The Ecosystem

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Adeline Nieto, former blogging intern at {r}evolution apparel.

I crave the bigger picture. You know those posters that use hundreds of little photographs to compose one big photo? Well, that’s how my brain works. I come across ideas worth remembering, they become pieces in the mosaic, and I zoom out on the snapshots I’ve quilted together, all to ensure a sharper focus. Perspective, some say.

A few stitches later it’s summer, and I’ve mentally incorporated photographs from my internship with All of Us Revolution and {r}evolution apparel. Because this startup company challenges an entire paradigm, my mosaic has been altered forever.

Revolution Apparel focuses on minimalism, sustainability, organic methods of production, and fair trade labor. It’s a clothing line that’s attempting to change the motives behind consumption, where buying power will be used thoughtfully and rationally, and not hastily and selfishly.

The Setting

I read tens of posts each day — for Twitter, blog commenting, internship knowledge, and for my own life knowledge as well. I read many self-help articles, but also many “environment-help” articles. I read pieces that sound shockingly similar, and others that couldn’t disagree more. I read some that slant towards realism, and some that slant towards idealism.

While I wouldn’t say my worldview has changed, my point-of-view sure has. I see the world differently, and now my actions exemplify that changed thinking.

The Subjects

I consider my internship with {r}evolution apparel a semester-long summer class. There are countless professors and the material directly translates to real life experiences. None of the impractical stuff. The course syllabus has two homework assignments: to love and to grow, and one objective: sustainability.

The Inspiration

Somewhere along the way, the required reading gave birth to correlated thinking. I became inspired.

“Imagine if the entire world recycled, reused, and renewed! Imagine the sustainability!” The possibilities in my mind became endless.

But enthused thought dies quickly when not translated into action. The first step needed to happen immediately.

The Development Process

I recalled the saying, “Stop and smell the roses,” so I did just that. I stopped to smell roses, marigolds, and even dandelions.

But I wasn’t becoming mindful. I couldn’t simply memorize stage directions, or in this case, popular quotes, and act as a puppet. I had to feel.

How could I become mindful? The answer lay in simplicity, in stopping the multitasking.

And how did I connect mindfulness to my goal of sustainability? By using the rationale that if I didn’t purposely seek nature’s beauty, if I didn’t attentively respect the earth, then I would lose perspective. I would be performing sustainable acts for the sake of “doing the right thing.”

The first step I took towards enjoying nature was moving my workplace outside. I took my laptop’s ‘permanent’ spot off my desk, and placed it on my patio furniture. I enjoyed it so much that the next day I took my breakfast outside. Which then motivated me to have lunch outside. Before I knew it, “fresh-air meals” became a daily habit.

While eating, I would notice the nature I had previously glanced over: the tree branch that was now wrapped in a spider web and the morning glories that hibernated during the day.

I even spent a good half hour cloud watching, amazed at how fast the clouds could move, reshape, and even disappear into thin air.

I began to appreciate the earth. And now I was ready to intentionally care for the earth.

Getting Graded

Through mindfulness, I successfully completed the two homework assignments, all the while aiming at the objective. Mindfulness fuels love and growth, which fuels sustainability.

I learned that our ecosystem is connected, yet we don’t realize this until we see the bigger picture. As itty-bitty megapixels, we’re part of a whole. It’s as simple and as complex as that.

Continuing My Education

The real challenge is to continue being mindful, loving, growing, and sustainable, despite what society deems “normal.”

The vast majority of people only change their ways if it’s convenient. They’ll turn off the water when they brush their teeth, but won’t turn it off when they shampoo or shave. They’ll turn off the lights when they leave a room, but won’t turn off the AC when they leave the house.

I was always told, if I didn’t have time for something, it was because I hadn’t made time for it. Essentially, my priorities were out of order.

So I challenge all of us to alter our priorities. And it’s hard, I know.

Just remember that change is about making today better than yesterday — and more promising for tomorrow. Change is a day-to-day process.

And because change is a string of days, sustainability is a slow revolution. But it should be a slow revolution, one where we concentrate on making conscious and informed decisions each and every day.

Adeline Nieto is a junior at Ithaca College and a summer intern with {r}evolution apparel. She helps blog about sustainability, entrepreneurship, and starting an eco-friendly clothing line at All of Us Revolution. The ladies can be followed on Twitter at @AllofUsRev or on Facebook.