Becoming Crew: an intro
How can my authentic self, best contribute to developing regenerative cultures?
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my presence on Planet Earth over the past year. I’m unsure exactly where the turning point began, but it’s probably somewhere amongst many internal inquiries during covid lock-downs, growing frustration at the ineptitude of current power, several conversations on real ambition with Andy Middleton, learning from Designing Regenerative Cultures by Daniel Christian Wahl, all multiplied by the state our society and environment.
Right off the back of my physical marathon(s) in August, I started a learning marathon, led by dan burgess (thank you Dan) titled ‘Spaceship Earth: Becoming Crew’. See (see Dan’s intro to the learning marathon is here https://medium.com/enrol-yourself/meet-the-crew-e4aee30eccac. The Spaceship Earth being our literal home planet hurtling through Space, occupied by two forms of being: Passengers — imagine airplane passengers, in-service to self, take-take-use-throw, oblivious to their surroundings, centred on consumption-competition & Crew — imagine mycelium, in-service to the whole, making-sharing-using, aware of the bigger picture, centred on collaboration.
My inquiry or ‘learning question’ for the journey is ‘How can my authentic-self, best contribute to developing regenerative cultures’.
The first half/two components are in recognition to the fact my current ‘work’ does not represent my deeper values, allow me to express my knowledge-feelings or experiment with aspects of my experiences in life.
The second part is in recognition to the systemic failings I’ve observed in my recent work (no guesses) e.g. siloed thinking and acting, absence of ambition , avoidance of truth-fact, false solutions etc. Combined with a growing awareness of the need for deeper enquiry to enable change.
I should acknowledge the use of ‘regenerative’ in my learning question, as the potential I see for what regeneration can bring as compass for our navigation through the crises is why i’m here. I plan to write something separate on what regeneration/regenerative thinking means to me, though not to be kept just in writing. As it merits a further-longer explanation, given what it contains, the life’s work on many behind the thinking and the chronic behaviour of many to co-opt terms and render them meaningless (see ‘eco’, ‘natural’ etc)
It says a lot that someone working in environment-climate policy feels that the current status quo isn’t serving them. From my experiences, before policy can make meaningful progress, a reframing of purpose needs to take place, across all levels and scales.
What Daniel Wahl refers to as ‘Up-stream changes in our mental models, basic beliefs and assumptions about the nature of reality will affect how, what and why we design the needs we perceive, the questions we ask, and hence the solutions or answer we propose’.
My choice to take part in the learning marathon is part of wide decision to step away from something than doesn’t serve myself as an individual, or more importantly, us as a collective. Reassessing your presence and purpose in life isn’t easy. Our lives and messy and complicated, but the times are calling for us all to take a deeper look into what we’re doing and why.
This is the beginning of a new story for me, I look forwards to living it with you.
Stan
