In which is told about how we have seemingly painted ourselves into a corner, why that does not mean we no longer have any way out, but why it also means that we will have to undo some of our past work, and finally why that does not mean that a better world is not possible in which we (who knows) might just also be much happier.
"It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.”
Wendell Berry
Audio version of this post, read by me.
Dear friends,
In some of the previous blog posts, I gave the floor to energy experts who explained why our industrial and energy-hungry world has reached a dead end when it comes to that energy.
From their presentations it became crystal clear that the fairytale of endless economic growth is unsustainable, when viewed from the perspective of energy requirements, raw materials, and the impact of our current energy needs on the living planet and the ecosystems of which we are a part.
The previous episodes mainly focused on energy, but if we look at other domains of our 'civilization', we may just as well come to the conclusion that the road we are on is a dead end, as Nate Hagens' presentation in 'The Great Simplification' seems to indicate. Whether we are talking about agriculture, fishing, international trade and transportation, the international monetary system based on a system of interest, the principle of exponential economic growth and the associated exponential growth in the extraction of raw materials and resources, we see that we are reaching the 'limits of growth' in all areas , as was accurately predicted fifty years ago in the groundbreaking work 'Limits to Growth' by Donella and Dennis Meadows.
We are not only dealing with a 'climate crisis', but with a meta-crisis concerning just about everything we have created on our planet to date.
I could zoom in on each of these other domains and again present experts, arguments and studies that demonstrate the same impasse, but that is not the intention of this blog. Probably some or many of these other aspects of our problems will be highlighted here, but I do not want to only talk about problems, dead ends and everything that apparently is becoming impossible. I would also like to highlight what is possible, what we can do to find a way through this maze, what light is still shining at the end of this tunnel.
It is amazing how quickly people flip from the position that all is well and that our technological progress will formulate an answer to all the ecological crises, to the position that all is lost, there is no hope, and that we are doomed (a bipolarity I already mentioned in the musing 'Everything is going to be be all right'). The turbulent developments in international political and military conflicts do not make it any easier, and can reinforce the feeling that indeed 'all is lost'. And of course neither the conviction that the ecological sky is completely blue and cloudless nor the conviction that all is lost is really helpful, and they can both keep us in a feeling of powerlessness, prey to passivity and despondency.
Yes, the challenges we face are immense and will demand a lot from us, but there are indeed possible paths to a more beautiful world, in which our 'civilization' can find a balance with the organism we are part of, our biosphere.
(I always put the word 'civilization' in quotation marks because I agree with social philosopher Daniël Schmachtenberger that we have not yet really reached the stage of civilization. I also like to refer to the well-known anecdote in which a journalist asked Mahatma Gandhi what he thought of Western civilization. Gandhi's reply: “I think that would be a good idea.”)
What exactly is that anyway, painting oneself into a corner?
Wictionary says: “The idea is that someone painting the floor of a room can accidentally apply paint all over the floor and trap themselves in a corner, far away from an exit. If they want to leave the room, they have no choice but to step on the fresh paint and ruin the room.”
Seen in that light, the expression seems to apply to our situation. If we realize that none of the techno-fixes we have devised are sufficient to get us and the living planet out of trouble, we will realize that we have maneuvered ourselves into a situation where we can only 'escape' if we step on the fresh paint and 'ruin' or undo our previous hard work.
The question is how bad that really is: suppose we had actually chosen the wrong color paint to begin with, or that we should have sanded and varnished the floor instead? Or that we actually needed a completely different kind of floor than we first thought? The idea of walking on the wet paint feels disastrous to the extent that we are attached to what we have already done. But what if there are better options than the ones we have chosen so far? Many aspects of our self-image, our expectations for the future, our dreams and aspirations, our world view, depend on what we like to see as the great achievements of our 'civilization': the feeling of apparent omnipotence and control over nature, the levels of consumption and material possessions we now take for granted, and the technological achievements that so define our current world.
But perhaps much of what we have achieved and produced to date, and much of what we own and think we need, is not really necessary to envision a world that is optimally in harmony with the natural systems of which we are a part, and to develop a world in which there is a much better balance in living standards and well-being between different population groups, countries and regions. Because there is of course also a direct link between the ever-increasing inequality worldwide, the rise of a new class of billionaire oligarchs in which a few dozen people own as much as the poorest half of the world's population, and the ever more pressing crisis in which the living tissue of our biosphere finds itself.
The situation is often presented in such a way that if we have to cut back even slightly in our energy consumption, or are forced to use less land for agriculture or diminish our demand for raw materials, we will be catapulted back to the Stone Age and be doomed to once again toil and struggle in poverty for our daily bread, suffering from the cold in miserable huts and spending the rest of our days in utter misery.
