Days 49 and 50 of 365 Days Of Low Carbon Living: connecting to community, the key to our future.

A couple of weeks ago it was Mothers Day in Australia.

Today in the Australian Capital Territory it is Reconciliation Day.

These days are about connecting. They are about community. They are about connecting to develop and strengthen community, in one case private and in the other public.

Days like these lead us to think about how socially connected we are with other people, with our community? (Do we even feel a sense of community?)*

It’s worth asking these questions with our sustainability efforts too.

When you take action for greater sustainability, do you do it on your own or with other people? Do you think that if we all, as individuals, made appropriate changes then it would add up to sufficient change for us to live sustainably in the world, especially a world that is changing so rapidly as a result of our (ongoing) damage to it?

How is your community faring when it comes to becoming more sustainable?

What about when it comes to dealing with the consequences of damage done because we have not been living or operating in harmony with our natural world?

Individual actions are certainly important. That’s a major reason behind so many of the ideas and experiences I share with you. And making changes individually provides good examples and encourage for other people to make their own changes.

Unfortunately, though, it is not enough. There are several reasons for this, including that:

• There are some things that cannot be done by individuals, such as government and business activities.
• There are cultural or systemic impediments to change.

I shall come back to these issues in more depth in the future.

The important thing to remember is that we need other people.

One individual can only do so much, yet together we can achieve more than the sum of individual actions.

We are also social creatures who need the support of others in order to survive and be most effective.

Connecting with other people builds and strengthens local communities. This in turn increases community capability and resilience – both of which are needed for reducing our damage to our work and in times of stress.
Connecting with people, living in community is

Stronger communities – strong positive connections with people – are also beter for our mental health and vital for the personal and community resilience needed in our changing climate.

We can start by simply say acknowledging people when we encounter them in our day-to-day lives.

We can build stronger bonds by coming together and talking, perhaps over a meal (preferably a climatarian one!).

That’s what I did on Mothers Day. It’s what I do in my neighbourhood. And it’s what I do in my professional and voluntary work.

The challenge

Make one connection or strengthen one relationship today.

As extra encouragement, here is a picture of the climatarian meal I had with my family on Mothers Day:

Join me!

Any change or challenge is easier if you have company along the way.

So let’s embark on this journey together.

• Read my blog every day for ideas, thoughts and experiences for living a lower carbon lifestyle, more in harmony with nature – while also adapting to the consequences of our damaged climate.
• Subscribe to get posts direct to your inbox.
• Commit to taking action yourself.
• Add a comment to let me know you’re joining in the effort to turn around our world so it can remain liveable – and what your experiences are.
• Share with others my posts and what you’re doing – our efforts, progress, experiences and challenges – on Facebook, on Twitter, in conversations with friends, on talkback radio and in letters to the editor.

A problem shared is a problem halved. We’re all affected by the changes to our world so we need to be all in on the action!

Till next time…

*Apologies for if these questions trigger you to feeling upset, yet it is important to consider these issues.