Interconnected community: Outer climate
Community is a part of the recipe. A law of nature is, we are all interdependent, not separate. We’re interlinked with all nature.
When there’s a climate crisis, people come together in community, to feed and look out for each other. Our way of surviving the future is to work together: as it is in nature. We need to not disband when the crisis is over, but strengthen those communities.
Can we build together a regenerative culture for a healthy future?
What would our communities look like if we base them on caring for life?
What can we learn from Mother Nature and indigenous wisdom?
Can Buddhism help?
How would we care for Mother Nature?
We can build this better society because we’ve imagined it.
This is an exciting creative task for us all.
We are not alone. We are part of community with all Mother Nature’s creatures. We work together and cooperate to look after community and nature. We’re not solitary heroes. We get power from working together.
In Patriarchy we feel separate, isolated, struggling on alone. Learning to feel connected is a lifelong project: for me, I guess for many of us. Patriarchy doesn’t value community, so nobody knew how to do it, including me.
Community cares for the life of heart and mind, together, as well as body. We’re all good like nature, so we can encourage that goodness in each other. We support each other with good communication, listening and encouragement. Conflict resolution; deep consensus where everybody feels included and honoured, even when the decision doesn’t go their way.
Mothers and mothering are central to community; they create life and care for it, as Mother Nature does. How are children elders and sick people cared for?
We have a responsibility to care for nature, because we’re part of her community. We draw on nature’s ecosystem patterns, nature’s laws.
social structure
What would society’s structures look like? We modern people must create something that works for us, and for nature.
Heide Goettner-Abendroth’s model of indigenous matriarchies is a good pattern. We’re not trying to become indigenous, however the rest of us need to learn from indigenous wisdom.
Many people are working on this. Here’s some patterns I have drawn on.
Relationships are the framework for building community
In such a world, how would we treat each other as if our Life was the important thing? How would we relate to each other, to build supportive community that could work together to care for the life of humans and the planet, our children and elders.
The fundaments of building relationships are relating skills, listening, positive feedback, deep consensus: this is inner work, which bridges to the outer.
Practical community building skills
How to get there, using the skills we’re developing. Lobby politicians, apply for grants. Consensus and more.