This vision also reflects the flip-flopping between denial and despair that I just mentioned, and is in no way a 'realistic' reflection of our possible paths to a future that does not further destroy our natural world.
There are many developments that point in the direction of possible future perspectives that are 'sustainable' (a word that is also a bit problematic, but I am using it for convenience's sake) and could even lead to a real civilization, one worthy of the name. And many of these paths are related to reclaiming knowledge and practices that are almost as old as humanity itself, ways of relating to and perceiving the world that indigenous cultures have preserved until now, ancient technologies that originated from a refined perception of the living organism that we are part of (a refined perception such as the one I was talking about in the musing 'Silence (part five)'.
Bringing these ancient technologies and ways of relating to the living world into harmony with the positive aspects and technological possibilities of our 'civilization' is a fascinating possibility that has already inspired much thought and other work by many brilliant minds, pioneers, philosophers, activists and indigenous peoples who are helping to build a new vision for the future while helping to protect the remaining biodiversity in some of the most pristine areas on Earth, often risking their own lives.
In some of the upcoming episodes of the blog, I will therefore let some other people do the talking, people who have much to say about possible solutions to the problems we are facing. These solutions will not be purely technological quick fixes that have dominated the debate so far, ranging from nuclear fusion to genetic engineering and factory food to geo-engineering.
They will situated more in the domains that still remain mostly out of the picture, such as the question of what actually constitutes a natural boundary of the habitat in which you and I find ourselves and which we may call 'home', what the uniqueness of such a region is and how we can help that region recover and flourish, and how we can each individually become involved again in the recovery and healing of our 'bioregion'; how much energy we really need to be happy; how we can regenerate the Earth using ancient farming methods and at the same time produce more than enough food to feed the world in a way that would also be much healthier, and as the icing on the cake, could also sequester a large part of our greenhouse gas emissions... to give just a few examples.
Many of these other approaches have to do with letting go of our materialistic world view focused on control and domination of a nature that is seen as soulless and dead, merely a collection of raw materials that we can exploit and manipulate at will. In the coming months I will bring into the spotlight in the musings a few people who have fascinating things to say about other ways of looking at the world, other ways of perceiving of, thinking about and feeling of the world. Ways that are also as old as humanity itself, and which are now finding a surprising recognition in the latest developments in science.
In my opinion, this dual exploration that is taking place is the harbinger of a real revolution that will bring real solutions and real hope for a better world. Many of these developments are indeed taking place all over the world, but often remain under the radar of our mainstream media. I would like to make my contribution to helping spread these ideas as part of the project. You will find these post under the sub-categories in the blog menu called ‘Old Wisdom and New Stories’ and ‘Science and The Emerging New Paradigm’.
I see these developments as a synergistically evolving process that spreads like a mycorrhizal network from below, an emergent and widening circle of intelligence, creativity and practical wisdom, which in its expansion will cross the opposite movement of shrinking (or collapsing) of our current system (based on growth, control, dominance, extraction and exploitation). Birth and collapse will occur simultaneously in what can be called 'The Mother of All Transitions', as described in the musing of the same name. That process promises to be dramatic and intense, and a good outcome is by no means guaranteed. But as the example of the caterpillar's transition to a butterfly in “The Mother of All Transitions” taught us, even a process that seems particularly destructive and even deadly can be the harbinger of something very wonderful and beautiful.
But I also think that no one will be able to remain on the sidelines, and that the transition will demand everyone's attention and dedication. We cannot wait for our institutions and governments to start doing the right thing; it will be all hands on deck. And I am not referring so much to reducing your water consumption or doing your best to recycle, or fly or drive less, however good these things may be in themselves. I am not referring to the individual attempt to be “one eight-billionth less of the problem”, as Nate Hagens put it. I am referring to becoming aware of the role you can play based on your individuality and possibilities in helping to galvanize social awareness and action, in a kind of activism that philosopher Báyò Akómoláfé called 'post-activism'. And that is not so much a question of 'going to war against something', but rather of taking a different place in the whole of creation, in a clear awareness of the 'agency' or effective potential for action that each of us carries within us. But more about that another time.
You can also expect an update soon about another aspect of the project, the photographic travels, as well as about my evolving ideas about how that original idea finds a new place in the whole of the evolving panorama of ideas that I explore in A Biosphere Project.
Next time you will first be treated to a fascinating introduction to the concepts of 'bioregions' and 'bioregioning', in the form of a dialogue between three experts on the subject and Nate Hagens, in his podcast.
Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day,
All the best,
Filip
