Engineering the "Goodness" - A Sustainable "Good" Life

Continuity of life... A sentence that contains so much hope and anxiety at the same time. The primary concern and struggle of every species on entire planet - big or small, vertebrate or invertebrate, capable of processing high data or low data processing- is to continue their own existence and their species. Within this magnificent system, this concept lies at the heart of the struggle, cooperation and every adaptation effort made by a mammal from the class of primates of the chordate branch - human beings- throughout their existence.

A sustainable environment and future do not come by waiting. Even if we consume nothing while waiting, we consume time and potential. During the pandemic, we stayed in our homes, but we were not trapped, we had experienced another period of revealing our most basic instinct, which we have experienced perhaps hundreds of times throughout the history of our existence - "adaptation". And although difficult it was, I can say that we did a very good job, especially in the early days of the pandemic. Adapting and thus ensuring the continuity of life has always been possible only by being aware, finding the potential, revealing it and announcing it to our population, in short, with labor, activism and cooperation in all conditions.

“ME” to “US”

Labor is one of the most sublime concepts. Yes, but what actually determines the value of labor? Labor is only valued when it does not cause any cost or suffering for the planet and all beings. ?Labor is valued when it does not harm other people and their efforts. Labor is valued when it does not focus on self or “only me” in comfort zones and can create benefits for others too. The important thing here is that; while we are making efforts to maintain our own existence, our social status or earnings, we must turn and ask ourselves: "what are costs or benefits of my all efforts to other people, living beings or the planet?", "how will the future consequences of my actions affect me, humanity and other living beings?"

When these questions start to be asked, the consciousness of sustainability starts to work. Because sustainability is an empathetic and voluntary state of action that calls for a quality-valued person rather than a quantity-valued person under all circumstances. These empathetic and highly sensitive actions can only emerge from people, leaders and politicians who are equipped with immeasurable values (empathy, ethics, morality, loyalty, justice, equality, kindness, etc...).

The science of sustainability represents practices and policies that simultaneously protect the ecology, society and economy not only for the present but also for the future. It is an undeniable fact that it is difficult to establish a system where the entire system becomes a win-win situation. Moreover, it is not enough just to envision and calculate this system. In order to implement the system, it is necessary to prevent self-centralization and political centralism. For this reason, the science of sustainability is turning into an interdisciplinary field that needs to progress by including not only industrial engineering but also social engineering, economics, natural and human sciences.

Honestly: Is a Sustainable System Possible?

Sustainability consciousness while offers us a good, quality, beautiful and sustainable life and living space, it also prevents tyranny, dictatorship, lawlessness, impudence and immorality, and strives to make equality, justice, free thought, democracy, respect for differences, and ethics understandable and applicable throughout society. Along with these, it aims for the fair distribution and continuity of abundance for every individual. However, the mechanisms of all these good conditions need to be calculated and operated in a fair and accurate manner without prioritizing the interests of one(s) over the interests of other individuals or the ecosystem. Therefore, the establishment of a sustainability system and the continuity of the functionality of this system throughout the life of our planet requires serious engineering and innovative thinking.

From this point of view, when we talk about a sustainable "good" life, every living creature deserves a good living environment that is ecologically, socially or economically sustainable; but what is actually emphasized by "good" is a human life that we can describe as "good" not only with its values but also with its efforts and actions. Therefore, all teachings about sustainability actually come from explaining “good human actions” rather than explaining the qualities of a good person.

How long we take action to be good is important, the awareness we create or the benefit for the whole is important. Unless the good individual takes an action and maintains this activism, unfortunately selfishness and ego will win. This will not be sustainable for both the planet and our population.

Really, a good person cannot have a comfort zone. As Yunus Emre says, "the one whose trouble is the world, has as many troubles as the world". Any kind of wrongdoing, waste, bullying, inequality, injustice or rude treatment the one sees around, disturbs. When this discomfort turns into a sense of responsibility, the person becomes a voluntary activist. A person who tends to change own attitudes as well as the attitudes of the environment. By collaborating with others, they begin to collectively generate ideas or efforts for transformation for the better. For a better planet, a better society, a better economy...

Yes, we deserve a sustainable and quality living environment, which is the right of every living being. However, as individuals to what extent do we practice sustainable "good human actions" in the first place? Or do we expect these actions from others? Or do we add negative reinforcement by saying “Others don't do it anyway, what would happen if I did it?”

The first thing you should do today is to identify a "good human action". Like wasting less water... Make an effort to spend less water today, and tell a friend about it tomorrow. Find new methods to consume less water and share these methods with each other and your community. Come together with even more people and develop cooperation by specifying the action you have determined and the material and moral consequences of this action.

When we develop cooperation for good human actions, it slowly turns into social sanction. Don't say what can we change as a little group! You are building a future on every resource you do not dry it up and save... In the same way, you build society on every wrong that you stand against which touches your conscience.

We have only one world, only one right, only one life in this beautiful place, and in this one chance we can give ourselves and our grandchildren a real paradise on Earth... If we can overcome this difficult task and educate the next generations in this direction....

I mean, it doesn't make a difference whether you are the best and most pure-hearted person in the world. But today you can be a hero of the future. Just stay with us in awareness, good human actions and cooperation...

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Fulya Senbagci Ozer

NeuroSustainability and Social Perception Speacialist

https://linktr.ee/Neurosustainability