Discovery of the book Active Hope

 If you have read my last post, you know that I've been preoccupied with learning how we ordinary folks can deal with the current plight of our planet. If you're like me, it is hard to sustain the focus on this for long. It's too discouraging. So we take as much as we can, and then turn our focus to something brighter for awhile. I bought a book more than a month ago that I knew might be a help, even carried it with me to Ireland and back, but never had the courage to read the cover or look inside until a few days ago, a good example of how we protect ourselves from too much discouragement. Yet when I did open the book, I found that it was just what I was needing! Definitely it has added a brighter outlook to my world.

The book is Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone.  It first came out in 2012 to high acclaim. And recently it has been revised to include the current landscape of threats we as humans are now facing. Naomi Klein writes on it's cover: "Books about social and ecological change too often leave out a vital component: how do we change ourselves so that we are strong enough to fully contribute to this great shift? Active Hope fills this gap beautifully, guiding readers on a journey of gratitude, grief, interconnection, and, ultimately, transformation."

When I finally started reading the book, I immediately wanted to gather some people together to meet regularly and work together through the activities that it describes. But I thought: wait awhile, read the whole book, maybe take the online training that it recommends, don't jump the gun here. And yet I couldn't wait. I felt so motivated to act. So I wrote an email to the members of our cohousing community, inviting them to join a group that used this book as a guide for perhaps monthly meetings. We are all busy. And who am I to suggest yet another commitment? So I told myself to be happy even if only a couple people responded positively. When two women immediately responded with excitement, I was happy. And then a few more were interested as well! And now over 20 folks have said they want to join and have ordered the book. Wow! Apparently, I'm not the only one who has been weighed down with the things out there that are beyond my control, not the only one who needs help figuring out how to personally face these times. I am grateful. Looking at these things together rather than alone is so much more reassuring.

Clearly, here at Prairie Hill, we'll need to divide the group into 2 or 3 parts so that each person can be heard and feel supported. Smaller is cozier and safer. I have spent some time listening to the online "training" that goes along with this edition of the book. There are 7 segments, each one supposed to be a week's worth. I considered just having our group watch the installments for 7 weeks, but decided it will be much better if we have our own process. However, it will be helpful to see how the training was organized, so I'll continue to listen to it a week at a time (it won't let me go ahead!!).

If you too have been overwhelmed with all the threats out there beyond our everyday lives, you might want to take a look at Active Hope. And then invite a few friends to use it together to help you find your creative place in our planetary landscape right now. Our group is waiting until the holidays are over to begin meetings, but I'll let you know how it goes....