Positive Change II

Today I came across a really great article called The Great Turning by Joanna Macy. It addresses the shift happening within the world, from the "Industrial Growth Society to a life-sustaining civilization". What I like most about the article is that it incorporates the different aspects of this shift; it has helped me link the jigsaw pieces together and has helped answer some questions I have had for a while. These questions include what is the point of direct action or protests (like stopping someone chop down a woodland) when the problem is so global and there are so many problems that we can't address them all? Or what is the point of trying to change government when it takes so long for any changes to be made? Or what is the role of spiritual change in the changing of the world?

The article lays out the three dimensions to the change that is going on: actions to slow the damage to Earth and its beings; analysis of structural causes and the creation of structural alternatives; and shift in Consciousness. It describes the parts these all play and gives examples of each. It is an article that to me helps create a more whole understanding of part of the change we humans are undergoing, and in doing this it creates more faith in the fact that positive change is happening.

I will leave you with a quote from Joanna Macy's website:

"The most remarkable feature of this historical moment on Earth is not that we are on the way to destroying the world-we've actually been on the way for quite a while. It is that we are beginning to wake up, as from a millennia-long sleep, to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves and each other."

Positive Change

"Hold onto the faith, this life is a miracle,
Each moment is new, one step at a time.
Rise up from the fear; be free of the manacles,
Let love be the key, one step at a time."
(Seize The Day - Rise Up)

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been feeling something, and I am interested to know if you have been feeling it too. What it is is this: in subtle ways there are a lot of positive changes happening. Now it may well be that I am projecting my internal reality on to the outside world, but I will explain and maybe you can judge for yourself.

Firstly, a discussion of positive change cant be made without reference to Obama! Now I have my doubts about this man, but then anyone set up as a messiah I would have my doubts about. However, in the last week or so he released documents, against the wish of ex CIA chiefs, that detail the torture America was involved in. To me this shows greater openness, and a willingness to say 'look we were wrong'. Until that truthfulness exists how can positive change take place? So I am happy about that little sign.

Secondly, on a slightly more personal note, I got a bunch of my friends happily munching on some wild plants yesterday. It showed a general spirit of openness and an ability to overcome prejudice that I hadn't seen to such an extent before.

Thirdly, people are opening up to the merits of fairtrade produce and organic produce, opening up to the realisation they can make positive changes in the world by the choices they make.

Fourthly, a bit of a strange one, is the outcry in the media about the recent police brutality at the G20 summit where one person was killed by the police. Now while it is negative that the police are acting in bad ways and at times for political motives, that this is now in public awareness and being investigated, for me is positive change. I was aware of other acts of police violence a few years ago that were unreported in all the main media. So it is positive that while there may be some negative controlling forces in the world, these forces are not all powerful and are being challenged.

Fifthly, a few weeks ago I spent a weekend at a charity called Salem (http://www.saleminternational.org/). This is a small charity that is highly active in doing peace work, environmental work and looking after children. While there I met many really inspiring people engaging in really cool projects where they are making great impacts. With these people there was a great sense of support, a great sharing of experience and strength. It gave me the knowledge that what ever difficult changes we as humans have to face we will not be facing them alone, and also that humans can be so creative, supportive, loving and fun!

Sixthly, the sun is shining and I have a really great girlfriend!

We have got to survive, and we have got to learn.

"NOTHING REVEALS THE thin veneer of civilisation like a threat to its fuel or food supply, or the cracks in society like a major climate-related disaster. But that, increasingly, is what we face: the global decline of oil production; a global food chain in crisis due to multiple stresses including imminent, potentially irreversible global warming. These linked, interacting dynamics are complicated by yet another: a rich-world debt crisis.

In Britain, the first six months of the Second World War became known as the ‘phoney war’ because at that point there was no fighting and the conflict seemed unreal. In spite of all the news reporting, I sense in Britain today a ‘phoney calm’ that belies the seriousness of these inexorable trends." (Article)

My thoughts: we have got to survive, and we have got to learn. Otherwise what is the point? To have got this far, and then to die. Or to survive and then create the same situation some time in the future. A better world is possible, it is also the only option available.

Oh and start a vegetable garden as soon as possible, because it may help protect against experiencing real hunger, hunger not felt in this country for many decades. We are not far from crunch time.

We are nine meals away from anarchy.

This article explains more and explains it well: Planet Crunch

Maybe I should write in a more gentle manner, but there is no point, there will be no more gentle reminders from here on in, the world will not be gentle with us. We must find our positivity in life, find positive ways of living, love is always possible, joy can always be found. But what is the point in tying pretty ribbons on rabid dog. IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS, it is a lack of awareness, and having a lack of awareness not only leads to suffering, it leaves you in a worse place to be able to deal with suffering - which kinda reminds me of a poem...

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
~ Portia Nelson ~

Chapter 1
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost ... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in ... it's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter 5
I walk down another street.

My thoughts: walk down another street
Your thoughts?

