Sustainability: Outside the Box?
As with everything in life, change can be a challenge, even if it's for the better. It's the unknown. Isn't it hard for most of us to move in a new direction, away from the crowd and away from our tried and true ways, to wander into unfamiliar territory? Sustainability asks us to consider new ways of thinking about things.
The word "sustainability" means that we can sustain it over time, because it sustains itself, or keeps itself moving on it's own. A sustainable yard is one that takes care of itself over time, with minimal or no effort by the humans involved. We can sustain ourselves if we grow our own food, and even better if the food simply grows itself as in fruit trees, berry bushes, or other edible perennials, including "weeds" ;).
The benefits:
Less work once the transformation has begun.
Beautiful! And messy. There is so much beauty in nature if you see it that way.
Food is plentiful, free, and just outside your door.
Shared resources! Shared gardens, equipment, and conversation.
More friends and community.
The costs:
The discomfort of stepping into the unknown.
Feeling uncomfortable about "what the neighbors might think".
Seeing beauty in "messy" natural states.
Learning new ways of doing things.
Expending additional energy to change ways of doing things in an already very busy life. It might be worth it!
