I must admit that yesterday’s post was quite deep and a little dark, however I had some great feedback at both sites.
Kristy over at See My Footprints in her post titled “But how….exactly?” wrote about planning for the future. She talked about writing up a plan that would help her start new actions, which was great.
However what really caught my eye was a reply from Linda Woodrow from The Witches Kitchen. I had the pleasure of interviewing Linda last year for a podcast titled “Suburban Collapse – Cuban Special Period with Linda Woodrow“. Interview aside, here is her comment posted on Kristy’s site:
Linda Woodrow said…
But people make their way towards good stuff as quick as they can, using all the wits they have, co-operatively and creatively.
This is the basis of my hope. I don’t think we’re staring down the barrel of disaster. Or if we are, it isn’t going to help focusing on it. Fear paralyses. I think we are at a moment in history with potential like hasn’t been seen in a thousand years. It’s wonderful and exciting.
It is possible to live a very good quality of life with a minuscule environmental footprint. In fact, it is impossible to live a very good quality of life sucked into the vortex of consumerism. The emperor has no clothes.
I don’t know that “a plan” is the answer. I think, like Indiana Jones, it’s a matter of making fast good decisions. Looking around, seeing real reality and nimbly picking the opportunities.
We don’t need to be martyrs. In fact a few martyrs is counter productive. We only need a small change but from a lot of people, a cultural shift. And that is best promoted by making small, do-able changes that look and feel good.
Wow, that turned into much longer than I planned! Sorry…it just kept coming.
I agree wholeheartedly, and also believe that we will turn this around. It will take a while, and people will rush towards the good stuff quickly. I see this happening all around me. So many people are changing to a more sustainable lifestyle. It is certainly, as Linda put it, a wonderful and exciting moment in history!
Agree, great words Linda. I think the everyday person experiences enough fear already, and I think that actually prevents people from changing. I suspect it is the fear of missing out or falling behind that is what perpetuates consumerism. But Gavin it is hard to not be dark. I know I get like that sometimes. So I am pleased to have a community of like minded people, such as yourself and Linda, that can pull me back into the light of hope.
yep agree with Linda totally. I have never met so many happy positive people that care about the way we look after the world than the era I am living in now. In the 60s people like this were actually called ‘hippies ‘ by mainstream families….but now mainstream families are the very people recycling, growing their own food and living off the land …I don’t care if we are hippies or ecos or whatever ,the fact is the message is spreading and our children are the voters of tomorrow.It is highly likely they are going to vote for a cleaner , greener and more sustainable future jsut like us!!
Now Gavin, …if you and Linda could just go into politics and become prime minister the titanic probably wouldn’t sink at all.