Practicing the art of Sustainability- Nina Wise

"How do we live on this planet in a way that is harmonious enough to sustain our species as well as the other beings that delight us, feed us, and allow us to breathe?

The answer may lie not only in the way we relate to each other, humans, animals and plants; not only in the way we relate to resources, renewable or unrenewable, but in how we relate to ourselves. What sustains our own being? What is it that enlivens us, brings us joy, enhances equanimity, wisdom, and our capacity to give and receive love?

Awareness is growing that our hunger for possessions, our lust to consume, arises in part, if not entirely, from a craving for well- being. Ironically, that craving is unsatisfied by even the most glamorous and expensive things. The hunger continues unabated. How do we satisfy this craving and find peace?

Sustainability of the species is deeply related to the soul of our being. My greatest pleasure emerges from spiritual practice, art (which involves dancing, singing, poetry and storytelling), being in wild nature, and a community of friends. It is in these experiences that I find the love that sustains me.

I suggest we practice the art of sustainability; of soul sustenance. Let's practice meditating and chanting together, and make the entire conference a work of art. We need to reclaim what we have lost in our deluded worship of the gods of fame, power, and materialism. We need to reclaim play, spontaneity, storytelling, poetry, song and dance. We need to reclaim an intimate relationship with nature as part of our daily lives. We need to reclaim the divine as an integral part of mundane existence, as the core of our being. We need to pay homage to the light of being, the radiance that animates all life."