Making the Good Life Last: Four Keys to Sustainable Living (BK Life)

Between the abstract concept of sustainability and its concrete application in daily life, says Schuler, most people keep dropping the ball. A Unitarian minister in Ohio, he began pondering what basic life skills people must develop, and what sort of shift their perspective they must make for them to make constructive use of the nitty-gritty instructions they receive from so many other sources. From this he identified the keys, or precepts: paying attention, staying put, exercising patience, and practicing prudence. He also introduces the broad measures of embracing new rules of conduct and releasing old habits of thought and belief, and concludes with a sustainable code of the soul. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Today, a significant percentage of human beings are surviving but cant be described as emotionally and spiritually prosperous. Depression, apathy, interpersonal violence, divorce, vocational dissatisfaction, restlessness, and anxiety are rampant in our materially-blessed society. For all our gadgets, gizmos, and 1,000 TV channels, opinion polls suggest that many of us are not happy campers. In this new thought-provoking and deeply honest book, Unitarian-Universalist pastor Michael Schuler traces the roots of our unhappiness back to our refusal to confront the long-term consequences of our immoderate choices. Choosing denial and short-term gratification, many Americans have lost their connection with a sustainable life path. To help readers make sustainable living second nature, Schuler identifies the behavioral principles that make it workPay Attention, Stay Put, Exercise Patience, and Practice Prudence--and shows readers how to apply these principles to their daily lives.

The Sustainable Life Is the Good Life

In our materialist culture, the idea of the good life--fancy cars, designer clothes, once-in-a-lifetime vacations--leaves even those few who can afford it feeling anxious, empty, and dissatisfied. Michael Schuler deconstructs the assumption that consumption and constant stimulation equal happiness. He shows how, by applying the principles of sustainability to our personal lives, we can discover treasures of perennial value: a beautiful and healthy earth home, enduring relationships, strong communities, work that contributes to the common good, and play that restores our bodies and lifts our souls.