Free Inquiry #3 – Hard Truths and Taking Accountability
This Monday, I had the pleasure to see David Suzuki speak at the University of Victoria. David Suzuki, a living legend (in my opinion), is a Canadian geneticist, environmental activist, and is perhaps most famous as the host of The Nature of Things, a CBC docu-series that explores natural science. This event, which was hosted by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions in collaboration with the David Suzuki Foundation, hosted David in a more casual setting, as he had a conversation with his longterm friend Ian Mauro. To explore more of this event, I’ll attach a link to a facebook post from the University of Victoria below:
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DL7CGj2dH
I left this event feeling many mixed emotions: happiness, disappointment, anger. But, and perhaps most importantly, I felt inspired. I left with feelings of hope. David spoke a lot about action, and as he says, “Action says you hope something different is possible.” Without action, there is no change. Without action, change is not possible.
Over the past week, I’ve done a lot of reflecting about David’s words. Sometimes, I feel a level of powerlessness when it comes to climate or environmental action. Sometimes, at this point, it feels like the fate of the environment has been chosen by influential people who refuse to look at the facts and figures, and initiate any change. It has been chosen by people afraid to take action. It has been chosen by people who refuse to take action because action is not profitable. Action doesn’t sell.
On a smaller, more personal level, action means being critical of yourself. It means taking a look inward and being accountable for your actions. This can be an uncomfortable task. For example, this past week I was battling a cold. Typically, I take the bus to commute to school. It’s a longer ride, approximately 40 minutes, and I have to wake up about 30 minutes earlier than if I was to drive, but it’s survivable, and I’m used to it. This week, however, as I fought my mild cold, taking the bus felt like the last thing I wanted to do. So I drove. Almost everyday of the week, I drove to school. But when I woke up on Thursday, still battling my cold, I asked myself a tough question. As I try to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle, the second it gets hard or uncomfortable, am I going to just give up? Or am I just going to roll over and go back to my old ways like I had this past week? So, I took action, and I sucked it up and took the bus. Because the only way to grow, to make change, to take action, is to be uncomfortable. While my example may feel small, perhaps even pathetic, I think it can be applied to many of our ambitions. If we want any type of change, we need to hold ourselves accountable. Even when it’s hard. Especially when it is hard.
So, what does this mean for my exploration of sustainable fashion? It means taking a breath, and asking yourself: do I really need this? It means repurposing old clothes, and finding a new use for them. It means restraining from buying seven new shirts in that big sale, and maybe investing in something made local. Or maybe just buying nothing at all. It means slowing down, taking accountability, and saying no.