Another Path to the Future
Introduction by Mike Nickerson. Mr. Nickerson is an author, self-employed sustainability educator and former co-director of the Institute for the Study of Cultural Evolution.
The things we do with life — learning, love and laughter, appreciation, sport, music, and the like — require only our attention. They are fun and they are uplifting. They increase our satisfaction, our spirits, and our health. And they leave few marks on the Earth.
In the video at —see link below— Mike Nickerson presents biological partnerships and economic alternatives that offer a fresh approach to living. Mike tells stories about different styles of mutual provision (economic systems), about perpetual biological cycles and about what it means to be a good person. Mike offers a portal through which to glimpse a sense of something else — a direction in which to aspire.
Today, we are deeply immersed in stories about earning and spending as much as possible and it is hard to see past the vast array of industrial products and images that enchant our consciousness. As the world prepares for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), most of the possibilities being discussed are technical adaptations aimed at continuing the system that brought us to our present crisis, including the continued use of vast quantities of energy.
While governments have a role to bring legal structures into balance with the limitations of the Earth, individuals need a sense of direction in which to move when circumstances of climate, conflict and inequality get us down.
In a sustainable world good people live lightly and gather as much fulfillment as they can from living. They manage the Earth in the interest of future generations.
To this end, consider “More Fun, Less Stuff”.
It may be a long time before the main stream promotes anything besides a re-tooled convention. It is up to us to grasp and share the possibilities of a truly sustainable future.
Let’s go for it!