Fall 7 Times, Stand Up 8
Have you heard this Japanese proverb that translates to “fall seven times, stand up eight?” The first time I heard this, I was like, wowwwweee. This one gets me good.
It sounds simple enough: when life knocks you down, keep getting back up. But man, how profound and courageous this really is!
I think this idea is particularly relevant here, in the context of sustainability.
Sustainability, and life, are journeys in persistence and resilience. In the face of failure, heartbreak, hopelessness, and setbacks - KEEP GOING!
It’s definitely not always easy, but I do think in the end it is worth it.
There have been so many times in my life where I felt defeated, having allowed confusion about my path forward and self-doubt creep into my inner dialogue. This has been especially true around my own path to sustainability and specifically in creating Practically Eco.
If you’ve poked around our website, you probably know that the purpose of PE is to help all of us on our imperfect paths to sustainability. That was 100% born out of my own struggles, failures, and frustrations in the sustainability universe. So many times I “failed” at acting sustainably or was just plain confused about what the heck the “best” course of action was, that I just didn’t do anything.
I beat myself up (a lot, still working on that one!) and started to wonder if any of it mattered anyway.
When I reminded myself that some tiny steps forward, even if they’re weird and awkward, are still progress, I felt a bit better. I realized that just showing up and trying are important - we don’t always get it right at first and that’s ok too.
Having the courage to show up and try something is enough.
Creating Practically Eco from these experiences was really, really scary. I thought, “who am I to share these ideas and practices with the world?” But, I KEPT GOING anyway. Who knows if it’ll be anything other than a place where I can feel creative and free, but if it also helps change the world, even just a little bit, then it has done more than I could have hoped for.
What is a sustainable life anyway?
In trailblazing my own sustainable path and as I created PE, I started to think about what it really meant to be sustainable. What does a “sustainable” life really look like?
There have been so many times when acting sustainably is really challenging or not possible and I get down on myself for that (the guilt is REAL) more than I want to. So in this quest to re-define what sustainability means for me, I wanted to focus on the collective actions over my lifetime. Because that’s what really matters.
The way I show up consistently over my life, is what I am contributing to the planet.
One of my all time favorite quotes is this one from Gandhi:
Ok, I’m not trying to compare myself to GANDHI 😂 but the point is the same:
OUR lives can be our messages. What do we want to say?
Sustainability is more than protecting the environment for me.
Sustainability is about all that I do and all that I care about, which includes:
The environment, animals/wildlife
Fitness & health
Self care
Personal development/fulfilling my life’s goals
Friends, family, and chosen family
Travel/seeing the world
That is why we cover all of these topics in our Blogs and Newsletter so we can provide pathways to help you fulfill your own path to sustainability too. Sustainability is definitely not one size fits all, so it’s important to explore the multidimensional nature of what it means to live a sustainable life.
Because if all of these things have impacted and influenced me, then I would bet they impact and influence you too. If we want our LIVES to be our message, and that message is of hope, kindness, and perseverance in the face of challenge, then we have to look at the multiple aspects that allow those pieces to shine through.
Practically Eco’s community is about sustainably supporting sustainability! We look at the path to sustainability holistically, meaning we have developed programs and opportunities to support your whole person, not just one aspect of you.
If you haven’t yet, join our newsletter to keep this kind of goodness coming and explore our website to see what fun things we’re cooking up! If you’re looking for a way to integrate a few of the things I mentioned above into something fun and uplifting, check our our seasonal rECOnnect kits!
I would LOVE to hear from you! What does sustainability mean to you? What is one challenge or setback you have encountered on your sustainability pathway, and how did you find the courage to keep going? How can we help you overcome those challenges or setbacks if you haven’t been able to push through? Send me a note at nicolette@practically.eco
Thanks for being here! It is truly my honor and privilege to serve each of you as we tackle the largest challenge of our time ♥️ Remember - YOU can make a difference!
Ta-ta for now,
Nicolette
