In late
July, I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. When I traced the causes of my
anxiety, one of the roots was a fear, a fear that our generation might be the
last. The last because we would have created an unsustainable world.
I found the
label given to my problem. Eco-anxiety: fear of an unsustainable future. But recognition,
alone, does not solve the problem. Because anxiety is a fear of uncertainty. It
leaves you feeling powerless, helpless. But you can’t go on living a life of
fear, of worry. You could say it’s unsustainable.
So what
would solve the problem? The only solution that I could find was to build a
world where unsustainability is a thing of the past. I worked on converting my
fear into concern, concern into curiosity, so that I could make connections between
different fields, curiosity into knowledge, so that I could develop a deeper
understanding of the world, and knowledge into productive action.
And that action,
which is hopefully productive, is The Sustainable Society, a virtual community where
people are not afraid of unsustainable problems and dare to find better,
sustainable solutions.
All in all,
it is a society for people who care. For people who can find it in their hearts
a desire to build a sustainable future, for themselves and generations to come.