Honoring the Stages of Regeneration

I speak and consult frequently about the practice of regeneration in contexts as wide-ranging as tourism, agriculture, community and business. And always, people want examples. Not only that, they want perfect, start-to-finish examples of best practices – a clear roadmap of how it's done. Anything less throws the whole concept into doubt. The promising initiative that died when leadership changed is dismissed. The ambitious project that didn't live up to expectations is rejected. And courage and commitment falter.

But here's what we need to keep in mind. When a degraded landscape starts to take on life again, there is a certain order to the return of species, in what is called ecological succession. First come the lichen, followed by small annual plants. These prepare the soil for the subsequent arrival of perennial grasses, bushes, then trees, ultimately generating a whole, complex – regenerated – ecosystem. Each stage calls for the contributions of specific species.

In human communities seeking regeneration, the early brave examples may be short-lived. They may not live up to our hopes for full system regeneration. But this is not their purpose. Theirs is to prepare the ground, spreading seeds of new potential. With every hopeful new start, the landscape of our imagination has been transformed. The soil of what seems possible is richer because of their contributions.

Let's not hold back from celebrating these pioneers (as they are called in biology). And though we may rightfully grieve what didn't come to pass when those halted projects are our own, let's also honor what did happen – what is unalterably changed in us and in the world – and the courage it took to step into the unknown.