Personal Transformation:

Where It All Begins

The new 21st century has already proven itself to be an interesting time to be alive on planet Earth. Interesting—difficult, challenging, even overwhelming—but also full of exciting possibilities.

Problems

As if that weren’t enough, individual and family life can seem overwhelmingly challenging, too. Between balancing work and family, worrying about our kids’ exposure to drugs and alcohol and how to take care of our aging parents, making rent or mortgage payments, putting food on the table and keeping or advancing in our job while also finding time for everything that’s important to us, many people in all income brackets feel that they already have more than they can manage. "Large-scale problems need to be addressed by political and economic leaders," we think. "I don’t have the power to change the world’s huge systems, and I don’t have the time or energy even to think about it."

Opportunities

And it all starts with personal change–transformation of the way we think and the way we live. It starts from the grassroots–you and me, your family and my family, our neighborhoods, cities, regions. It is we who must push the change to a sustainable way of life. Although the size and scope of that change can seem overwhelming, we are all players with power to make things happen.

How can I make a difference?

Society and the economy are made up of individual relationships and transactions. By changing the way you conduct your relationships and transactions, you create a new society around you. You also demonstrate that there are other ways to relate with people and participate in the economy than the often destructive and unsustainable ways of the current system.

Ripples go out from your changed relationships and transactions to meet ripples from other places where people are changing their ways of relating and doing business. Eventually, the current these ripples create can become a noticeable flow.

Can system-level change result from this? Certainly. It is the only way for true change to happen—not from the top down, but from the bottom up, the way an oak or a redwood grows. As anthropologist Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt the power of a small group of committed citizens to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

According to systems theory, which is now being applied to the Earth’s ecology as well as to the vast institutions created by human societies, the components within any system are interconnected, so that a tweak in one area will be felt throughout the system.

This is the message of personal transformation: You can have an impact. You do have an impact. Every action affects the entire system. You have the power to move change, by the way you live your life every day.

Personal transformation also can bring deep and lasting benefits into your own life: greater peace-of-mind, more enjoyment of life in general, including family and community, contentment with what you have, the satisfaction of meeting your needs without damaging the Earth or causing other people to suffer, and a deeper sense of rootedness in the physical place where you live and awareness of your interdependence with the people and other beings with whom you share it. These benefits you experience in turn spill over into the community and the wider society, causing unquantifiable benefits to the entire system. As Gandhi put it, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

Everything you do matters. Everything.

Areas of impact

The potential impact of these actions is also vast. Taking just one thrust that might be central to your efforts—that of reducing consumption—we can trace the likely results to you individually, to your community and to the Earth.

Reducing consumption saves you money. Your expenses go down; you can get out of debt. You can save more for retirement, the kids’ college costs or to give away. Eventually, with lower expenses and no debt, you can consider earning less—fewer hours, or a lower-paying, lower-stress job. You have more time for non-work interests—your spouse, your children, your garden, your spiritual life.

Less stress, in turn, means better physical and mental health—no road rage or exposure to others’ road rage; fewer ulcers, headaches and other symptoms of stress; a feeling you’ve stepped off a treadmill that was forcing you to go faster all the time. You get more exercise because you drive less, mow your lawn with a push mower, do things around the house that you used to pay someone else to do.

Your values shift from a focus on material possessions, getting them and keeping them, to a focus on relationships in your family and in your community. You are more tuned into your family members’ lives and needs; you have time to chat over the back fence with neighbors; you pay more attention to what is happening in your community and involve yourself in decision-making. You reclaim your identity as "citizen" instead of "consumer."

Reducing consumption allows you to become involved in your community. It does this by giving you back a large amount of time and energy that formerly went into acquiring and maintaining possessions, working long hours, commuting, being "used up" by the end of the day. You can volunteer at the local school, at a nursing home, park or library; for a social justice, environmental or arts group; for your church or religious organization’s activities; watching your neighbor’s toddler for a few hours or writing articles for your local newspaper.

You can get interested in city politics and become a volunteer on an advisory committee or a citizens organization that advocates for civic policies and programs. You can even run for office. Because true democracy is a grassroots system, it works better when more people take part.

The entire community benefits from this kind of involvement. Over time, the results are better schools, safer streets, more responsive local government and people who know and care about each other because they are around more and paying more attention to their neighborhood.

Reducing consumption has direct beneficial impact on the Earth. It shrinks your "ecological footprint," the amount of the Earth’s services you require to support your life, both in terms of resources you use up and wastes you produce. It also reduces the human suffering that is connected to a lifestyle of consumption—the sweatshops, the displacement of people from land taken to grow food for export, the exposure of workers in these countries to toxic emissions and agricultural chemicals.

In addition, reduced consumption almost inevitably results in a lifestyle that is informed and intentional, in which you decide what you need and want rather than being responding automatically based on unexamined assumptions, or being manipulated by advertising and marketing. You can influence the marketplace by "voting with your dollars" for the kinds of products and services you want and the kinds of businesses you want to support.

