[Ecodharma] ACTIVE HOPE Chapter One (part one)

[Jishin]

[Ecodharma] ACTIVE HOPE Chapter One (part one)

In the first part of the opening chapter (p15-24), Joanna dives deeper into the three stories of Business as Usual, the Great Unravelling and the Great Turning. She asks us to look at which of the stories most accurately reflects our own lives, and where we would place the dial in terms of there being problems in human society, from 0 (no problems) to 10 (catastrophic problems).

I rate it as a 0. If it were within my power to do something about it, then I rate it a 10.




Gassho, Jishin, ST, LAH

[Doshin]

I rate it as a 0. If it were within my power to do something about it, then I rate it a 10.




Gassho, Jishin, ST, LAH

Dang! I wish I knew that 50 years ago so I wouldn’t have wasted all those years I have tried making a difference.

Doshin
St

[Jishin]

Dang! I wish I knew that 50 years ago so I wouldn’t have wasted all those years I have tried making a difference.

Doshin
St

Have you made a difference?

Gassho, Jishin, ST, LAH

[Doshin]

Yes…for biodiversity. You know I was being sarcastic my friend.

Doshin
St

[Jishin]

[emoji3]

[Daitetsu]

Hello Kokuu,

Thanks again for your effort you put into this project!


Where do you find yourself in relation to the three stories? How has that changed over time?

I spend most of the time in a kind of limbo between Great Unraveling and Great Turning, but also occasionally switch back to Business as Usual, I must admit.



Where would you put the dial in terms of the human problems of climate change, biodiversity and habitat loss and overconsumption of resources? What else concerns you?

I put the dial to 7-8. What also concerns me is the way we treat animals and fellow human beings, wars and other current crises.


Where would you put the same dial in terms of the response of governments and people to the problems? Is this proportionate to the level of danger?

I put the dial to 3 here. Of course this is not proportionate to the level of danger we are facing.



How close do you think we are from overstepping the point of no return for the earth’s resilience in terms of it causing a catastrophic breakdown in human society?

While nobody can answer this question for sure, I fear we might be closer to the point of no return than we want to have true. There are still too many unknown factors we are not aware of due to the complexity of various systems on this planet, but when I see things like permafrost melting, this is troubling news.
Usually I'd consider myself to be a realistic optimist, but in this field it gets more and more difficult to stay optimistic.

About FB:
If the FB Soto zen group is not public (i.e. assuming they manage to keep out the usual internet trolls) I would have nothing against inviting anyone to join these discussions. We might need to establish a few "rules" though like keeping out political discussions.

Thanks and gassho,

Daitetsu

#sat2day

[Tai Do]

Thank you, Kokuu!
Sorry to answer only now, but I wanted to read the entire Chapter before answering both Threads (and it took me a while).

Where do you find yourself in relation to the three stories? How has that changed over time?

Like others, I keep changing between Business as Usual and the Great Unravelling. I used to be much more optimistic, speacially in the early 2000s, when I was in Law School and saw a great advance in our legislation and in the importance International Law had to determine internal politics. With time, my optimism was crushed, and now I spend much of my time in the despair of the Great Unravelling story, with small bites of Business as Usual in between. I have areas, like meat consumption, where I found great difficulty in changing my Business as Usual mindset, and soon it returns to pessimism. As I said in another thread, if I myself cannot change, how can I have hope that others will...?

Where would you put the dial in terms of the human problems of climate change, biodiversity and habitat loss and overconsumption of resources? What else concerns you?

I put the dial on 9-10 (Cathastrophic Problems). I made a huge list of problems I see (will share only a small part), besides the ones smentioned, like deforestation, desertification (is happening in the very humid south of Brazil, where an artificial desert has emerged), ocean and plastic pollution, loss of fresh water supplies, industrial animal farming, industrial plantations owned by a small elite (that, on top of being environmentally damaging, are also destroying the small farms of local people), indiscriminated use of pesticides (here there is a trend in allowing more and more destructive pesticides, many of which banned in other countries), consumerism in large scale, growth based economy, collapse of quality education, political use of mass media and internet for the Business as Usual, fake news and conspiracy theories dissemination, large scale corruption in the government and private companies, support of authoritarian regimes, widespread egoistic and "no change is needed" comfort mindset, etc.

Where would you put the same dial in terms of the response of governments and people to the problems? Is this proportionate to the level of danger?

I put it on 2-3; it is completely disproportionated. Many times, the government not only doesn't respond to the crises, but actively promoting the Unravelling of our world. People response can sometimes be better, especially in the environmental movements; but many times, it is just to keep Business as Usual.

How close do you think we are from overstepping the point of no return for the earth’s resilience in terms of it causing a catastrophic breakdown in human society?

I'm afraid we already passed the point of no return and are witnessing the inevitable 6th Extinction together with the breakdown of our civilization. Sometimes I have a little hope, but it is usually crushed by the reality of the Unravelling.


Gassho,
Tai Do (Mateus)
Satlah