How to Contribute to a Planetary Immune System

Paul Hawken has been a key influencer of my thinking over 25 years. He has had enormous impact relating business to ecology with successful publications like?Growing Your Business; the?Ecology of Commerce (1993);?Natural Capitalism?all providing down-to-earth guidance for behaving sustainably.?Back in 2007, in a book title?Blessed Unrest?it was Paul Hawken who described the two remarkable developments in our history:?

“The appearance of systemic problems that are genuinely global in scope, and the growth of a worldwide movement that is determined to heal the wounds of the earth with the force of passion, dedication, and collective intelligence and wisdom. …..

His research identified thousands of organisations that?“share no orthodoxy or unifying ideology; they follow no single charismatic leader; they remain supple enough to coalesce easily into larger networks to achieve their goals. While they are mostly unrecognised by politicians and the media they are bringing about what may one day be judged the single most profound transformation of human society”.

Using a metaphor that couldn’t be more relevant to our times, Hawken describes the movement as Earth’s immune system waking up. I strongly recommend you?watch this clip?from his presentation to the Bioneers conference. Fast forward 15 years and even the most die-hard of reactionaries would have to argue that such a movement is no longer invisible.?

It’s in this context, and given that I have been wrapping my mind around how to develop an alternative, ecologically sound way of doing tourism, that you can imagine my joy in learning that Hawken is about to publish a new book?Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation.?(It’s due out mid-September 2021)

This latest publication follows?Project Drawdown?in which Hawken and an extensive team identified and prioritized 100 action steps that could be taken to reverse climate warming. As?Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation is?promoted as providing a “what-to-do-manual” for all levels of society, we can expect no shortage of suggestions as to action steps.?

I like the fact that Hawken’s definition of regeneration confirms that regeneration is not a thing but a process that can involve all of us.

“Regeneration has two meanings. It refers to regenerating life on earth. And it refers to a new generation of humanity coming together to reverse global warming.”

I also like his approach to Agency?

“The path to solving the crisis is counter intuitive: in order to reverse global warming, we need to address current human needs, not an imagined future. If we want to get the attention of humanity, humanity needs to feel it is getting attention.?Planetary regeneration creates livelihoods that bring life to people and people to life. It is work that links us to each other’s wellbeing, that provides those in poverty with purpose and meaning, worthy involvement with their community and children, a living wage, and a future of dignity and respect.”

But I am sad that the promotional blurb states, “this is a visionary?new?approach” and “the?first book?to describe and define the burgeoning regeneration movement” spreading rapidly throughout the world (Amazon blurb).

To imply that the regenerative approach is new or the creation of one man, no matter how intelligent and insightful, may help sell a book but does the movement a disservice. Regenerative approaches to development based on Nature’s principles of life have been slowly developed and communicated in fields as diverse as economics, agriculture, land development, city planning, education, healthcare for over 50 years. Paul Hawken is not a lone voice that can be dismissed by those who have placed him in the category “tree hugger” but an amplifier of a powerful movement gaining enormous momentum.

The idea of planetary health has also been around for some time. In 1993 the Norwegian physician?Per Fugelli?wrote: "The patient Earth is sick. Global environmental disruptions can have serious consequences for human health. It's time for doctors to give a world diagnosis and advise on treatment."

I hope that Paul Hawken does the right thing and relates this movement to the significant contributions made by such luminaries as Carol Sanford, the Regenesis Group, John Fullerton, the permacultural movement, pioneers in regenerative agriculture such as Alan Savory, writers and thinkers like Daniel Wahl, Giles Hutchins, Fritjof Capra, John Ehrenfeld, David Korten, Jeremy Lent, Charles Eisenstein, Michelle Holliday, Dominique Hes,??Chrisna du Plessis, Jenny Andersson, Kathleen Allen and many, many??others - this is far from a complete list.?

The second niggling concern that I hesitate to voice is that this book might be essentially another collection of solutions under the generic theme of being regenerative. I am hesitant because action is imperative and Hawken’s suggestions are likely to be very helpful – especially if they related to actions that can be taken in community.?

Image Source: https://sustainabletourismandresponsibletravel.com

I hope this latest work does not overlook the deeper levels of change in consciousness/awareness and perception that are required to guide our selection of actions.??I maintain my position that we’re not lacking solutions, technology or even money but the motivation and will. When asked?in this interview?what is the one dark horse climate solution that is underrated or overlooked, Hawken replies “The human mind, heart and imagination.” The big question of the hour is what will it take to motivate enough hearts, minds and souls fast enough??

