|
|
Hello again , I hope you are keeping well? Today we will have another look at Resilience, Consciousness and more.
We've been looking at aspects of each of the 4Rs of Deep Adaptation which considers ways we might best live with the enormous disruption that even now we are seeing with climate change. Today we are looking again at Resilience in this context.
Those working in this space advise paying attention to Pets, and Celebrations, amongst other things. So thinking about Pets first - do you have a pet? Maybe a dog, a cat or even a goldfish? I remember my first cat, who was called Rufus, when I was about four. He was fierce and a bit scary - but he was mine! The thing about pets is, we have to look after them,
and that has several benefits. It gets us out of our own heads, reduces self-preoccupation and helps connect us to other sorts of lives. Some of them, especially dogs, will keep you fit by taking you for a walk!
And a dog that loves you can be a great confidant! You can gaze into their loving, non-judgmental eyes, pour your heart out to them and you know they're never going to spill the beans!
What pet have you always hankered for?
Another driver of Resilience is Celebration - marking important times of the year, such as personal events like birthdays, and more communal ones like religious and public festivals. As I
write, the Birmingham Commonwealth Games are (magnificently) under way, and this is enjoyable in itself and also fosters connection.
Celebrations also give us something to look forward to, something to hope for. For me, the year always seems to turn on Christmas; I always think, Before Christmas, or After Christmas; it's the pivot of the year for me (only about 145 days to go!). What might it be for you? What do you look forward to?
More on the Great Turning
We've been looking at aspects of the Great Turning, as identified by Joanna Macy; i.e. 'holding actions'; analysis and alternatives; a radical shift in consciousness. In respect of shifting our consciousness, Joanna talks a lot about living systems theory, and creation spirituality, which are very powerful concepts in the climate context.
Systems theory, as the term implies, is all about the properties of
things that are connected, at different levels of complexity. For example, when we consider the human body, it is composed of fairly unremarkable things - mostly hydrogen, oxygen and carbon, with small quantities of many other things. On their own, these elements are not alive - but in the systems (e.g. digestion, nervous) of the human body they miraculously are. They combine in different ways at different levels; cells, tissues, organs, systems - and then lo! you and me in all
our uniqueness.
This leads to another exciting aspects of systems; as they become more complex they can exhibit sudden changes, known as emergent properties, that you
could not predict from the building blocks alone. To go back to the human body - we might know how much carbon or oxygen you or I contain; but we cannot know how we will behave, or what amazing things we will do.
And the Earth is one of the most complex systems we know, for example in its weather, which is notoriously difficult to predict more than a few days ahead, even now. All the more reason to learn as much as we can about how our home may behave.
This leads me to Creation Spirituality and today's book recommendation. Almost all human communities have had a reverence for the Earth and the natural world, in stark contrast to
the way our 'advanced' civilisation tends to view it as a resource for profit.
I was interested to see this site, Creation Spirituality Communities which seeks to find ways of living 'within the community of earth that deepens our reverence for life, participates in the creativity of the cosmos, and develops our passion for justice and human transformation.' This does not necessarily mean established religions although many have always taken a similar view.
And so I hope you may enjoy Matthew Fox's Creation Spirituality on this subject. Let me know what you think!
Well that will do for now ! If there’s something else you’re seriously interested in, let me know by replying to this
email and I’ll do my best to find out about it for you. Why not also keep in touch with me on my main list too: go here (updated links) to subscribe safely. As ever, you can see previous issues of this
newsletter in the archive here, to better appreciate the context. You can subscribe there too if you haven't already. (Tip: All best viewed in landscape if you're on
your mobile.)
Meanwhile, please spread the word and share this email, as it's so urgent now. Stay well, keep safe, and I'll be in touch again in a couple of weeks, mostly the first and third Mondays of each month.
All best wishes, Barbara
If you don't already know me, you might be wondering who I am and what moves me to create this series. Well, I am an accredited executive and personal Coach,
which basically means I help people to think deeply about their own personal situations and then to act on their thinking.
I have a particular interest in well-being, resilience and effectiveness, and in recent years I've become personally and shockingly aware of the climate emergency and related issues. I'm not a climate or sustainability expert - just a very concerned human.
And so, with many coaching colleagues, including Synergy Global, I want to do what I can to spread information, inspire hope and encourage action. See the buttons above for more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
