{"id":2874,"date":"2021-02-28T14:04:21","date_gmt":"2021-02-28T19:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?p=2874"},"modified":"2021-02-28T12:26:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-28T17:26:40","slug":"the-phases-of-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?p=2874","title":{"rendered":"The Phases of Sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"

I realized that I have not written a post in awhile, other than to promote my newest endeavor, the YouTube channel I am co-hosting with my friend Lauren Staniec. On that site we are having conversations. Fun, enlightening, silly, knowledgeable, exploring conversations that are informing<\/span>\u00a0us about sustainability while they are teaching us about so many other things. It is revealing, even to Lauren and I who kind of expected it, that everything is impacted by and can therefore inform sustainability. <\/span><\/p>\n

Check out Subject2Change – Sustainability.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

My speciality is thinking while walking or biking, which some of you may already know. Today I walked close to 7.5 miles throughout downtown Albany, and I had a couple of hours of think time. So I\u2019m going to delve into some developmental psychology, tied to thoughts on sustainability.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Qualifier – I have zero training in psychology. In fact, I can\u2019t even keep the differences between psychology and psychiatry straight\u00a0 <\/span>*(and will now look these up). <\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, glad I did that. The differences are listed as a footnote. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s visit some developmental phases of a human animal.<\/strong> Let\u2019s call this human Sidney, and Sid uses she\/her pronouns. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sid as a young child is intensely curious, and often needs to be schooled by her parents to be careful. She doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s safe and what\u2019s not. Sid runs around and doesn\u2019t take into account other people and where they are, because she is learning about her impact, literal and figurative, on others. Her playtime noises know no volume control, she puts things into her mouth to find out what they taste like, she is amazed when a butterfly unfolds and takes off. She is reaching out to explore everything around her, and is very much not understanding the parameters of her own physical self or the limits to her mind, or spirit. The world is amazing and new. So much of her energy is looking out, and initiating awareness. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Three words about this phase – curiosity, wonder, filterless.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As Sid becomes a teenager and then a young adult, the focus of her intentions, experiences, and responses change. This is the phase of a life when people start to define their own capabilities, and they seek to break off from their protectors so they can ascertain and strengthen their own powers. There is a lot of seemingly selfish behavior that takes place here, but I suggest it is not malicious, just inwardly focused. This is a time of camping, driving, getting a job, testing limits in relationships of an intimate nature as well as of friends and family. Sid will be m<\/span>essing things up regarding sleep, junk food, and things her parents or society have said are off limits\u2026It is a solidification of self and her power to control what affects her, so she is growing these connections, but growing them in a one-way response, as in “This affects me and I need to respond”. It is reactionary, and often unthoughtful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The three words I would choose for this phase – defining, control, and pride.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Now think about Sidney as an adult. As an adult, she will hopefully retain the wonder and curiosity of childhood and use those instincts in combination with the control and pride of youth. It is in this way a person can move into a most impactful phase of life, where an understanding, respect, and amplification of reciprocity can occur. Sid can now see what is impacting her, and thoughtfully choose to respond in a way that not only protects her own person, but helps the situation as a whole. She can engage in actions and interactions grounded in her own abilities, with respect for the wonder of life, to build the connections and the interdependence of those connections in a two-way, layered existence. <\/span><\/p>\n

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The words here include – respect, vision, pragmatism<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I just realized I have left off the age category that I will eventually enter into. This phase does not fit into my plan for this blog post, but, as usual, my writing has led me deeper into my thoughts, and even showed me a new route to take, if not a completely new destination. We might call this next phase the age of wisdom and experience, yet this is a time of life that is often undervalued, especially in the USA. This phase, perhaps (and without my yet experiencing it) could move Sid toward enlightenment, as she learns to accept the lessons of each previous phase of life and build upon them. Perhaps there is knowledge beyond the interdependence<\/strong><\/em> that I value so much. Maybe there is a thing beyond reciprocity I have not yet fathomed and therefore not yet labelled. Maybe it includes a level of reflective acceptance of Nature\u2019s path? I do not know. <\/span><\/p>\n

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If I were to guess at words for this phase – trust, peace, and humility.<\/b> Let\u2019s add a fourth. Love.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

My intent with describing these phases of life is to help us all to understand the phases of our engagement with sustainability. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n