We hear the term sustainable thrown around a lot these days. What does it really mean? You can sustain a job or a note on a trumpet or a belief. In this era of falling oil prices and climate change, sustainability is commonly associated with the environment or the economy.

This is ironic, since the universal belief is that environment and the economy are natural enemies. Yet, both must be sustained. I think that speaks to society’s deeply contradictory nature. We are constantly fighting with ourselves and usually losing.

We keeping taking more then we need. What is the reasoning behind that behaviour? Is it the quest for status? Is it satisfying some primitive drive? Did our mommies and daddies not love us enough? We keep indulging our greedy natures and then wondering why our economies and habitats suffer. We keep blindly taking and taking without thought to consequences because those consequences get in the way of what we want. Economists call oil spills “externalities.” Environmentalists call oil companies terrorists. We change the reality according to what we want. We, as a civilization, have mental health issues that prevent us from viewing the world apart from what we, as individuals, desire.

I haven’t had a car in years. I also don’t own a cell phone. I’ve lived in the same one-bedroom apartment for over a decade. I get some very weird looks from people when I divulge this information. The honest truth is that I don’t need more than I have so I don’t see the point of paying out for stuff I don’t need so people will stop looking at me funny. Look all you want – it won’t make you able to call me on the cell phone I don’t own.

In the end, you can’t take it with you anyway. What really matters is what you leave behind. Can we be sure of an economy that won’t crumble under the slightest of shakes? Having the means to earn a living for our grandchildren? An environment that’s healthy and enjoyable? Take what you need and leave some in the bowl for those who come after us.

Desire less and have more.

Keri lives a sustainable lifestyle in Boyle Street.