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Well, to be blunt, I haven’t yet fulfilled a promise I made myself in Prangli, but something else has happened.
After a really amazing and memorable week in Prangli, I felt like my first step should be to connect myself with nature a bit more. I think of myself as a city boy, I find nature quite boring to be fair, because nothing is really going on in there, but at our project, I really felt that spending some more time in nature would be something that’s missing from my life and something that would help myself to live a more sustainable life personally, and also when it comes to the world around us. Prangli gave me the chance to discover this part of me that actually enjoyed nature. It turned out the first step I planned was a bit too much for me in my current life. It seemed so easy - just go outside to the countryside and plan some activities with your friends in nature or so. But as we discovered in the project, sustainability is a holistic way and mentality of approaching your life. And after the project I understand it maybe better than ever. In the last two months after the project, my life’s been extremely busy and draining, which hasn’t really allowed me to focus on the steps I want to do in my life. That had to change because for me, we have to look at our life as a whole. I wanted to spend more time in nature, but it has been almost impossible to do if I didn’t make any other changes in my life. You cannot really build a house without clearing the building site first. So my first step towards a sustainable lifestyle has been to make some more time for myself. The life I was living was not sustainable, since I didn’t allow myself to have time to myself, time to do things that actually help me in the long run. The rhythm of my life had to change before I could even commit to the steps I wanted to do when I left Prangli. I have given myself that time now. Time to relax, time to think, time to be me. As we discovered in Prangli - our own personal resources to be sustainable are always limited and I can see that so well from my own experience. This holistic approach is essential if we want to make sustainable changes and build something that lasts the test of time. So I’m starting from scratch, in some ways. I am still learning, I’m still at the very beginning of that change that will lead me to a better life, a more sustainable lifestyle both to myself and the world around me. I’ve read this quote once in Tumblr from a professor, who said that some people come to the university with at least some intention of saving the world. And he wants people to know how it’s actually okay to save just one person and it’s okay if that one person is yourself. I think this is the beginning of a better world. I am first and foremost responsible to myself and who knows, maybe this newly found time to myself will help me fulfill my original step to spend more time in nature. That is where sustainability will grow from. This is my first step.
Coming back home after Prangli was quite a trip. So much to process. Everything felt the same but me. My room was exactly as I left it, as were the people I left around. I came back with a strange extra weight on my shoulders: the weight of responsibility. Towards change around me, and change within me. It meant I had to let go habits and behaviors I pin pointed as not fitting my values anymore. An habit is something that you do often and regularly, sometimes without even knowing that you are doing it. Add a sprinkle of holistic overview and the result is a fucking overwhelming task. Where does this come from? Do I really need this? Do I really need to go there? Why do I have this car? It was just as if I was now seeing life with new goggles. And there was no turning back. Through reflection, I understood that my role doesn't need to be absolute, not if that is making me anxious. My own well-being is a big part of the sustainable mindset I am working on. I came to the conclusion that the holistic overview is a powerful tool but a dangerous lifestyle. Reflection. Education. Collaboration. Action. All condensed in one step taken on the move, as I've been traveling almost since our so magical week. After balancing my emotions, I felt the need to educate myself, there was a lot I needed to learn. Permaculture, compost toilets, meditation, useful tricks... the list just goes on and on. Reading papers and screens, listening podcasts and people, seeing videos and real life change. I visited an eco village in Japan and spent a while there. Knowledgeable and insightful residents created a very special community that embrace visitors as part of it since the very first moment. There, I learned about communities, about the way they organised themselves through what felt like an unlabeled utopic anarchy, agriculture and an immense list of topics that enriched my soul and my mind. Through work, knowledge and experiences, an exchange was done and that made me feel connected to that community at a deeper level. This is where collaboration kicks in. What can be accomplished when we work together is limitless. And that, is the only way we can save our planet, anyway. That leads me to my actual visible step: action. I took action from the very first moment: I started very early changing my habits regarding my lifestyle, groceries and plastic usage, I started cycling as much as I can and I try to spread the word by adapting my speech to the people I am with; all those while I plan a bigger dream: creating an environment where people can express themselves freely living an alternative but sustainable way of life. During my entire trip, I managed very carefully every consumption move I made and never bought a plastic water bottle for example. I used community resources and services as much as I could. Every time I integrated a new community, no matter the size or the vision, I reflected, learned, exchanged and took action. In my opinion, those are also the steps that can build a more compassionate and sustainable society. Through reflection, education, collaboration and action.
Derek says it's always good to end a paper with a quote. He says someone else has already said it best. David Attenborough said it all on the final episode of the magnificent documentary Blue Planet II: We are at a unique stage in our history. Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet, and never before have we had the power to do something about that. Surely we all have a responsibility to care for our Blue Planet. The future of humanity and, indeed, all life on earth, now depends on us. |
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