"Provoke me! Provoke me!," my head is screaming to the readings, as I hope that something will enter the swirl of thoughts in my brain long enough to take up residence and be regurgitated via the keyboard. Instead I find myself consumed with questions of long-term sustainability. What characteristics are common to long-lasting relationships and systems, such that they continue to manifest themselves over and over again? This is relevant in my life personally, professionally, politically.
And I do mean that they re-manifest, rather than merely continue to exist. As I was terrifyingly reminded last month when I got married,
committed relationships last due to constant re-choosing: every day, I get to say "yes" to a life with you.
Simultaneously, however, the US government reminds me how short-lived some things can be: did we really have a federal surplus ten years ago? How in the world are we now $14,741,360,109,009 in debt? And if only it were as easy to roll rocks back up the hill as it is to let them fall...
Tenacity
Regenerative capacity
Common vision
My paternal grandparents were married for 63 years before my Opa died of Alzheimer’s in 2005. My Oma asked him to marry her on their first date, on New Year’s Eve of 1941. They had known each other just under six months when they tied the knot. What made this thing last? I ask my beautiful, ninety-year-old Oma that nearly every Wednesday when I take her out for supper. She reminds me not to pray for no trouble, but for the ability to handle it.
Tenacity, regenerative capacity, yes, but also: common vision. And love.
Time to start rolling some rocks.
Super interesting post! Loved how you really brought everything together through the symbolism of marriage. And you have some great photos! The wedding looks like a blast and the candid picts are priceless!
ReplyDeleteYou're right on with the idea of needing a common vision. Totally the "united we stand, divided we fall" idea. And I think one of the important things in that is that we don't wait around for other people to unite and do something. We need to be the instigators and bringers of change. It's much easier for people to unite when there's a specific cause or leader that they can unite around.. instead of some nebulous concept of "sustainability" that is often interpreted differently by different people and can mean a whole range of actions from green roofs to composting. Time to lead by example and model the changes we wish to see in others.
3 concepts from your posts: commitment is a constant re-choosing, pervasive cultural influences, and $14,741,360,109,009.
ReplyDeletePervasive cultural influences(re: industrialization and consumerism) + constant re-choosing of behaviors(McKenzie-Mohr) = $14,741,360,109,009 in debt for a society to obtain a standard of living it cannot afford. And that doesn't even include social/environmental externalities that the GDP ignores...
Very unique way tying it all together. great job, amy!
ReplyDeleteAmy, just to make sure you know - - all that debt is not new. We had surpluses for our annual budget (revenue exceeded expenditures for the year) in the last decade of the 20th Century, but we still had an immense overall national debt. We have to do more than balance the budget to eliminate the debt; we will need budget surpluses for many years to pay off the debt. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms
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