Without Nature, We are NOTHING.

Our world has taken over by materialistic possessions. Our views of our wants and needs are completely distorted. We have gotten so caught up in what is the latest and greatest thing out there and rather it is sustainable or not, or even something we particularly like, we want it. But do we need it? Most of the time the answer is going to be no. This is meaningful to me because this is something I can control and I can change. In life we have many basic needs, but there are four main keys to satisfying these needs: Time, artifacts, communication and nature.

Time consists of the pace that we are living our life. Our consumption rate is so high that the production has to follow and that just equals a lot of waste. We are constantly wanting something new and fresh in our lives and therefore we are constantly getting rid of the old. Artifacts is our treasured possessions. In history, we had several important things that symbolized our movement in freedom, technology, etc. Now, we are filling our lives with useless possessions and the meaning of our artifacts is decreasing. Communication is always important because as humans, we have a need of participation, we like to feel involved, and to be a part of something. Relationships are important to have because it fills our need of feeling wanted and needed. Last but certainly not least is nature. Having a connection with nature is one of our most important basic needs. The stronger connection we have with nature, the more we will cherish it and treasure it for what it’s worth.

In our measuring system for economic growth, nature is seen as having zero worth because it has no assigned monetary value. So as we are damaging and destroying our ecosystem with purchasing unsustainable products, according to our current system, that is positive economic growth. But in reality, that is not growth at all. Without nature, we are nothing. Nature was meant to have an infinite life span, but at the rate we are going, that will be almost impossible.

As for me, I am now going to work on not caring about the label on my shirt, but more about the label I am valuing nature. Just by spending more time outdoors and less time shopping, we can make a difference.

As designers, we have to acknowledge the fact that we have been designing for the materialistic consumers for years, but now it’s time to design for the environment. We can make sustainability a trend, I know it. All we have to do is find a way for our product to be the latest and greatest!

One thing I read this week that I remember was not shocking but definitely eye-opening was in Thorpe’s Design Atlas about how people in the United States can recognize more logos and labels than the plants, flowers and other parts of nature. The challenge I’m taking is to appreciate nature more and labels less. How about you?