The Role of Restraint
To restrain from doing or saying something is to hold back, maybe take a pause. It implies waiting, or leaving room for space or silence.
Merriam-Webster describes it as “limiting, restricting, or keeping in control.”
It’s pretty clear that many of the climate-related problems we face are due to a lack of restraint. This week, we’ll consider the role of restraint in the context of giving back to your place. This is not about restricting your freedom, or hiding, or not doing something out of fear. There is a healthy form of self-restraint that benefits both you and your place. It’s another way of giving back.
One form of restraint we’ve already been practicing since the beginning of the year is slowing down and listening. For, only then can we hear what we and others need and are saying, and what our place needs. Here are a few other ways of practicing restraint.
Take only what you need.
Most of us probably grew up hearing the saying, “do all things in moderation.” This works well when it comes to your health and it also works well when it comes to the health of your place. Taking only what you need leaves more for others.
In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer says that when we start to see everything as a gift, then self-restraint naturally kicks in. We don’t want to take too much. She calls that self-restraint the conversion from a market economy to a gift economy.
Of course, taking only what you need is open to interpretation. We first have to distinguish between needs and wants. Also, It’s not as easy as it sounds to take only what you need. What about saving for the future? This is okay but where do you find a balance?
Do as little harm as possible.
This is a maxim I try to keep in mind, yet have failed at many times. Just being a human being living on this earth means that we’re always doing some kind of harm. So, what does it mean to do as little harm as possible, especially in the context of your place?
In human relationships, we can do as little harm as possible by exercising self-restraint in our choice of words or actions so that we don’t say or do something unkind or harmful that we’ll regret or that will cause long-term damage in the relationship.
In terms of other living species, we can show self-restraint by not polluting the waterways with toxic chemicals. Or by leaving some of the bounty from our vegetable garden for the animals in the yard. We could participate in no-mow May, giving extra nectar for bees and other pollinating insects.
Refuse to participate.
Another form of restraint is refusing to participate in something that causes harm or takes too much. Kimmerer says that refusing to participate in an economy can be a moral choice.
For example, she believes that water is not only a gift but a right for all, and it shouldn’t be bought or sold. If you believe that too, then you can refuse to buy it. If a company denies human rights or degrades the environment, you can boycott their products. Or, if a particular product causes harm, you can refuse to buy it. You can refuse to eat meat or travel on an airplane or use a gas-powered leaf blower.
Practice
Slow down and listen. See if you can distinguish between wants and needs as they arise and practice taking only what you need, one day at a time. How does this feel? What difference does it make in your life? Take only what you need, leaving more for other beings, human and non-human.
It’s an ongoing practice to be kind and minimize harm. For this week, practice doing as little harm as possible. Don’t kill insects, if possible. Move them from inside to outside or remove yourself from a situation where they’re bothering you.
How and when do you refuse to participate? What can you refuse this week?