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| Consumerism masks and destroys the beauty of what is natural and good. |
Was the grandfather of the sustainability movement, Buckminster Fuller, also a simple living adherent? It makes sense since a sustainable world requires all of humanity to be living simple, ecologically sensible lifestyles.
What made me think of this was pondering Fuller's statement that "you uncover what is when you get rid of what isn't."
Of course, much of a person's existence in a consumer culture is filled with a whole lot of "isn't".
- strong arms "consumers" into buying a lot of stuff that isn't necessary
- perpetuates a way that isn't consistent with any natural system
- forces us into a job that isn't making us happy
- fills our homes with stuff that isn't improving our lives
- supports a system that isn't working for the people or planet
How do we ever find out what is?
A very effective way to find out what is, would be to live more simply, and I think Bucky knew that.
Fuller was a genius, not only because he was wise enough to see that we need to get rid of a whole lot of stuff in order to find what is truly important. Steve Jobs called him the "Leonardo da Vinci of the twentieth century", so we might carefully consider Fuller's amazing body of work.
It is certainly true that when we get rid of the waste and futility of a consumer/worker drone lifestyle, we discard that which isn't, and uncover the beauty of what is.
And what is, is wonderful.
That is a very interesting theory. We grow up and get and education to survive so we can buy things we don't need. Trying to down size in this world is tough. It is so consumer ridden. Walmart and plastic. It is not sustainable.
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