.
Seek knowledge. Observation of life is the greatest teacher. When we come to understand that our lifestyle choices are harming the water, the air, and the food we consume, we will choose a different way. When we realize the privileged life we lead has been on the backs of human beings and at the cost of our precious environment, we will find new ways to proceed.
Living sustainably is not a sacrifice; it is about falling in love again.
let kindness win 