When I first had the idea for this site, it was called Sunny—embodying both an attitude and the ultimate source of renewable energy—and my friend James was one of my favorite people for idea-bouncing. We’d drink tea and daydream about what we could create: a vibrant online community, a place for people to connect in a positive way, a new environmental conversation focused on possibility instead of despair. Flipping pessimism to optimism was our goal and our mode of operation.

As the weeks went on and our plans grew more detailed and real, the phrase “the sunny way” started creeping into our conversations. For instance, when James wanted to take up yoga but didn’t have a whole hour to devote to it, he decided to start with 10 minutes. “I’ll just take the first step,” he said. “It’s the sunny way!”

I started looking at life through a sunnier lens, too. As I worked on plans, I sometimes grew discouraged by brick walls that seemed to rise up at inopportune times. But I’d remember what I was up to, which was creating an inclusive, positive space for people to learn and recharge and act. Remembering that opportunities to make things better abound everywhere, not just where I hope to find them, helped me let up on the self-doubt and simply get back to work.

As luck would have it, I couldn’t get the domain name sunny.com (I think it’s owned by the city of Fort Lauderdale, and they are not giving it up). I cast around for a few weeks for a better name—the Sunny Review? Sunny News?—but nothing quite seemed right.

Then, one night, another friend was talking about the Way of the Warrior, the samurai moral code, and it hit me ... The Sunny Way! It works on a few different levels:

• It’s an attitude—we look for possibilities instead of problems.
• It’s a code—we commit ourselves to creating positive change.
• And it’s a path—we take one step at a time, learning and growing as we go.

The Sunny Way begins where we stand, but it has no ending. We will never run out of puzzles to solve or opportunities to grow. As we’ve discussed before, the nature of this particular universe doesn’t seem to be closure. The game seems to be change, then change some more.

How do we do all this crazy changing? The same way we get anywhere—one step at a time.

Of course, we need to take a lot of steps. But the best way to get anywhere is to have a general idea of the destination, then start the journey. As long as we keep our eyes open and remain flexible enough to change course as needed, we can get to where we want to be.

In our case, there are a lot of obstacles, and the path is unclear off in the distance. But we know the destination—a magnificent, clean, just future that supports all life—and we know the general way to get there—stop using fossil fuels, eliminate the concept of waste, emulate the elegance of nature. So let’s embrace the attitude, the code, and the path of The Sunny Way and get going.

One final note: In focusing on the positive, we are not trying to sugarcoat or gloss over any realities. Everyone knows things are effed up pretty badly. But we think it’s more effective to put our energy into expanding ideas of what’s possible, rather than lamenting what’s not.

And, really, when I look back over the history of humanity, I see lots of leaps forward that probably seemed impossible at the time. Freeing slaves, enfranchising women, integrating American society—none seemed likely or workable before they became reality.

But some did believe. Some took responsibility. Some took halting steps. Then, as others joined in, the path became clearer. And, together, these heroic individuals expanded the circle of possibility for all humankind.

Those of us who are alive right now are the descendants of these brave souls, and we are challenged with an even larger task. It’s almost as if the new world that wants to emerge is egging us on—C’mon, get to the next level already! Make things as they should be! Figure it out! Daunting, sure, but also HUGELY exciting, don’t you think?

The Sunny Way exists to support, inspire, and connect us as we take on this challenge, and I for one can’t wait to see where the path leads. Can you?

(image by James Jordan via flickr)