The environmental problems we face as a society are so vast. How can we personally connect with these problems? By getting out of our heads and returning to the body, we can see that body links us with the world outside ourselves. We need to turn off the televisions sets and turn off our minds and feel the connection we have with the world around us. There is a problem right now in the world and it is our duty, right now, as human beings to address this problem.

The climate change crisis is really an opportunity to truly connect with the world around us, an opportunity to enhance our mental health by stepping out of alienation and aimlessness. For too long, we have been disconnected from our bodies, each other and our environment, but now, mindfulness in the present moment provides a road to connect outside ourselves to this crisis we all face. The present moment is a highway to connection. Only here and now we can we connect outside ourselves because the past and future are mere concepts. Only here and now, can we disregard assumptions rooted in the past so we can contend with future challenges.

And what are those challenges? Climate change imperils our future right now, but that future can be salvaged if we all work together. Being present right now carries high stakes for the health of our environment and for a our mental health. We do face a crisis of meaning in our culture and the solution to that crisis is combating climate change. If life today has meaning, that meaning is fueled by the existential crisis that climate change is becoming. If we are protecting the earth’s sustainability for future generations, then our life has meaning because we are acting in connection with others and the natural world that has made all our lives possible.

And what about the LOHAS revolution? The LOHAS revolution shows us that the climate change crisis is not just a moral, political and intellectual crisis, but a spiritual and emotional one rooted in connectedness. For too long, we have been cut off from other people and the world that surrounds us. More than just political change, Lifestyles in Health and Sustainability require a change in consciousness, a change in how we perceive the relationship of our self with the world.  Sustainability is more than just a set of policies, it is a spiritual principal that colors life with meaning. LOHAS is a means of using the climate change crisis as an engine of spiritual renewal. It is an opportunity to lift up our society from despair, nihilism and isolation and become immersed in connectedness and responsibility.