Sustainability is the capacity to support, to provide for, to maintain, to keep up, to prolong; to support the life of.
For humans, sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions.
So, what does sustainability mean to me?
I was not wise enough to learn this lesson till lately. Being faced with the tight financial situation, I challenged myself to live on just basic necessities. Miraculously, the Great Divine sent me many living examples of sustainability.
Firstly, I found a salon near my place where the charges for hair cut was just $4.80. As usual, I was skeptical. How good can it be when it's only $4.80? To my pleasant surprise, the hair stylist who did my hair and my daughter's hair had so much passion in his work that he not just cut our hair, he styled them as if we were going for an outing after the haircut. If you think that this is just one small old salon in some "ulu" place, you are wrong! It's a modern chain store with more than 10 outlets island wide!
This set me off thinking, what if all businesses operate on this basis, isn't this a sustainable business model not just for the business owners but for the consumers as a whole as well? All profits at the end of the day have to come from somewhere. This somewhere ultimately is the Consumer, you and I! As a consumer, where do we get this "affordability" to pass on such profits to businesses? It comes from our pay. The higher our pay, the more profit we pass on to businesses and vice versa, the higher the prices of goods & services, the higher pay we demand. Isn't this a vicious cycle?
Please do not get me wrong. I do not advocate "cheap" businesses. All businesses must make profits to be sustainable. However, I do strongly advocate that all profits must be sustainable environmentally, economically and socially!
This brings me to my next living examples of sustainability.
"What is enough?" Is $4,000 a month pay enough? Or is $100,000 a month pay too much? I guess no human will say he has too much money. However, on a serious note, what is the impact on humanity when the pay disparity is so wide and vast?
We have all heard of many cases where a person built a legacy monetarily for the family just to be squandered away by future generations years down the road. What's in the mind of such youths when everything is provided for from the moment they are born?
I have heard this so many times, "The world is not lack of money, it is lack of love!". So, how then can we instill love if what many aspire to build is a legacy for his or her own family? What if there is a community where all come to support one and another on this life journey unreservedly and lovingly? Where the strong provide and give and the weak are being healed so that they can be strong again? Where the little ones are shown living examples of love and care for one another so that they can grow up to be loving and caring beings? Where the teachings are of abundance and not scarcity, of love and not fear?
If you feel that I'm being naive or idealistic, I would not blame you. If you feel that this is something you have been thinking of too, drop me a note at gladyslee1967@gmail.com , I would really love to have friends and together we can make this dream comes true!
Together, we can all live in a sustainable, loving and abundance community!
Love & Light
Gladys Lee
Breathworker/
Intuitive Coach
http://glad2serve.com/
http://www.facebook.com/MasteringTheBreath
Breathe Well, Live Well!
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