Sustainable attitute

During the last class when we were talking about the 4 sections of BC Healthy Communities view of a community as well as spiral dynamics, it struck me that the left sided, inner self attitudes determine what the right side, organizational decisions are. It doesnt matter how many rules and regulations we impose on north americans, there has to be a wholesale change in attitudes before we can, as a whole, move into the integration and holistinc MEMES.

Yesterday I was reading my favortie book, Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader, and I read a story about Hal Taussig. He owns a successful tourism company called Untours and potentially is very wealthy. BUT, he has chosen to live a very modest life. He donates all the profits from his company, save enough to pay his modest bills, and take care of his ailing wife. He doest own a car and bikes to work, even at the age of 81. His money all goes to aiding the poor to get out of poverty.
"If capitalism is good, it should be good for the poor," Taussig declares. "I invest in entrepreneurial efforts to help poor people leverage themselves out of poverty."
In my opnion our (western culture) idea of what we 'need' to live is extremely warped, when all we need is food, water, shelter and clothing. Unfotunatly, people like Hal are quite rare. Hopefully his story has and will continue to affect peoples attitudes. If everyone thought the way he does, the world would easily maintain sustainability.

Newf

Let your capital be simplicity and contentment," Henry David Thoreau

Social Capital

In class today we talked about social capital, and like all scholarly derived concepts, there are a million convoluted definitions available for you to try and decipher. I came about a very simple and concise definition by Timothy Smith and Michael Doherty from Australia, they define social capital as:
" the networks and connections between people that contribute to social cohesion"
Things like community groups, church, sports teams, family groups, social clubs ect.. are all things that increase social capital. Each person has a different amount of social capital and everyone values and enjoys different things. My personal social capital is found in things like my church, people who i share common interests like music and sports, my family, connecting with nature and my classmates. At this point in my life I don't feel like I am gaining any social capital because of all the moving i have been doing. Being a student, particularly in an intense course, does not allow me to explore new and exciting things in my community. Being aware of this concept will help to me ensure that I am purposely seeking to increase my social capital in my community.

Temporary Communities

I have been an on-again off-again student for more about 8 years. I have lived in 9 different houses/apartments in 5 different cities. Each time I settled in a different place I knew it would be a temporary situation. The life of a post-secondary student is unique and is what I call 'life in a bubble'. Because I know, on my backburner, that I will move on from the place I am living in, my desire to deeply connect to my community is minimal. In fact, I generally benefit from where I live without really giving back. I have this ideal idea in my head about the community that I will put down roots and invest in. I see growing my family and raising my kids in a small community where all its members interact and help each other out. I believe it takes a commitment by people in a community to truly make it last. Sustainability is only accomplished when long term goals are incorporated. I dont feel cononected to my current community in which I live, and the main reason is that I am not commited to being a part of it or making it better. At its roots this attitude is selfish. I dont want to invest in a place where I wont remain to see the benifits. I try not to live by this attitude, but I find, deep down, that it shapes my decisions.
When I make the final move (hopefully) and settle into my new home in Ontario, I plan to invest in my community. How this will happen is still unclear, but I know that because I plan to be there for a long time, that it will help my commitment to make my surrounding environement better. The community living survey that I completed for the CRC (http://www.survey.crcresearch.org/index.php?sid=6)
showed me that contributing to welcoming and safety in a community are ways that I can help.

Newfs Sustainability Blog

Hey Everyone,

This blog is a place where I will be sharing some thoughts on my community and what sustainability means to me.