In “No Matter Where You Go, There You Are” I described my experience of epiphany which enabled me to put my full faith behind MyCrownShift:

”…I saw that continuing with the status quo was the more truly risky course of action. When I could see through the illusions that were created by my assumptions and emotions, I saw that of all our choices, our leap of faith was the safest of all.”

What I was referring to by “the more truly risky course of action” was that continuing with our lives as they were going was not sustainable. The writing was on the wall that at some point, it was going to fall apart. Once I was honest with myself that this “ship” was going to sink sooner or later, I could ask myself whether I’d rather we just continue on and deal with what happened when it sank, or pack our bags and jump off at a foreign port and create our new lives from there. Regardless of the unknowns where we got off, it seemed more secure to me to be proactive about our lives rather than ending up treading water out at sea once the ship sank.

This epiphany surprised me. I had always thought that things were more secure as they were. Jung had a consistent record of excellent performance reviews at work and by all accounts, she would never have been fired from her job. Consistent income and good benefits with no chance of those being cut off looked like the epitome of security to me. The hidden costs, though, were starting to take their toll. Jung’s soul was yearning to be fed by her work, and I had to put all of my energy and creativity into maintaining the home front, putting all my personal yearning for public creative expression on the back burner. Our family was unbalanced and although everything was “fine,” we knew that both of us yearned for more than “fine” for our lives, both as individuals and as a family. We knew that a secure future depended on us discovering balance and sustainability in our voyage. True security would only come from creating a sustainable life.

A few weeks before Jung left Microsoft, as a kind of pre-launch celebration, we all travelled as a family to the Bioneers conference in San Rafael, CA. One of the themes which came up time-and-time again was that of sustainability: mostly in terms of our planet. There is a lot of heart and love in Bioneers and much of the energy behind championing sustainable practices comes from a deep place of love for our planet, for our human species, and for all of nature. What has occurred to me during the weeks since Bioneers, however, is that sustainability is not a “nice to have.” It’s a “must-have.” In my opinion, sustainability is the key to every kind of security.

Without a reliable, sustainable flow of natural resources, we are not secure. How many wars are fought over resources which are perceived as scarce; how many lives are lost because water has been contaminated by short-sighted industrial practices; what has happened to the climate of our entire planet from failing to think about the long-term effects of our choices. These are critical, yet obvious examples of the importance of living sustainably.

As I see it now, though, sustainable living extends beyond just environmental conservation and into every part of our lives and society. What about foreign relations? How could those be sustainable? It seems clear to me that military force is inherently unsustainable and therefore, ironically, not secure. Military force ceases to have any effect once the threat of it is gone. The current violence against the members of the Occupy movement is a good example. If the protesters can hold out non-violently, how long will police forces be able to keep up their violent tactics before the public backlash becomes overwhelming? The violence is unsustainable.

What if we were to build relationships that would prevent terrorism while reducing the need for security theater and other false assurances? What about our financial system? How could our system of trade and currency be more sustainable, based on a fair exchange for goods and services rendered?

Finally, what about a sustainable measurement of our standard of living? We cannot continue to mine the Earth’s resources to support ever-increasing levels of GDP. That’s not sustainable for the Earth. More than that, in our family, we have also seen that continuing to acquire, acquire, acquire is not a sustainable way to enjoy our lives. Why should everybody be measured according to how much “stuff” they can produce or possess? What about Gross National Happiness? That sounds a lot more sustainable to me.

There is a lot more to unpack and examine in the area of sustainability, and I expect to write more on the subject in the future. If what I’ve said here resonates with you, I encourage you to go and read about Four Years. Go. and join the movement.

As for me, I want to look at everything I’m spending my precious life energy on and ask myself if I think it’s a sustainable practice. If it isn’t, why do it for a minute longer?