Every time you choose locally grown produce over imported produce, for example, you reduce demand for imports and increase demand for local food, and add your economic support for small-scale organic agriculture.

The Earth also benefits indirectly when you reduce consumption because your volunteer efforts may well include involvement in ecological restoration projects in your neighborhood. From picking up litter to planting trees to helping build greenways for bicycling and walking, the potential projects are limitless.

In neighborhoods in many cities, groups of self-styled "guerrilla gardeners" beautify their neighborhoods by planting gardens in public areas—road medians, traffic circles, untended areas—without asking anyone’s permission! Most cities and have towns have areas like this, as well as places that have been damaged by human activity, and that need care and healing.

Finally, reducing consumption also has a beneficial effect on the larger society. When people save water and energy and use their cars much less, there is less need for new roads, water treatment plants and power plants. This also reduces pollution and can even reduce taxes when new facilities do not need to be built with taxpayer money.

Besides this, when people reduce consumption and become aware of the ways they are manipulated by the Hollywood-style enternainment industry and the high-priced professional sports business, they often gain a renewed interest in local music, art, drama, games and story-telling. The interest and support of these arts can help engender a flowering of local culture that expresses the spirit of a particular place. It also may awaken in many people their own creativity and inspire their contribution to the local cultural scene.

Renewed interest in the arts and a revitalized sense of community can combine to engender more frequent community celebrations and fun events, which in turn knit the community together even more closely.

And finally, when people slow down, they are less influenced by the impatience and "me-first" attitudes of a society that is always in a headlong rush. High-speed living is a direct cause of the loss of civility and "in-your-face" attitudes that have become characteristic of our times. Less rushing results in less road rage, less blaring music from cars and houses, less nastiness in long lines, less likelihood of fist-fights breaking out over the latest toy fad—and a return to politeness and respect in civic life, and safer roadways for everyone.

What is personal transformation?

Transformation also means changing how you live. When your perspective shifts from blissful ignorance of your environmental and social impact to awareness of the consequences of your choices, you act to reduce your impact. You reduce your energy use, waste less of everything, talk to your family and friends about the change you perceive. You begin to question authority, and wonder about the decision-making over your own life and health that you have given over to "experts."

And transformation also means empowerment—a belief in the importance and effectiveness of your actions. A commitment to act on behalf of yourself, your family, as-yet-unborn generations, as well as the people, animals and plants who have no voice in the current system. A conviction that what you do matters.

Personal transformation is like a Moebius strip—it can be hard to tell where the inside ends and the outside begins. Inner transformation can begin outside, with changes in what you do that have an effect on your perspsective. It can start on the inside, with changes in the way you think that lead you to do things differently. Inner and outer change are parts of a seamless whole, each stimulating and deepening the other.

Outside-in

You can start with small, easy things—the "low-hanging fruit"—such as looking for products with less packaging, turning off lights, using the blank side of paper, taking shorter showers, making sure the clothes you buy were not made in sweatshops. You can decide not to buy something you really don’t need, or reduce the clutter in your house by giving away unused items, or write a letter to a public official about a current issue.

As you incorporate such actions into your life, a change occurs in your consciousness. Soon, your awareness extends beyond the immediately obvious things like recycling and shopping. You begin to see other areas where your actions have negative effects on the Earth and on other people, and where you are spending money that is not really bringing satisfaction. The next set of changes might include driving your car less, buying organic and locally grown food and talking to grocers about your preference for local food, composting your kitchen wastes, and switching from a power lawn mower to a push mower.

You might decide to turn off the television and instead play games with your family, take walks not for a "workout" but to appreciate nature, cook a few meals "from scratch," save the $80 for a ticket to the big-name singer on tour and instead go to a concert by a local musician or a local artist’s gallery showing.

Accomplishing these things uncovers yet more actions you can take—planting your yard in prairie flowers instead of grass, buying mostly second-hand clothing and household items, starting a neighborhood tool exchange or dinner group, joining a CSA farm.

Many people consider reducing hours at work to step off the treadmill. For some, deepening environmental and social consciousness may lead to such life-changing actions as switching jobs, getting rid of the car, or even moving to a smaller or shared dwelling. Outer change leads to ever-deeper inner change.

Inside-out

Personal transformation often begins with increasing Earth-consciousness and action to reduce ecological impact. It can also start with concern for human suffering, realization of the emptiness of the "American Dream," or a spiritual discipline of voluntary simplicity or mindfulness.

But wherever it starts, it usually doesn’t stop there. A hallmark of personal transformation is that it spreads to every area of life. Just as the sustainability movement recognizes the connections between social, political, economic and environmental problems in communities and societies, moving toward sustainability in an individual’s life brings this same understanding on a personal level.

As awareness of how to reduce ecological and social impact grows, so does awareness of the connection between ecology and economy, economy and democracy, democracy and education, and between all these and personal spirituality and meaning. Life becomes less fragmented, and takes on a wholeness.

