How to Begin Living in a Regenerative Culture Today
(Even when it feels like we’re at peak extraction/domination and everything is doomed)
The Bad News
If you’re reading this then you likely know these things, but it’s worth getting on the same page. We’re surpassing planetary thresholds that are setting into motion exponential feedback loops of chaos. The wettest and coldest places on Earth are burning, and many of the fires have been set intentionally by humans driven by greed. We are waking up to the fact that the genocide of indigenous people is as much a reality today as it has ever been, and even with the leaders of the world’s governments assembled, it seems like very little radical change is likely to happen from the ‘top‘. We can’t wait for people in positions of power to wake up to this emergency, and we can’t count on them to act in the interest of all when they do.
The Good News
There is so much potential for meaningful connection, decentralized leadership, and mutual aid right now. We are able to understand now that the Earth is a living organism which has survived 5 mass extinction events and still be able to create tremendously diverse and miraculous life (including you). Recognizing the Earth’s intelligence, and the evolutionary impulse that continues to create new life, we have choices about what to do with the energy behind our horror, our anger, our grief, or even our numbness about the death and destruction human ‘civilization’ is wreaking for all of life.
Ok, that might not sound like great news, but in a moment when so many people are losing the will to even live because the chaos coming down the pike seems so frightening, one of the most important things we can do is begin to look with new eyes, to see what we might make of our lives that is good and possible.
So, what are some things that you can put in motion this week to help transition humanity into a regenerative culture?
- Educate yourself about today’s earth based indigenous & black leadership. Listen to these voices. Open yourself to uncomfortable truths. Ally yourself with them. Consider all of your resources, and how you might be able to support these movements.
- Commit to making changes to the way you eat. Find your local farms, ideally based in regenerative, permaculture, and/or biodynamic practices. If they have a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, enroll! You’ll help them in a really tangible way, and you will receive regular, seasonal, delicious produce.
- Assess and reduce your use of fuel. Consider flying less, driving less, and using less electricity in your daily life. We in the global north are driving the global catastrophes of extractive capitalism. If you can fly less, drive less, and use less electricity this year and inspire others to do the same, you will be helping to reduce extraction in invisible but significant ways.
- Leverage & unhoard your resources. If you have any more money than you really need right now, there is a lot you can do to support justice and regeneration. Be discerning and research well. Send some of it to the people who are protecting and regenerating the most important ecosystems on earth. Consider it insurance if you like. It is necessary that we unhoard and decolonize planetary resources as effectively as possible. (Huni Kuin Fire Response is one fund that has come highly recommended at this urgent time.)
- Befriend death, chaos, and entropy. These are realities of existence in the phenomenal world that western culture tries desperately to hide from our consciousness. We don’t know how to talk about these elements of reality without profound discomfort, bypassing, or nihilism. Find practices (like composting or volunteering at hospice) that can help you wrap your mind around these life giving processes. This is an element of regenerative living that I feel is absolutely vital for humanity’s transition. This is why I’ve begun hosting digital salons which are safe, grounded, community based gatherings where we can bring death and chaos into our consciousness. Please feel welcome to join me!
- Turn to community. Find people you can turn to for vulnerable, intimate connection around these topics, and everything that they bring up in you. Here is a facebook group that will serve you. And this is also why I’ve been hosting digital salons to create space for this kind of deep connection.
- Think critically, love deeply. We all have choices around how we use our minds and hearts. Some of us hide in judgement and blame, some of us hide in love and light. I propose that we find the middle way. We look closely at data, we listen carefully to people’s stories, and we commit to loving everyone and every thing in this world completely and unconditionally.