Steps Towards Building Immunity

For as long as we see Nature as separate, see rising temperatures as a problem not as a symptom, a feedback message or cry from nature for attention; so long as we numb ourselves and fail to feel the pain of our disconnection, and for as long as we are persuaded that it’s for someone else to “do something” we won’t move fast enough. Step 1, even before we reach for a book of solutions is to silence that inner voice that suggests we are too small or insignificant to matter. We now know that idea is 100% false and we have the discoveries of quantum physics to thank for that.

Climate change and the loss of species are integrated events that have to be experienced and taken personally?not?so that we respond in fear but come to a very real sense of personal connection, caring and potential loss.??Our prevailing pattern of thinking objectifies all it touches and turns real experiences that could engage our senses, our emotions, and our caring into abstract concepts and numbers that can numb and separate us further. It’s time a). to feel what is happening and b). to take it personally because time is still on our side and only we humans can undo what we’ve done.?

Of all the dangers we face, from climate chaos to nuclear war, none is so great as the deadening of our response.”?
Joanna Macy
        

Step 2 takes courage and courage comes from the heart. Feel the pain, the craziness, the despair until you can bear it no longer because the pain reflects the restraining walls of our limited self image cracking and breaking. We need the pain to alert us to what needs attention. We need to feel the pain to see Covid19 as a messenger and “climate as a teacher not as an opponent.”?

Check out the invaluable contribution of lifetime activist-philosopher,?Joanna Macy, still going strong in her 80s. The “Work That Reconnects” is a form of group work that fosters the desire of individuals and groups to break through the protective coating of numbness, indifference or insignificance and start the task of healing the future because “that is what life is and what life does without exception and we are life?(Hawken).” Healing means mending what was broken and joining up the pieces that were separated.

There’s only one word, one force that will motivate us to face and deal with the pain, to overcome our numbness and fear, and work tirelessly to restore and regenerate. There’s only one word, one force big enough and that’s love – the love that comes from the deepest sense of kinship, connection and caring for?all life?- the life that’s all around us, visible every day in the places we call home.??Until we have come to experience that sense of kinship and fierce caring at home, we’ll not be able to do good by travelling away.?

We’ve learned from Covid that if you want to slow down the spread of a virus you create barriers between you and others and impose social distancing. But we also now know that not all viruses are harmful. See previous article How to Mind the Gap in a Pandemic Many exist in our immune system and act as protectors and defenders and play a key role in human evolution.??Furthermore, we’re recognising that ideas act more like memes (thought viruses) that spread and infect in a similar manner to viruses. In these cases, barriers to infection and distancing need to be eliminated. Hawken was very right when in?Blessed Unrest, he likened the emerging, global, counter-cultural movement to a planet’s best immune system.

That’s why I have stayed working in travel and hospitality for so long because I sincerely believe its higher purpose, its role and destiny as an activity is not to extract but to generate value through its innate capacity to heal, connect and move fresh ideas through the global system

This presents those of us involved in travel, tourism and hospitality, with the opportunity to play a conscious role in strengthening that immune system still further by modelling caring, responsible behaviour within a regenerative visitor economy in what we call a "destination". This will mean more than asking guests to sign pledges to behave responsibly. It will mean re-designing our local visitor economies in ways that deliver community well-being and sustainable livelihoods; restore failing ecosystems and affirm life in every form.?I believe that the hosts of a place i.e., those who:

·??????are tied to their place – have become, in effect, indigenous;

·??????offer welcome and support to visitors (no matter where from);??

·??????provide food, accommodation, recreation and entertainment;?

·??????are best informed about what’s happening locally and?

·??????are often the best connected socially; and?

·??????are directly involved in restoring the health and vitality of their guests

are in the best position to influence the thoughts and actions of others from around the world.?

But to do that we need to come together as a group who love our specific piece of planet Earth and reframe ourselves as stewards and gardeners here to help it flourish in all ways. We need to see that we too are very much in the healing business and regeneration starts at home, in the places we love. When have built back a robust immune system at home, could we then infect our guests and our young to travel forth and start a benevolent contagion?

In the meantime, keep an eye open for Hawken’s next generous offering and let’s see how we as a community of hosts could fulfil our role as planetary change agents.?

Thanks for reading and infect by sharing!