Because the problems are all connected, these areas of society and culture all become more important to you. Systems theory is just as true on a personal, individual level, within the system of your own way of life, as it is in vast social institutions. Wherever you begin, wherever you make the first small tweak to your own worldview, the impact will be felt in all areas of your life.

So, too, as personal change progresses, the divisions between concerns about self, family, community and society begin to merge, and their commonality becomes more evident. Wendell Berry, a farmer and poet from Kentucky who is one of the primary voices of bioregional consciousness in the U.S., expressed this when he said, "If we could think locally, we would take far better care of things than we do now. The right local questions and answers will be the right global ones. The Amish question, ‘What will this do for our community?’ tends toward the right answer for the world."

And, paradoxically, instead of seeming bigger and more difficult because of their connection with each other, the problems actually begin to seem more soluble, because each action you take affects not just one problem, but all of them. It becomes more and more difficult not to be concerned about the whole, and also more difficult not to become excited about the possibilities for creating a sustainable, Earth-honoring, cooperative, humane and culturally rich future.

Resources for personal transformation

Resources for outer change

Resources for Inner Change

Support, study and action groups

You can start your own group, or try one of the existing organizations, which have built-in support:

Eco-Teams. Join with neighbors or co-workers to undertake specific actions to reduce your garbage, water use, energy use and consumption. Global Action Plan for the Earth can help you get started with a workbook and a coach. The program is six sessions, each focusing on a different area to reduce waste and increase your awareness of your overall impact. Besides having a significant impact on waste and also saving money, the Eco-Team program also builds community as neighbors help each other become more committed to protecting the Earth.

Study circles. Eco-Teams are a kind of study circle; there are several others. Study circles are groups of neighbors or coworkers who meet to do common reading and talk about topics such as deep ecology, voluntary simplicity, democracy, social justice or almost any other topic either large or small.

Study courses available from the Great River Earth Institute encourage examination of values and deeper questioning and understanding of the connection between daily actions and the ecological crisis. The courses are between seven and 10 sessions in length and are especially well-adapted for use in the workplace where people can meet over lunch for discussion.

The Great River Earth Institute has materials and a crew of trained volunteers to help groups organize and get started, as well as follow-up materials for groups that want to stay together for further study, support or action.

Great River Earth Institute
PO Box 6021
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612-305-1232 grei@greatriv.org

A study guide for the book Your Money or Your Life is available from the New Road Map Foundation. The study guide is published in two versions: one for use in churches and the other not church-oriented. The study guide is designed for groups of eight to 12 to read the book and do its "steps" together, supporting each other toward the transformation of their relationship with money that is the main purpose of the book.. New Road Map Foundation
P.O. Box 1591
Seattle, WA 98115

Starting your own study circle on voluntary simplicity or any personal transformational topic is also an option. Cecile Andrews’ book The Circle of Simplicity offers many suggestions for a group focusing on simplicity, but her basic ideas about study circle operation can be used with any topic. The book is available at bookstores or from the library.

Another source of information about study circles on a wide variety of topics is the Study Circles Resource Center. This organization offers resources and tips for setting up study circles. For a membership fee, you can get their excellent newsletter about study circles on many topics and about research regarding the best ways to conduct study circles and their impact on communities.

Study Circles Resource Center
697A Pomfret St.
PO Box 203

Pomfret, CT 06258
203-928-2616

Minneapolis-St. Paul organizations with resources

Global Education Associates
389 Oxford St.
St. Paul, MN 55104
652-649-0510

Wisdom Ways. Based at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Wisdom Ways is "an ecumenical resource center for spirituality for women and men." It presents a year-round schedule of workshops, classes and ongoing groups, including a series aimed at exploring the connections of spirituality to work, to place and to lifestyle. The summer conference focuses on simplicity.

Wisdom Ways
1890 Randolph Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105
612-690-8830

Other organizations with resources

Transmissions Project
United Nations Environment Programme
730 Arizona Ave., Suite 329
Santa Monica, California 90401

Center for Living Democracy. Many resources for making democracy comes alive including Doing Democracy, a newsletter for members. Membership starts at $25.

Center for Living Democracy
RR#1 Black Fox Rd.
Brattleboro, VT 05301

Center for a New American Dream. Working with individuals, communities, schools and businesses, the center promotes community service, meaningful work, voluntary simplicity, Earth-friendly lifestyles and old-fashioned fun. Membership starts at $30 ($15 low-income) and includes a "Yearning for Balance" action kit. The action kit alone can be purchased for $10.

Center for a New American Dream
6930 Carroll Ave., Suite 900
Takoma Park, MD 20912

New Road Map Foundation. Besides study circle materials, the foundation also has other materials available, including a booklet called All-Consuming Passion that is full of facts and figures about the ecological impact of Western culture and the dissatisfaction people feel with chasing the American Dream. A great conversation-starter.

New Road Map Foundation
P.O. Box 1591
Seattle, WA 98115

Center for Media Literacy. A nonprofit, membership organization that produces books, videos and curricula about the impact of media and advertising.

Center for Media Literacy
4727 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 403
Los Angeles, CA 90010

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