Why would spirituality be considered a sustainable life practice? After all, it is not something you can see, hear, taste or touch. The reason spirituality is a necessary component of a sustainable lifestyle is best explained by the findings of psychologists and mental health experts: spirituality is necessary to mental health. Spirituality is one of the four major ingredients to mental health, balance, sustainability and stability, as well as the answer to the question of morality.

Many people hear this and confuse spirituality with religion. Spirituality and religion are two entirely different things. Spirituality is a feeling of reverence while religion is an organized institution. In order for a person to be spiritual, they would have to believe in some type of metaphysical life force that interacts with our physical existence, and attribute their personal morality to that life force. Most spiritual people tend to reason that this metaphysical life force takes the form of entities: God, the devil, angels, demons, spirits, fairies, etc. Others believe the life force is a type of energy that is not organized into a conscious entity but still interacts with people, such as karma or a curse.  It is arguable that merely holding to a moral system or believing that purpose exists in the universe is a form of spirituality.

The reason spirituality if so important to mental health is because it closely dialogues with and informs the other key components of a balanced, sustainable life. Feeling a sense of purpose in life is strongly tied to the belief that life has meaning, and it is spirituality that informs a person’s life meaning. We often choose relationships with people who are of a similar spirituality as ourselves, and many people who are passionate about their health describe being healthy as good for the soul as well as good for the body. The stronger the life of the spirit, the stronger the connection between the elements of a sustainable lifestyle.

Living in good health may seem like the most obvious sustainable lifestyle choice, and arguably, it is. Making an effort to take proper care of your body, based on current medical advice and common sense, can only improve your quality of life, not detract from it. Similarly, living in a way that aids the health of the planet can only serve to improve the collective experience of life on the planet. The more naturally one can live, the more sustainable.

Everyone is responsible for monitoring their own personal health, and the more diligently a person does this, the more sustainable their lifestyle is. A person in good health is more capable than a person in bad health. They are better able to function in the broad scheme of things. They are more active, energetic, productive and are less of a strain on social health services. But most importantly, they have a higher quality of life. Some good health practices are common sense: eat right, exercise regularly, get enough sleep and get a fair amount of sunshine. Some good health practices come from medical opinions, and apply to your own personal genetics and health profile. Both are important to sustaining good health. If a substance abuse problem is what stands between you and good health, your health problems are mental as well as physical and warrant the help of an substance abuse rehab.

Good health extends beyond your own person to the health of the environment around you. Only you are responsible for your personal health, but everyone is responsible for the health of the planet. This concept is where the popular usage of the word “sustainability” derives from. When you live in a way that is sustainable to the planet, you are living responsibly. Sustaining the planet’s health usually involves things such as eating natural, local food, growing your own food, recycling, composting, retrofitting your home to make it less energy using, commuting without a motorized vehicle and buying products that create less waste and are biodegradable. This is commonly referred to as “reducing your carbon footprint.”