ABOUT ISLANDERSDELIGHT
IslandersDelight.com was created to help those seeking to understand the nature of our current global ethics vs energy vs economy vs environment predicament and to explore the possibilities inherent in the emerging cultural 'eco-shift' response. As it is now clear to anyone paying any attention, every major sector of the global economy is currently being disrupted, and this trend will only intensify throughout the 2020s and 30s. Where are we heading?
Using a based-on-real-experiences fictional 'sea-sprayed' storytelling narrative of mainland madness, island wisdom, and second changes; the writings on this site describe a very NON-fictional reckless, greedy, and blatantly obsolete mainland ‘dominance culture’ and an extractive and exploitative, profoundly unsustainable, linear, take-make-waste economic system that appears to be tragically sleep(fast)walking towards societal and ecological collapse.
This mainland culture is a crude, myopic, and outdated economic worldview based on domination, dualism, dominion, and delusional separation that has clearly outlived its usefulness and increasingly appears to be (thankfully!) in terminal decline.
On the hopeful rise are a new generation of cross-cultural ‘eco-conscious’ citizens yearning for lives of greater meaning, purpose, wonder, discovery, simplicity, connection, and personal growth. They are re-discovering the holistic transcendent values of what remains of many of the world’s indigenous island cultures: ecological balance, beauty, love, wisdom, self-sufficiency, resilience, resourcefulness, mindfulness, music, humor, gratitude, generosity, community — and most importantly, reverence for the wonder, regenerative capacity, and healing power of the natural world, in which they know they are embedded, and to which they know they are intimately connected. Theirs is a consciousness of ‘interbeing’.
You see, fellow mainlanders, indigenous islanders (unsurprisingly) ‘get’ the necessity of living slower and more mindful ecologically intelligent lives, of balancing personal growth and ‘pursuit of happiness’ with being engaged citizens of a community and good stewards of the environment. They base their lean, local, community-focused economic systems on long-term equitable and sustainable well-being, deep resiliency, and real wealth (personal, social, and ecological health) for all, rather than on short-term profits and runaway virtual wealth (money) for a very few.
But still reeling from three jolting cultural and economic shocks in the 21st century (9/11, 2008 financial crisis, COVID-19 pandemic), we manic mainlanders — envious, impatient, insatiable, entitled hyper-consumers — are slowly (and grudgingly) coming around. For our numbers are now very large. Our technologies are now very powerful. And our negative impacts on the interconnected, interdependent natural world — of which we are a part, embedded in, connected to — are now very damaging. While our cleverness races ahead, wisdom must preside.
So we are compelled to chart a different course — a more ecologically intelligent course — as our wasteful consumerist culture, delusional 'human supremacy' worldview, and obsolete infinite economic growth story of biospheric dominance must soon come to an end on this full, finite, and ecologically ravaged planet.
Indeed, we must soberly acknowledge the inconvenient truth that too many environmental limits have already been breached.
With a massive dirty ecological footprint from over two centuries of unfettered fossil-fueled economic hyper-growth and expansion, we have collectively reached the water's edge.
And we find, friends and fellow mainlanders, that we are now, suddenly — islanders all.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rich 'Rico' Leon
What does the word ‘thriving’ mean to you?
For me, it's a sweet lifestyle-jazz trio: financial freedom, meaningful work/projects, and authentic community relationships.
I've enjoyed all three for most of my adult life by always living well below my financial means, pursuing genuine work/project interests, community volunteering, buy-well-and-hold-long investing in high-quality ethical 'eco-shift' companies, and stubbornly resisting mainstream expectations — and wasteful conspicuous displays — of ‘success’. And that has allowed me to do many interesting (to me) things!
After earning degrees in Engineering Science (Georgia Tech) and in Sociology (UF), I enjoyed two career treks in electric utility power systems and in Internet software development. I also pursued many side interests, projects, and temp gigs: technical writer, private pilot, marine electrician, scuba diver, beach catamaran racer, ocean sailor, math / chem / physics tutor, guitar / ukulele instructor, performing musician, e-bike builder, and custom wooden boat designer and builder (sailing catamaran and hybrid gas/electric waterway cruiser):
From all of those experiences — and fueled by my innate curiosity — I learned a lot about how the world is fundamentally changing as a result of our collective impact. And as I am a teacher/educator at heart, I felt compelled to share what I describe as a rapidly emerging cultural ‘eco-shift’ and what I believe it will take to ‘thrive’ in a novel global ecological economy.
Make no mistake, dear reader, the next 30 years will be PROFOUNDLY different than the last 30!
Are you prepared?