Change Your Mind, Change Your Life

Sustainable is the quality of being able to continue indefinitely. It is woven into how we relate to ourselves, our families, our communities, our work, and our world. Being sustainable is a concept that is, at its heart, inclusive because it asks us to consider the web we live in and how we can support and be supported by the threads that connect us to each other. Sustainability is the language of relationships.

When I walk on the beach for example, I come into contact with the sand, the water, the rocks, the air, the sun, my thoughts, my feelings, my fellow beach visitors, the birds, the trees, and the plastics. We all occupy a moment in time and space where we are directly aware of each other-- how the wind feels in our hair, how casual conversation creates a sense of belonging and camaraderie-- and yet, there are even more connections beyond this instant that supported us getting to a particular moment at the seaside.

And we may start to consider that we exist in relationship with others, whether they be animal, plant, mineral or ether, and that maybe, our experiences are more intertwined than we might think...

For me, it's like stepping into a cathedral for the first time. My spirit soars, refracted into a thousand prismatic rainbows of wonder at the lattice that connects me to things I haven't done, thoughts still unnamed, and places I dream of going.

Questions began to form that beg a larger answer than, "Because I can." or "Because I want to." Like, "What happens if I take a plastic bag at the grocery store because I forgot my reusable bag at home? Why should I vote with my wallet?"

I don't always change my behaviors immediately, but the matrix shifts ever so slightly. The act of asking the questions signals to my brain that a sparkling possibility of change is at hand.

Sustainable means hope if we choose to follow Alice down the rabbit hole of relationships. Kind of like trying to untangle the ribbons wound around a Maypole, the process of examining our interconnections can be daunting, overwhelming and plain uncomfortable...creation often is. But the carrot may be a ticket home to a world where the air is clear, the water clean, and our communities vibrant.

Dr. Joe Dispenza says that when you make up your mind to change, you ought to prepare for discomfort. He defines our habits as "the body knowing how to do something better than the brain."  When the old monsters of depression, apathy, anxiety or negativity are no longer being fed, your brain sends chemical red flags out, demanding food. Most of us decide its easier to feed the monster than endure the unknown-that's why it's so hard to change behaviors, thoughts and feelings.

And yet, the discomfort is a clear affirmation that we ARE moving towards a reality that WE have created rather than one we have likely fallen into through unconscious reactions to things that have happened to us.

Sustainability means being uncomfortable but it also means being whole. Being connected. To your power. To yourself. To your community. To life.