![]() This principle has to do with living wisely and within reasonable boundaries. Self-regulation is not a common thing in our society anymore. We indulge in every kind of excess, whether it is food, materialism, sex, or personality. The regulated person is becoming a thing of the past, scornfully regarded as Victorian or Puritanical. We scoff at the limits of society, philosophy, and culture. I only ask a person to consider why the fence was there in the first place before tearing it down. Fences don’t only keep you in. They also keep other things out. Think about that. The proverb for this principle is a Biblical one. “The sins of the fathers are visited on the children to the seventh generation.” Permaculture isn’t applying this proverb philosophically, but economically. Our children and our children’s children suffer when we indulge in excess and do inappropriate things with our lives and with the earth. Some things need to be discouraged and punished because they are dangerous. What damages the system damages us, and sometimes the damage can be so difficult to fix. Sometimes the damage is irrevocable. We need to be careful about what we do, because the consequences of our decisions are not always quick and obvious. Negative feedback can be a slow beast. Therefore, we must be wise with our knowledge and our actions. We must also be willing to accept feedback, whatever it is. In this way, permaculture strives for pragmatism and objectivity as we learn what should be done and shouldn’t. “When your needs are simple, it doesn’t require much time or work to meet them.” – Mark Boyle Comments are closed.
|
Rebecca Burrow
I am a Christian permie designer trying to spread the word about Christian land stewardship through permaculture. I like goats a lot. Maaaaaaaah. Archives
September 2016
Categories
|
Burrow Permaculture Consulting | Permie Blog |