Are you really well and healthy? You know, we always talk about sustainability issues, but what do you do for your sustainable wellness?
The teaching is as follows: To be successful, you must sacrifice your life. This includes family, friends, interests, and even mental and physical health. These are all sacrificed on the altar of money, work, and career. Success comes only with sacrifices. This is most likely by sacrificing ‘ourselves’. So, is there a sustainable side to this? The answer is clear: No!
We say that we have destroyed the planet with our irresponsible production and consumption patterns. The Anthropocene hypothesizes that some species will disappear completely at this point where the planet has arrived by human ingenuity. But what about the human himself? What about sustainable wellness?
Concrete references for happiness and well-being were set before us. These references were indexed to success, career and money. Technology, consumption, modern life, mega-cities have inflamed this fire. The flames got so big that they surrounded us. Now we are pulling and discussing the issues of human life and a healthy sustainable future from all sides to find a way out.
Even the business world has embraced wellness to increase employee productivity. Clothes were liberalized, healthy food was piled up in the offices, collective yoga and mind exercise training began. Now everyone was a candidate to become a Tibetan monk. After all, it was all in the head, right? Work-life balance was everything. We were not just painting wood, we were actually protecting our health.
Now a third of the food produced goes to waste while millions of people around the world go hungry. Obesity is a candidate to become the biggest human problem. The issue of people being ‘good’ is now a multi-billion dollar economy. Not to mention the real health issues and the health system…
Is sustainable ‘well-being’ possible?
Today, we are acting with real awareness, at least a group of people is, for a more respectful and healthy sustainable future. This applies to the environment, nature, animals, the planet, and each other. Therefore, we need to put our own sustainable goodness as an important part of this issue.
We clearly know the facts that harm the environment. They trigger the climate crisis and global warming. We try to take precautions against them. We should also be aware of the facts that harm us and affect our health and well-being. We must do something about them.
This is not a call to quit work and get away from the reality of life. On the contrary, it encourages changing some practices in life. It suggests giving yourself a little more value for sustainable wellness.
The individual manifesto for sustainability is clear: Small steps can change a lot.
Simplifying life means to simplify in every sense. Simplifying in our home, on our table, in our shopping. Making more valuable use of our time. To stay away from the ‘extreme’ state of every topic. I’m talking about small yet crucial steps. These include listening to ourselves and not neglecting our own issues.
Taking care of our health is also important. Believe me, even these can change a lot. Not only for us, but also for our family and loved ones…
Dedicated to Hakan Alp (1968-2021)