“Sustainability” May Not Resonate With You, But How About These? – The Values I Associate With Sustainability
Today I found myself thinking a lot about the values that are embodied in sustainability. I think the definition of “sustainable” varies from person to person, and to some people, believing in sustainability means being naive or unrealistically optimistic – that we humans could never get to a world that is just, because we’re just too corrupted and selfish. But I think the values that come with sustainability resonate with anyone, so I started to make a list of values that I personally associate with sustainability.
I figured as long as I’m making a list, I might as well write them here, and see what you all think! So here are the ones I came up with (not an exhaustive list…Just the ones that came to mind to me today):
- Stewardship – we care for those around us, as well as the earth we live on.
- Interconnectedness – we recognize that we are connected to everything else and that our actions have effects on others’ lives, human and non-human
- Community – we foster connection and cooperation for the well-being of all
- Equity – we want everyone to have fair access to resources
- Justice – we advocate for those who have been marginalized
- Mindfulness – we are aware and intentional about our resource use
- Respect – we respect others, human and nonhuman, and treat them as we want to be treated
- Gratitude – we are thankful for what we have
I think that these are values that everyone, no matter what religion or what part of the political spectrum you fall on, should resonate with.
So even if “sustainability” isn’t your thing…I hope that you put some thought to the values I listed above and think about whether they resonate with you or not, and why (or why not). If not, I’d love to hear more! Please reach out to me because I’d love to have more of these kinds of discussions.
There is no way that I’ve listed all the values that could be associated with sustainability. What am I missing? I would love to hear any values that you think apply to sustainability that I haven’t listed here! I’m hoping to be surprised by some of your answers, so comment them down below!
