(Ecodharma) Active Hope Chapter 9

[Doshin]

Several years ago, I posted in the Thread Living Earth the trailer to a documentary titled “Living in the Future’s Past” which addressed environmental issues. The title stuck with me because we are creating the circumstances that those of the future will live with. We are the past for what is to come. This follows the theme of the “Seventh Generation” that we previously discussed. What we do now shapes the future for better or worse. Now is important.

Words used often in this chapter include visioning, imaging, inspiration, and daydreaming. They all embody the paradigm of creativity. The authors want the reader to embrace and create a vision for a better future and be advocates for a new way to see what can come and then strive to that end.

My take from this chapter is that with hope and determination we must envision a better future. Steven Covey’s quote “Start with the end in mind” shared in this chapter summarizes all this. It is now that we create the future. Our choices today matter. Not waiting for things to unfold but to create and shape a better future for our descendants and all the species that share the earth with us.

This chapter is about Hope. It is about determination to make change. As individuals, as local communities and as a Global community we can strive for better. Many that came before us did this. Look around and see the progress made in social justice, civil rights, environmental issues and more. You can trace it back to the vision of those who came before. And yes, we have much further to go. Without optimism, hope and effort the future we don’t want will happen. We must have a vision that motivates us and with effort will bring change.

My opinion is that Technology alone will not save us but help. Never will all of us be willing to sacrifice now for the future but if most do progress can be made. Let us hope that future generations look back into their past and thank us for what we did today.

I will share Sangha member Aprapti’s comment he shared in the previous chapter’s discussion… “we have to be optimistic, because it is too late to be pessimistic…but it’s a tough job.”

Those are my thoughts. I look forward to hearing other perspectives.

Doshin

[Naiko]

Thank you for your thoughts, Doshin. I agree that we can’t expect technology to save us. We need to stop planting the seeds of destruction now.

This chapter brought me right up against my own tendency to grasp at facts, at what’s knowable. I have grown uncomfortable with the realm of the visionary. Why do I feel embarrassed and naive to imagine the future I want? I think this is a yet another reason to avoid social media, where response to any idea is to tear things down. These days to admit hope, to imagine a better world is an act of defiance. It is indeed too late to be pessimistic—that’s business as usual!

I feel challenged to imagine what a a sustainable culture might look like. Once upon a time, I dreamed of living in an Earthship, but now I think while those off-grid communities have their place, sustainability has to include everyone.

Gassho,
Naiko
st lah

[Kokuu]

Thank you, Doshin. I revisited that documentary last night after you mentioned it and it is very interesting.

One thing that occurs to me when reading this chapter is how bad the Green/environmental movement can be about presenting people with a genuinely desirable vision for the future, rather than telling them what they are doing wrong and what they need to stop doing/give up. Very few people respond positively to that, but if we can talk about a future in which we have moved to a post-carbon economy and are no longer forced to do business with unethical producers of fossil fuels, can protect our local and global environment in terms of biodiversity and having clean water and air, and restore the localisation of community for many things, I can see people being far more in board with that. They are even issues which are of common interest to both sides of the political spectrum.

We really need to up our game in visioning a future that everyone (or at least most people) can want to be part of, and see the reason fro transitioning away from gas and oil in a managed way that brings benefit to everyone. At present, as the documentary says, each barrel of oil costs increasingly more to obtain, so the era of cheap fossil fuel is over. Even if climate change were not a reality, the economics of the situation require shifting to low/no carbon sooner rather than later. Even if people are fearful of the potential pace of change, I cannot imagine that they cannot agree that more renewable energy is not a good thing for both the environment and economy.

Waiting for inspiration also sounds a lot like sitting practice! And also like 'Zen art' practices such as sumi-e brush drawing in which the artist will sit quietly until they feel inspired and then draw the picture in a single outbreath.

This chapter brought me right up against my own tendency to grasp at facts, at what’s knowable. I have grown uncomfortable with the realm of the visionary. Why do I feel embarrassed and naive to imagine the future I want? I think this is a yet another reason to avoid social media, where response to any idea is to tear things down. These days to admit hope, to imagine a better world is an act of defiance. It is indeed too late to be pessimistic—that’s business as usual!

I feel challenged to imagine what a a sustainable culture might look like. Once upon a time, I dreamed of living in an Earthship, but now I think while those off-grid communities have their place, sustainability has to include everyone.

I totally resonate with this, Naiko. We are taught that we have to stick to facts and not be 'idealists'. However, how do we break out of Business as Usual if it is not for having ideas about the future? Business as Usual seems very comfortable with visionary thinkers that stick to the normal model of consumerism and profit - Virgin Space and Elon's Space X, cryptocurrency, driverless cars are all welcomed, but ideas that threaten profits and those currently holding power are 'too idealistic'.

Being idealistic is, to me, a very good thing. But the challenge is that we have to put some meat on the bones of our visions and provide something of a roadmap of how to get there. I love that the book refers to Rob Hopkin's Transition philosophy (which may be better known here than in the US) as he does just that:

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/voicesoftransition

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

[paulashby]

The future often reflects today's dreams and desires. I appreciated the vision of hope and
possibility in this chapter and in the comments so far posted. My concern is almost every
step we can take to conserve will come up short unless we talk about what both conservatives
and liberals do not want to mention...a global campaign for population control. If you have 8
billion people on a raft that can only sustain 2 billion people you will need much more than new
technology to restore the planet to balance. Yes, some nations are aging like Japan and Italy but
the trends point to massive population growth in coming decades.
My hope is connected to those under 30 who have a sense that change, simplicity and yes even
negative gross national product will be required to have a human future.

Gassho, peace, Paul sat lah

[Tairin]

Thank you Doshin

For me this was a very interesting chapter. I tend to be a bit of a dreamer so putting my imagination to work is very natural to me. I also tend to be a bit of a pessimist. What I got out of this chapter is to dream about the future we want and then how to work at getting there. That’s very different than imagining the future we dread, the one that is polluted, violent, excruciatingly hot and dry, a mass extinction event.

how bad the Green/environmental movement can be about presenting people with a genuinely desirable vision for the future, rather than telling them what they are doing wrong and what they need to stop doing/give up.

how do we break out of Business as Usual if it is not for having ideas about the future?

I feel challenged to imagine what a a sustainable culture might look like.

Exactly! I think one of the barriers we face is that even if someone sees that we can’t keep living life BAU, what they can’t see is a future that can also be good. Good in different ways perhaps but no less fulfilling.

This has to start somewhere and I know I need to change my outlook. Rather than dwell on the negatives, the bleak, I need to start looking at a positive future. 30 years from now what do I see as a possible future? More equality, less hoarding of wealth, good education, good health, good opportunities for all. Yet living a life more in harmony with the Earth and all our fellow inhabitants. I think it can be done.

.a global campaign for population control

Population is not our problem. When people raise the ideas of population control inevitably what they mean is that they know the Earth can not support 8 billion people living as well as they do. They think that if we just had fewer people, say 2 billion, then everything could remain BAU. The fact is that every single person on this Earth deserves to be here and to life a full life. Population control (and I assume we mean birth control) would take well over a century to bring our population down significantly.


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Tairin]

I’ve lost track of who leads the next chapter…. I think it is me. If it is then I’ll create a post in a day or two.


Tairin
Sat today and lah