Apathy is a loss of pride, enthusiasm, and love.

The very thing that makes any society great is enthusiasm for  tolerance of diversity, richness in culture and having such a sense of pride over possibilities that it shines through in art, music, movies, political discourse and education. Perhaps the reason there is such apathy now is that government has stalled at a divisive stale mate. Art, music and culture are not flowering due to simple neglect. Public pride has stumbled due to people being told their craftsmanship is not as valuable, so jobs disappear over seas. And most of all, people are simply helpless and told they are powerless to affect improvement in the world’s biggest challenges.

The biggest challenge, of course is how to sustain a healthy planet and feed seven billion people? Sustainability has been called the most important idea of the 21st century. It means, in the simplest terms possible, that any resource from earth, or enacted by humanity, is taken in ways that allow earth to replenish those resources. Hope and enthusiasm is a resource too.

A sustainable forest is a forest managed in such a way that trees get replanted, and will be there for the ecosystems that need them for life. A sustainable food crop is one that feeds many and is still able to be planted again without major destruction to soils, bio-diversity, and people. A sustainable economy is one that is more balanced toward ending waste and shared value to everyone, and not to just the elite. Only elites can thrive in an environment of constant competition. A sustainable hope is one shared by all.

An important psychological component that stops apathy dead in its tracks are personal power, personal freedom, personal belief and confidence of belonging. Therefore, to maintain any resource, including considerable human resources, requires vigilance on the part of those people who are completely dependent upon a sustainable system in order to “make a living,” that is, to continue living on a planet with finite resources.

People need to know someone cares. They need to know this, for them to care. They need to appreciate life, and feel hope for abundance, better days ahead, and a strong sense of ability. But humans feel trapped, often isolated, confined to cubicles, or behind glowing screens. For as much as smart devices link the world, they also cut off the world of the sensuousness, uplifting regeneration and delights of nature. Technology, sad to say can be used for dividing as well as uniting. For people already feeling alienated, many simply use it as a convenient way to tune out the world.

All beings need nature, food, water, soil, and air quality to be sustainable. Yet, psychologically, there are those who do not recognize our very deep emotional, mental, and spiritual connection to planet earth. It has been lost somewhere in the Industrial revolution which moved us indoors. All improvements and developments were described in ways that elevated humanity over earth. It is as if when presented with a free choice in the Garden of Eden, man chose fast food over real, dirty fuel over bright sun, machines over people. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Man could then define himself as the brightest one, with the most innovation, mechanical aptitude, language and sacred divinity. The problem of course, is that man denied He needs nature.

What is so bad about apathy? Another word for it is indifference. When people are indifferent and become insensible to others suffering, whether it be fellow humans, earth or animals, there is no reason to work hard, no reason to celebrate. They have no reason to hope. Every genocide was woven from fibers of indifference, which collectively are much more supportive of evil regimes then outright cruelty could ever be. There are a thousand people who turn away, for every one sadist who wields the whip.

Our connection Psychology was further obscured by a very dualistic perspective of earth that called for religions and the powerful, to cast human beings as masters, or conquerors of the planet, rather than kin to our world. Psychologically, then, we have alienated humanity from sustainable support, comfort, compassion and more. Psychologically severing our belonging to place then created an alienation that fuels wars, conflict, and misunderstanding, destruction of other organisms, lands and seas. And of course, the increasing crisis that is called climate change, or global warming, has become a political issue rather than a common sense which tells humanity the simple truth. The simple truth, (so simple, people cannot fathom it,) is that human beings need air, water, soil, and food. The higher quality connection that they sustain to this reality, the higher quality of life they can create.

Fighting apathy means embracing power. It means knowing that people DO make a difference, so they may as well make a difference toward good. It suggests that our ways of living, in order to not be destructive, wasteful, tragic and trashy, humanity can choose to be cooperative, appreciative, more fulfilled and spiritually enriched. By embracing the sustainability lessons of nature and all nature’s abundance, people can improve all lives.