By Zachary Shahan •
July 8, 2009
In previous posts, I discussed the “Sustainability Prism”, the link between personal happiness and the economy, and the link between personal happiness and equity. In this post, I am exploring one more connection in this prism — the connection between personal happiness and the environment.
A common awareness all over the world now is that a major problem causing worldwide pollution, loss of natural lands, and extinction of species is overconsumption in the United States, and the developed world, in general. What is at the root of this overconsumption? Is it cheap production, and technology ‘improvements’ allowing for mass-production? Is it television and superb advertising of products? Is it the greed of rich and comfortable people?
By Zachary Shahan •
April 20, 2009
What is the source of equity?
The source of equity, I would argue, is believing that all people deserve the same. In actual fact, though, who believes that others deserve what they deserve? More often than not, people don’t believe that others deserve what they deserve. But, this comes from people who are not happy with what they have. People who want more believe they deserve more, even if they are already making 99 times more than the average man.
Who is happy for others to receive happiness, and to receive, in general? And who is happy to give? Those are happy to see others happy who are happy themselves. Those want others to receive who receive themselves, and want others to deserve who deserve themselves.
This is the important point — this is all referring to a deep receiving and happiness, not to a superficial happiness and receiving. If one is deeply happy, one wants everyone to receive that happiness. One who is rich (with money) may want others to share in that or may not. One who is poor may want to share her or his only provisions with a stranger in need, or may wish everyone in the world had the peace and provisions of their own shelter and daily food. It is not a matter of having, physically, or not. The matter for those who are happy (which makes them want to share with others) is the happiness they find in their own soul or inner self.
By Zachary Shahan •
April 17, 2009
In my previous post, I brought up the sustainability prism and the link between personal happiness or peace and the other three, traditional components of sustainability theory — economy, equity, and ecology. In this article, I explore the link between personal happiness and the economy in greater depth. Of course, this is just a taste of the full connection between the two since there are enough layers here to write a book on it all, but here is a start and there is plenty of comment space below!
Economy is at the forefront of society’s consciousness these days. It is always a, if not the, major societal issue for most people. With the current economic crisis, it has stepped up even another level of importance. We all have to wonder, these days, if we will be able to return to the affluence of just one or two decades ago, or, if, on the other hand, the whole economic system of America, and the world that depends on it, will collapse as a house of sand built on a thin board of wood on the ocean’s waves.
We can look to the specific failures of banks and immoral business practices to explain all of this. But these failures, and much more, were built on much more widespread and much less questioned norms than these.