The Centre for Alternative Technology

Image of eco-cabins robbed recycled from CAT's website

This weekend, together with a bunch of cool people from Green and Away, I stopped in an eco-cabin at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales.

The place is set in a beautiful wooded valley and the site itself is full of life, with trees and many plants growing up, and a lot of wildlife flying, scurrying, croaking and clucking around. This in itself is quite surprising considering the majority of the site evolved atop a slag heap of waste material from a slate mine!

What is most inspiring about the place is that it has been created by a bunch of committed people, containing many specialists in their field, who find out about or invent technology that may help people live sustainably, build it, try it out and see what works. They then share the knowledge that they gain and train others in using it.

This has resulted in a lush site full of many interesting things: living and working spaces that are beautiful, energy efficient and built in sustainable ways; pollution-free ways of powering everything such as microhydro, wind power and the like; sand filtered water from a reservoir; organic food and herb gardens; amazing ways of treating waste, such as reed beds for a very ornate and healthy way of treating sewage; and many other things. The site works so well that they are actually net exporters of power, providing the rest of the electric grid with more energy. Neither do they require mains water or any help dealing with sewerage. They started out with very, very little money too.

It is quite amazing to see what is possible. Often we live in dull buildings in ugly cities, that are hugely inefficient, very polluting, isolating, harmful to life and just generally not that pleasant to live in. But we could be living in such beautiful places within a happy, supportive community where life could thrive, oh, and accidentally save the world¹ while doing it!

¹ humans' place in the world

It's ok, let's talk

(Coldplay - Talk)

Talking openly and honestly with someone you trust, where you don't judge but try to understand, where there is respect, empathy and truthfulness concerning feelings and intentions, can enable people and their relationships to flourish beyond what is often thought possible.

Often, however, that doesn't happen: we play emotional games, we act self-defensively and we generally act in ways that create strife. So, which are your favorite ways of causing rifts in relationships?! Mine are displacement and stonewalling, but there are many others to choose from...

Globalization: "Everybody Does That"
Blame-Shifting: "And you do the same thing but worse."
The Victim: "I'm so good to you, and you treat me so badly."
Gas-lighting: "I was just kidding; Can't you take a joke?"
Entitlement: "You are the one who made me angry; You deserve it."
Denial: "I'm not angry."
Displacement: "Just because you had a bad day at work, don't take it out on me."
Guilt: "I work my ass off to give you everything and you can't even make me some tea."
Shame/Blame: "You are a human slug; you never do anything."
Stonewalling: "This is the way I am, take it or leave it."
Projection: "You think I'm stupid, don't you?"
Devaluation: "You really could lose some of that extra weight."

Actually, I am not proud to have used any, and it hurts to see any used. I really strongly agree with Dr. Bill Cloke's article (from whence these came) that "To not defend ourselves, but instead hear what is being said, and then be able to express our understanding through acknowledgement will beat a box of chocolates any day" (Thanks to Sophie's blog on being open for bringing my attention to this quote). Deeply connected relationships are so important in life, so, so valuable. For these understanding and compassion are essential, and these require openness and honesty. It may be difficult to understand and accept another, to be open to their views, and their criticism, but the benefits that are gained from this make life worth living!

I also believe that only through healing rifts in our own personal lives can the healing of the larger rifts between communities and between nations be achieved.

I know I have just as much work to do here as anyone else and so I am most grateful to all those who spend the time to listen to me and to understand me, and I hope that I too can return this gift to others.

Happy Valentine's day! (And happy non-Valentine's days also!)

So much heaven, so much hell...

(Faithless - Bombs)

"So much heaven, so much hell, so much love, so much pain
So much more than I thought this world could ever contain"

Many many times I see this, I feel this, it is as Echart Tolle says: "Things are getting worse and better at the same time, although the worse is more apparent because it makes so much ‘noise’"

When reading or thinking about things going on in the world my feeling can be so dramatic, and at times so opposed. On the one side I come across subjects that cause me much grief and despair: there are those who are developing more and more sophisticated ways of killing people (Wired for War); those who are damaging people's health in the pursuit of profit; there is the loss of much of beauty in the world; there are those that through their ignorance hurt others so badly, that through maliciousness can destroy lives; and such like.

On the other hand there are those things that give me so much joy, that lift me up, that make me feel everything is alright: there are those developing a deep understanding of how to heal others, and freely sharing their work; there are days with friends when we all share in many ways; there are times with my niece, who shows an intelligence and innocence of being that adults could learn from; their are those developing new, sustainable, loving ways of living; there are those who are waking up spiritually, are looking at the world through fresh and compassionate eyes; and there are those moments that awareness and peace descends, being felt in the soft rain, or in the streetlights reflecting off the pavement, or the sound of birds singing in the dark.

So much heaven,
So much hell,
So much love,
So much pain.

It is hard sometimes, the problems can seem so large, so beyond our power to change. But they are not, they can never be. As ever, the words of Gandhi speak to me:

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always."