An economy that requires minimal labor allows us more time to attend to our own social and spiritual growth, as well as the growth of others. The current social structure is one that does not allow much time in the day to work on clearing the body and mind of of tension. We are enslaved by the work day, and expend significant and unnecessary amounts of energy to ensure our basic needs. When a human being spends 1/2 of their waking life working for wages to sustain themselves and attempts to divide the second 1/2 of that day to attending to spiritual growth, personal needs, eating appropriately, exercising, or pursuing creative interests, or for some, parenting, many of our goals may fall to the wayside. Operating under the premise of sustainability means producing food, shelter, and goods based on the needs of the people, not for any form of desired profit, which means there is a finite amount of growth and production of physical materials and food. This means that any unexpended energy of the community can be directed toward personal growth, practice, and maintaining a vital and healthy body.
This way of life becomes most critical when you introduce raising children into a community. A parent who is fully available for their child, and not working 8 hours daily out of necessity, has a unique opportunity to allow the child the space to explore their environment independently and lead their own creative lives from birth. In this way the child is not subjected to the schedule of the parent, but is an active part of the community in any way they see fit. The greatest revolution on the planet will occur when parents cease passing on the stresses of the current social climate onto their children and begin to raise their children in an environment that is infinite in possibility and abundant in creativity.
Part of sustainability will be asking ourselves “what do we want?” Building a blueprint for the total vision of what our community wants in order to feel that they can nurture their creativity and feel abundant in resource, and also waste as absolutely little as possible. Our micro-economy may not be able to recycle a computer, but it can recycle a plastic container into a potter. Sustainability means adapting a viewpoint that includes the total life of the resources acquired. What happens if it breaks? What if it has served its purpose? How do we fix it? What will be the next purpose of this object? Human beings could build a car that would last 500,000 miles, that could run on electricity or another alternative fuel. But since that car has not been made available, what kind of car will we own? Can we make it last our lifetime? These are the types of questions that will drive us to consider what we take in and what we put out, and ultimately how to stop wasting resources. At some point one has to decide that it is not necessary to trade your 2007 Honda in for a 2009 Honda. At some point one has to decide not to accept plastic grocery bags and carry your own, or bring your own coffee cup to Starbucks. Sustainability will go beyond our homes and work its way into our being. Ultimately a community such as Liberty Advance many not be able to manufacture technologies desired such as computers, automobiles, espresso machines, or even light bulbs, but it can use discernment in the selection of products and work toward developing a community that invites engineers to create these types of technologies on our very own soil.
Embarking on this sustainable project brings everyone involved the experience of being able to provide for themselves, either by simple primitive means or by utilizing existing technologies. Though the universe does not guarantee anything, the knowledge we retain by understanding how to sustain a community without being subjected to larger social forces such as government or energy companies will become increasingly valuable. Part of practicing sustainability is also educating the public on your discoveries and creating think tanks made of many communities that channel information to each other in effort to maintain the most effective practices.
Sustainability will require a dramatic shift. Currently Liberty Advance does not have the capital nor manpower to achieve its financial or sustainable goals, but slowly everyday, we work to inspire others to see the potentials and work toward the possibilities by simply offering what we have, which is the knowledge of spiritual traditions that span as far back as history will take us, and the still pristine backdrop of the east county mountains... join us in our adventure to build what we know in all our hearts can be a reality.