The Climate Change Collective is an initiative where the blogging community unites behind a common goal. Today, the conversation continues with the ninth post in the series. My blogging pal from Smelly Socks and Garden Peas wrote an insightful piece on how returning to past habits can be a way out of the mess we’ve created for our planet. This made me think that sometimes what we call progress isn’t progress at all, and we need to look back to move forward.
When progress isn’t progress – Looking back to move forward
We live in a world where many people want to bury or rewrite history to suit their own convenience. From slavery, to Canada’s residential schools, to the mess we’ve created with climate change, it’s less painful to bury our heads in the sand and pretend these things didn’t happen. Denying the existence of these horrific events in our past means we don’t have to deal with the fallout of our actions and decisions. It’s disturbing that we can’t own our mistakes and learn from history.
At the same time, we look back on older people and simpler times with disdain and celebrate the “progress” we’ve made. But has that progress really benefitted everyone or even anyone? And what has progress done to our planet and its citizens?
Progress hasn’t benefited everyone…or anyone
Here are some of the changes we’ve seen over the last hundred years that make me think that what we call progress isn’t progress at all.
- Stress levels and mental health issues are off the charts.
- Our family units are broken.
- Neighbours rarely take time to look out for each other.
- Huge gaps between the haves and the have-nots create social unrest.
- Our planet is in crisis and we are at risk of becoming as extinct as many of the species that we’ve eliminated.
If we can set aside our stubbornness and open our minds, we can learn a lot from how our parents and grandparents lived their lives. In Canada, the United States, Australia and other parts of the world that were colonized by British and European settlers, we can also learn from the wisdom of the Indigenous peoples—the original stewards of the land whose way of life was simple and sustainable.
So many of the detrimental actions we take are intrinsically linked to modern life. Looking back to a less-technologically-driven era, can help us make more sustainable choices.
Smelly Socks and Garden Peas
Smell points out that we need to move “back in the other direction” to reverse the impacts of climate change. She shares several examples of how people are doing that, adopting practices that were common in our grandparents’ days but have been cast aside in the name of progress. Please click the link to read her post.
Returning to past habits (Climate Change Collective Post 9)
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About the Climate Change Collective
The Climate Change Collective started after I left a comment on a blog post by Jamie Ad Stories. Jamie and I wanted to find a way to keep the climate change message top of mind for everyone, so I put out a tweet to see what kind of interest there would be in a climate-change-related blogging collaboration. The Climate Change Collective was born!
The members of the collective take turns writing a monthly blog post sharing their unique perspective about climate change. After the post is published, the rest of the group keeps the conversation going by sharing a link to the post on their blogs along with their thoughts and ideas.
If you’re a like-minded blogger and would like to join our collective, please get in touch. More voices joining the conversation means more attention to the problems plaguing our planet!
More Climate Change Collective posts
The Climate Change Collective series has been going strong for over two years. See Two years of the Climate Change Collective series for a recap of the posts we published in the first two years.
Recent posts in the series
- Is Climate Change Overlooked in Schools? – Jamie Ad Stories
Thanks to Smelly Socks and Garden Peas for being part of our Climate Change Collective and for sharing these practical ways that moving back in the other direction may be the key to reversing the impacts of climate change.
Do you have other examples of ways we can live more sustainably by adopting practices of past generations? Tell me your thoughts below.
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The loss of neighbourhoods is a shame. I remember a street where everyone knew each other and you could leave doors open. Now people move around a lot and it can be difficult to know who would help you when needed. Great post!
Thanks Jamie. It is sad that our friendly neighbourhoods have disappeared.
A great post by Smell. I rarely buy new clothes and tend to wear them until they are practically falling apart at the seams!
That’s great Rachel. That’s what our parents and grandparents did. When I declutter my closet, I kept clothes that I have had for years and got rid of a lot of the newer ones.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this too Michelle xx
You’re welcome. It was a great post!
Oh…I’m really feeling the thought about life becoming more complex, and how much we’ve lost from generations before us…and indigenous peoples about living life with simplicity. I’m a believer that many “modern” necessities and technology, while useful, contribute to stress and the inability to pace ourselves, find our rhythm with nature, rather than working against it is problematic on so many individual, mental health and broader ecological issues. Thank you for all of this, Michelle. 💓
Thanks Vicki. I so agree that the pace of modern life contributes to so many of the issues in our world. I just wish more people could see that. My daughter and I were talking the other day about how much you can reduce your financial stress by shifting your mindset from “I can afford to pay this much” to “I only need this much”, especially when it comes to big-ticket things like housing.
Oh my goodness…what a brilliant…and subtle shift in thinking that is from your daughter. I love it! The whole need/want business gets in the way, doesn’t it? Thanks for all the encouragement, Michelle and kudos to your smart daughter. 💕
Thanks. I really tried to raise my girls to understand the difference between wants and needs because I think that makes such a huge difference.
I’m with you there…so many opportunities to teach those lessons…be it requires being a mindful parent. Cheers to you, Michelle! 🥰
Well said
Thanks LA.
One of the uplifting things from the recent pandemic was seeing people adopting habits from the past–like sourdough starters and homemade bread, or gardening, or preserving food. I totally agree with you that “progress” has created a lot of problems and that we can learn a lot from the past.
You’re right. The sad thing is that, as soon as the pandemic restrictrions were listed, many people rushed right back to their old ways. They missed the opportunity for the lesson in all of this.
This is so true Michelle- change has to be sustained not a one and one sort of thing and so few understand or want to grasp the consistency needed.
That’s right. Honestly, I took advantage of the pandemic to do so much decluttering and simplifying, and I’ve been able to keep it up.