It’s time for a nature-conscious version of “the good life”
Why a new good life in youth culture matters more than ever
Every culture has a point of view on "the good life." Sometimes it's explicit - in schools of thought like Stoicism, or Ubuntu - and sometimes it's less obvious. But the shared understanding of what makes a life worth living, what's worth pursuing, what success looks like — it's always there, shaping everything.
So what does the good life look like in our culture, right now?
Scroll through any feed and the answer writes itself. It's private jets and poolside content. It's overflowing wardrobes and Stanley cup collections. It's the hustle-to-luxury pipeline, the upgrade cycle, the relentless promise that more stuff equals more happiness. You could call it the stuff-centred good life. And the thing is, we didn't choose to sign up to it. But when we see it 3,000 times a day in adverts, feeds and pop culture, it can feel impossible to imagine our aspirations could be any different.
We all know this is a story that’s past its sell-by date. Not just because of what it's doing to our living systems (though this alone should give us pause), but because of what it's doing to us. This version of the good life leaves us feeling worse, not better. Seeking wellbeing through stuff makes us disconnected, anxious and numbed out - and our young people more so than ever.
Shifting cultural norms isn’t easy - it’s messy, long-term, and hard to measure - but it’s the scale of ambition that’s needed now. IPBES — the world authority on biodiversity — now identifies redefining "good quality of life" as one of the biggest leverage points in the system: in other words, for those with the skills to shape culture, this is the one big bold goal to prioritise. Together, we need to reimagine what a life well lived can look like, and create the cultural conditions for new cultural norms to take hold.
So what’s an alternative good life we can rally behind? Ancient wisdom and emerging science tend to converge on a single truth here: we’re not separate to nature, and we’re not superior to it, but our systems condition us to behave as if we are. When we start to live from a more connected place, our wellbeing and the wellbeing of our systems improve.
The interesting thing is that everyday people are pretty good at naming the shift required. Since 2021, Purpose Disruptors has researched the future visions of citizens across the UK and Ireland, asking them to imagine a good life for themselves. And every time, the same thing comes back: people are dreaming of more connectedness. To be in closer relationship to themselves, to others, to nature and the living world around them. No Stanley cup in sight. They might not call it “nature consciousness”, but citizens are sensing into the truth of our place in the web of life when they imagine being in deeper connection.
So if the stuff-centred good life is past its expiry, it’s time to sing the song of the nature-conscious good life: one where we remember we get to belong and be co-participants in this interdependent web of life.
What we need now is visibility. The stuff-centred good life has an entire industry behind it — billions in advertising spend, a sophisticated cultural machine working around the clock to make it feel aspirational. The nature-conscious alternative? We might be yearning for it, but we can barely picture it. In in the visions research, citizens would share vivid dreams of a good life of connectedness, accompanied by google images of wind turbines and hands cupping soil: hardly the real, tantalising imagery of nature consciousness that can ignite us to change our lives. We made Agency for Nature to change that: to create breakthrough campaigns making nature feel relevant and desirable in youth culture.
A snapshot of Season 2 campaigns
Agency for Nature in 2026: fresher and fiercer
Today, this work matters more than ever. Darker forces are co-opting the stuff-centred good life — selling visions of wealth, status and dominance to those feeling disconnected. They're well-funded and able to flood the zone in the new information ecosystem. It's more important than ever to offer a healthier alternative, one rooted in genuine connection to each other and to nature.
So this year, we’re clear: it's time to supercharge the nature-conscious good life. To make it not just imaginable, but visible — something people can see happening right now, in the real world. Not just aspirational, but rehearsable — something we can practise, dip our toes into, until it becomes common sense.
We’re preparing the ground for Season 3, so if you’re a funder, creative agency, media owner, insight agency, climate & nature org, and want to get involved - we want to hear from you!
