Every day there are many of us that inflict damage upon this world with our highly consumerist lifestyles.
My parents blew their money and their credit scores before I was even born. When they began to think about the consequences of their financial decisions, it was too late. As a result, they resolved to raise frugal, financially responsible children. “Live within your means,” was one of their top five phrases of parental advice, along with “Marry rich the first time around” and “Always check your receipt before you leave the parking lot.” (See a pattern?) “Live below your means” was employed when times were tougher or when my siblings and I perched hopefully on a stationary 25-cent ride outside of K-Mart. Living below their means was their way of remedying the damage that had already been done. However, what if we instead understand “means” as all resources available to us?
By “means,” my parents are talking about income, monetary resources. I’ve got that down (except maybe for the money going to my private, liberal arts education). I want to know what it would look like if we lived within all of our means. The earth, the waters, air. Electricity, fossil fuels. Paper, plastic, metals. Textiles, animals, food plants. These resources are not unlimited, and when we use more than the earth can provide and more than we need, we exploit the creation within which we live and further marginalize the people who manipulate and produce the resources to cater to our indulgent lives.
So, how does one practice life within the means of the world? Perhaps, considering our current state of environmental, fiscal, and social crises, we should be living below our means for a while. Sometimes I think that the only way to do this is get rid of all I have and run away into the woods like a wild animal. As tempting as that can be, I only know one or two people who might be ready and determined enough to make such a drastic change in their lifestyles. I do not happen to be one of them.
I agree with the wise Disney character, who once sang, “We are all connected to each other in a circle that never ends.” As long as you live, you cannot escape other life. Our actions, my actions, your actions, have an impact. Our choices make this world what it is. My parents’ decisions not only affected who I turned out to be, but also the economies, communities, and ecosystems of which they were a part. So do yours. Most often, our decisions will affect those who are poor and marginalized around the globe.
Except for the few who will leave civilization completely behind in pursuit of communion with the earth, every person will always be able to do something more to live sustainably. In a way, this idea beautifully clarifies the connectedness of all things by defining the role that humans must play at this point in our history. Our role is to act on our awareness of the state of the world’s resources. Our role is to attempt positive change, taking one step at a time toward harmony. The beauty of this lies in our human capacity to persist in the convictions that proceed from genuine reflection.
In The Long-Legged House, Wendell Berry writes, “We have lived our lives by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption, that what is good for the world will be good for us.” That is a call for radical change. Radical change exists on a continuum that ranges from extreme to reasonable. Change like this can happen one step at a time. Richard Meyer said, “We’ve got to be willing to put in sustained time and energy to create change, and we’ve got to remember that things move at a pace that may feel too slow. If we do nothing, the pace will be nonexistent.” Although he was talking about the educational system, I think this philosophy can be applied to all areas that warrant change. To begin acting on this, the question we must every day be asking ourselves is: How can I live in deeper peace with the world to which I am so closely connected, the world that supports me?
I wish my parents had considered their financial future (me) before it was too late. When I consider the way I live and consume, I will remember those who come after me. But more than that, I want to live in this moment peacefully and in harmony with the world, including the people and resources in it.