The Sustainable Value Set Series - Part III
Preliminary Reading:
The Sustainable Vaue Set Series - Part I
The Sustainable Vaue Set Series - Part II
The drive is about seeking Right Relationship, a viable integration with the rest of life, not power over it, nor flight from it, but a reverent appreciation for the magical wholeness that is our world.
This introduction to the Sustainable Value Set begins with a story that takes place in Africa. It was originally told by Cormac Cullinan in his seminal book, Wild Law:In a village there lived a man and his family. They raised goats which were the main source of food and income for the family. One morning the man awoke to find that one of his goats was missing. Being skilled as he was with animals, he found the tracks where the animal had been killed and dragged away. Following the tracks, he discovered the carcass several hundred feet away from the goat pen. It had been picked clean. Three days later he awoke and discovered another goat had gone missing in the night. Again, he traced the tracks to a carcass, now worthless to him.
The man decided to stay awake at night to find out what was happening. He could not afford to let his goats continue to disappear for his family depended on them for their survival. The second night of his watch, very late, he heard a commotion in the goat pen, so he carefully approached the sound to see what was happening. Silently, he moved towards the pen and there under the light of a half moon he saw it - a hyena! Moving quickly, the man took aim and speared the hyena.
The next day the elders called him before them. "Why did you kill that hyena?" They asked. "She was a nursing mother and she has pups in the bush."
The man responded that he was frightened for his family's sustenance and feared that the hyena would continue to kill off all his goats.
"We understand," said the elders, "but did you try to scare her away?"
"No," the man replied, "I was intent upon protecting my goats."
"You have been responsible for the death of not only the mother hyena but her pups as well. This disturbs the energy and balance between us and the creatures of the bush. In order to rebalance our relationship, we ask that you release into the bush 100 of your goats."
This the man did.
"It's time to replace our arrogance toward Earth with a becoming humility..." Thomas Berry
For Reflection: What are your thoughts about this story? What Sustainable Values do you see expressed in this story? Is there anything in this story that disturbs you? Notice that the characters in the story have the intention to be and remain in relationship.
Value Set Relationships
The Protective Values are anchored by tradition. The Effective Value Set is only tied to success. In the real world, everything is tied to something and it is those ties that give the world its coherence. In a climate of economic breakdown, where the lack of coherence has become apparent and things seem to be crumbling all around, many people are looking for ways to make connections. At its heart, this is the gift of the Sustainable Value Set - connection. The Protective Values are connected to the past and to the desire to ensure continuity. Individuals and organizations practicing the Effective Values Set have become intoxicated with possibility and the future, so much so that they forgot about the present and even the purpose of improving human life. Entranced by their own success, spurned on by curiosity and a resistance to the past, they have helped to craft a society which creates feelings of emptiness and anxiety for its members.
At its heart, this is the gift of the Sustainable Value Set - connection.
Many people recognize and value the sweetness in the natural world, but resistance to the past is still strong and this tension generates confusion. Visions of fantastic air travel and fabulous cities spiraling up to the skies with no trees, children or animals have covered up the longing for nature and the healing that lies in the beauty of the natural world. The fear of "going back," fights with the need to reconnect. Out of this tension Sustainable Values are being born. The drive is about seeking right relationship, a viable integration with the rest of life, not power over it, nor flight from it, but a reverent appreciation for the magical wholeness that is our world. We seek a place where we are a part, where fear gives way to gratitude and impatience gives way to appreciation.
That shift requires that we truly understand the Integrity of the Whole, that we recognize the interrelatedness and Interdependence that creates Balance through Right Relationship as expressed in Zero Waste and true Abundance. As we strive to live long on this planet, the Precautionary Principle is treated as a natural law and Future Life becomes so important and valued that All Actions Enhance Life and those that do not are considered corrupt. Because Humans are Intrinsic to the web of life, Diversity becomes valued as the key to resilience and through Empowerment people can Co-Create in a Self-Organizing way that fosters true Reciprocity, appreciation and gratitude as we move forward together.
For Reflection: The true test of values comes as they are lived. How would life look if these values permeated our daily lives?
Further Perspectives
A profound difference between the Sustainable Values and the other value sets is that while the Protective Values and the Effective Values are mostly in opposition with each other, that is not true of the Effective and Sustainable Values. For the most part the Effective Values become subsumed into the Sustainable Values and become connected to and directed at establishing and maintaining the relationship to the whole that is the intent of the Sustainable Values Set. In effect the new relationship transforms the intent of the Effective Values so that the purpose of business becomes the enhancement of Life, not just human life. This reframing gives the Effective Values the connection it lacked in its earlier incarnation. The good news is that awareness of this makes the transition much easier. The challenge lies in remembering the new intention, especially in the heat of business.
One of the key defining aspects of Western Culture is the almost pathological fear of relationships. People joke about being unwilling to commit, but the truth goes much deeper than that. In order to be "in relationship" several things need to happen: parties who choose relationship must see each other as equals, there needs to be mutual respect and appreciation, and there must be a genuine desire to be in relationship on both sides.
Do you have any stories to share that reflect Sustainable Values in action?
The Sustainable Value Set Series by Kathryn Alexander is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.thenewgreeneconomy.com.
Kathryn Alexander, has been working with values and developing the work of Jane Jacobs for over ten years. Kathryn is an author, public speaker and consultant focused on bringing The New Green Economy to life.
