| What Auto Industries And Environmentalists Can Learn From Sustaining Spirits |
View Comments
| Environment - Environment |
| Written by Mandy Ziegler |
| Thursday, 02 July 2009 07:39 |
|
Sustaining is a spiritual calling for many of us. Creating partnerships between human beings, the environment, our society and our planet is the essential purpose of the sustaining spirit. It is his lifes work. A spiritual archetype can be thought of as an ideal type. It is an expression of our spiritual voice. It gives you direction and meaning to your life.
Sustaining is a spiritual calling for many of us. Creating partnerships between human beings, the environment, our society and our planet is the essential purpose of the sustaining spirit. It is his lifes work. A spiritual archetype can be thought of as an ideal type. It is an expression of our spiritual voice. It gives you direction and meaning to your life. Recently President Obama announced new tough federal regulations to cut automobile greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks in order to reduce Americas dependence on foreign oil and raise fuel-efficiency standards to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. Amazingly, auto industry officials, environmentalists, union workers and politicians seem to welcome the new change but for different reasons. After serious disputes for many years over these issues with the government and the auto industry, environmentalists praised the new emissions control and fuel economy standards. On the opposing side, the auto makers feel they now have a single national efficiency standard to follow and a reasonable timeline to meet production schedules. But how can these two distinctive groups who have been historically antagonistic towards each other come together to meet a new complex set of regulations after years of opposition? Can they form an alliance to produce a profitable, new idea of transportation and maintain a clean atmosphere at the same time? What kind of relationship would be most effective to face these concerns when the stakes are so high, the conflicts are serious and the outcome is uncertain? The traditional relationship where one group or person has the power over the other is not an option. The alternative is a partnering relationship where responses to changes are creative and practical. The partnering quality of the sustaining spirit is not about team building. It reaches beneath every economic, political, and social process to call people to learn what it means to be a partner. If the auto industry and environmental sector can learn to listen to the calling of their sustaining spirit, President Obamas initiative will have hope. There are three characteristics of the sustaining spirit that make partnering possible. The first is intentioning. Intentioning is mindful actions as opposed to unthoughtful behavior. Intentions must be the same so partnering can happen. Too much human behavior is unintentional. We often act out of our past rather than towards an open future where we can imagine new possibilities. When the auto industry fell apart economically, the framework of their social biography disintegrated, leaving them directionless. The security of a lifelong job disappeared. The auto industry continued to cling to a social biography that no longer worked. Members of the auto industry must start using a partnering relationship, which includes intentioning, if they are going to go forward towards a prosperous future. Parity is the second quality of partnering expressed by the sustaining spirit. Parity is where partners recognize that each offers to the other something of value which is crucial to the relationship. The auto workers and environmentalists both must recognize that the other has something of value needed to achieve a solution. This is not sameness. The sustaining spirit calls for equivalency but difference. The third quality is learning itself. Partnering is conditioned by a mutual and reciprocal learning environment. Reciprocal learning between nature, the human mind, modern technology, and all living creatures is necessary for partnering to succeed. Both the auto industry and environmentalists must commit to learning from each other. The sustaining spirit calls for reciprocity. Can both industries develop ways to go about their daily lives giving sustenance to each other while receiving it back? The sustaining spirit says, Yes! Changes in the automobile industry and in the environmental industry depend upon a thorough analysis of conventional and cultural beliefs. It will be essential to give up certain habits to reach goals. This task cannot be forced. Difficult inner work is necessary. The sustaining archetype is all about partnering. All of us can learn to partner with each other and with our earth, environmental and automobile enthusiasts alike, so that each of us and all of us are sustained. Without that, we are lost. About the Author: Professional speaker and editor, Mandy Ziegler, presents the award winning spiritual nonfictionWhen Your Spirit Calls - In Search of Your Spiritual Voice, by Warren Ziegler. Learn how to identify your sustaining spirit. Discover yourself and your direction through nine unique spiritual archetypes. Learn how spirit can influence every aspect of your life, your work, and your relationships. |