Communities of the past gathered and organized themselves around the primary essentials: food, water, and the materials for shelter. When these essentials were adequately provided for, the division of labor allowed for a proliferation of vocations dedicated to enriching our cultural lives and satisfying our wants. In time, the vast majority of our lives became fundamentally disconnected from the basic necessities that make our lives possible. This has been touted as a consequence of the advance of civilization. To a certain extent, this may be true. To not need to be concerned with the day to day task of food production or the production of life’s other essentials can be considered as liberating to society. To not be able, however, to control or safeguard these essentials seems irresponsible at best, a recipe for disaster at worst.
At a time in the not so distant past, most of life’s essentials were provided for by our immediate community. Gradually, we came to look to outside sources for these essentials. The economies of scale made it possible to purchase these essentials for far less than what could be obtained from the community. Whole professions became unprofitable and faded into non-existence. The close and subtle bonds that held the community together were no longer necessary. One needed no longer to rely upon one’s neighbor for support; that support could be bought at the marketplace for the lowest possible price. It seems, however, that we may have been swindled by this lure of price. Our livelihoods are no longer dependent upon those near and dear to us, but rather upon globalized markets that we have little contact with or control over. Through the simple practice of satisfying our wants and needs from sources outside our community or region, we ourselves continue to create and support this system. If we so choose, we can change our habits and once again lend our support to those near and dear to us.
At a time in the not so distant past, most of life’s essentials were provided for by our immediate community. Gradually, we came to look to outside sources for these essentials. The economies of scale made it possible to purchase these essentials for far less than what could be obtained from the community. Whole professions became unprofitable and faded into non-existence. The close and subtle bonds that held the community together were no longer necessary. One needed no longer to rely upon one’s neighbor for support; that support could be bought at the marketplace for the lowest possible price. It seems, however, that we may have been swindled by this lure of price. Our livelihoods are no longer dependent upon those near and dear to us, but rather upon globalized markets that we have little contact with or control over. Through the simple practice of satisfying our wants and needs from sources outside our community or region, we ourselves continue to create and support this system. If we so choose, we can change our habits and once again lend our support to those near and dear to us.
We live in a town that serves as a gateway to a natural place of pilgrimage. Here people from all over the world come to reconnect their souls with the harmonious rhythms of nature. We therefore have in our hands a unique opportunity to become a model town that lives in harmony with nature. This opportunity is ours for the taking, and will bring with it an irresistible appeal to ever more visitors. We can advertise till we are blue in the face and out of money, and to no avail. To paraphrase:
If we don’t build it, they won’t come!
So what is it that needs to be built? We need to build a sustainable economy; one that is rooted in care for our townsfolk, but with arms open wide for visitors. We need to build a community that we ever increasingly love to live in. This means really living in our community, and its center: our downtown. Our downtown is the heart of our community; it is our commons. If we make a point of going there and supporting our locally owned independent businesses, our downtown will gradually begin to be able to fully support our needs. When we make our downtown a place that we are well satisfied with, a place wherein we love to spend our time, our visitors will be equally pleased with it, and automatically drawn to it. And as our downtown becomes a place where we and our visitors often dwell, our infrastructure will expand to make it a place wherein to dwell comfortably. We are in a sense a global village, a town with roots all across the country and even the world. We have numerous part-time resident families that have been coming here for several generations. We have here also, the opportunity to be a beacon to the world, an inspiration to many.So our first step toward creating a sustainable economy is to commit to our community, and to our neighbors, by supporting our local economy. This will begin to cultivate a resiliency in the economy, a strength which is inherent in natural systems and natural communities. This strength can be employed to aid other communities in time of need. A recent example is a Mennonite community that had the internal strength to send a crew of relief workers to New Orleans for six months after hurricane Katrina!
In addition to supporting our neighbor, having a sustainable economy and living in harmony with nature requires us to become ever increasingly more environmentally sensitive. Environmental sensitivity is born of the ethic of always leaving our world in a better condition than we found it in. We have to honestly ask ourselves in every act we do, “Am I improving or degrading our common environment.” Should we choose to do so, we could easily follow the path toward energy self-sufficiency, food security, and a rich cultural life. We could be a town that lives in harmony with nature. Again, this role is uniquely ours for the taking. We need not wait for anyone else to make this happen for us. We simply have to begin to live this Vision. Having done so, everything else will fall into its rightful place. Let us begin.
