Background
In order to get to where we want to go, we need to start from where we are. We live at a time of mass extinction of species and disturbing trends in global weather systems. There is widespread alarm about these and other planetary issues, with opinion polls showing that most people think the condition of our world is getting worse. Yet there is a problem that is more dangerous to us than any of these threats. That is the blocked response. Even though preventable disasters loom, somehow such issues seem far away from many people’s lives. The warnings of our scientists are being ignored.

Could the giant tsunami that struck in December 2004 be viewed as a wake up call? It certainly demonstrated how vulnerable we are to disturbance of natural systems. Yet there is another lesson also. It is in how humans can sometimes block out essential information if they find this inconvenient or disturbing. Thailand’s chief meteorologist warned for years of the risk of tsunami, but was accused of scaremongering and upsetting the tourist trade. He had accurately predicted an underwater earthquake would cause a giant tidal wave that would swamp Phutek, The Andaman Islands and the coastline of the Bay of Bengal. If his recommendations for warning systems and tsunami alarms had been put in place, tens of thousands of lives might have been saved. His advice fell on deaf ears. Are we in danger of having a replay of this with global warming? We can see the early warning signs in the changing weather, plants coming into flower at odd times, increase in freak storms, droughts and forest fires. What will it take to get us to respond?

Four psychological hurdles stand in the way of people finding their power to address such issues. These are denial, apathy, hopelessness and overwhelm. Denial is different from ignorance. People are presented with information, but either consciously or unconsciously look the other way. Areas of reality become blanked out or disappear from view. With apathy, people are aware, but don’t feel moved to act. With hopelessness, they may have the will, but can’t see a way. And with overwhelm, they may see ways of responding, but the scale of problems makes it difficult to know where to start or to have confidence that such responses will make any difference. The Great Turning begins within us, with a psychological shift through these blocks. Something that can help this happen is the inspiration of a good story.

Looking back from ahead
Imagine that you have been transported to a possible future four hundred years from now, in a timeline where the forests have been restored, humans no longer die from war or starvation and ecological catastrophe has been averted. What we’re doing here is using a well-tested decision making tool called ‘imaginary hindsight’. First you identify the goal you want to reach (in this case a sustainable future). Then from that imagined point of success, you look back in time and notice how it was done. Research has shown that this technique can lead to more effective planning and decisions. So looking back from a sustainable future of 400 years in the future, how did it happen?

The beginning of 21st century was a crucial turning point. Global warming had started to become obvious and people began to wake up to the way that they were destroying their world. Individuals, groups and organisations increasingly focused their attention on taking the steps necessary to allow the flourishing of life to continue. At first though, the people taking these steps were a minority. But each freak weather event became a wake up call. After four hurricanes in a single year hit Florida, more and more people became convinced that the time for change had come. It must have been hard for them back then, to recognise that their way of living was destroying their world. But somehow they found the courage and determination to swing things around, in a period of history that later became known as The Great Turning.

Will it happen?
From where we are in time right now, it might seem difficult to believe that this can happen. Yet perhaps Galileo also wondered whether the view that the earth went round the sun would catch on, especially after it was declared a heresy by the church. The important question for us is would we want a Great Turning to occur? If so, then we can become part of the story that makes it happen.

Each time we give our attention to what is happening in the bigger picture of our world, we take a step over the hurdle of denial. When we feel either the concern or the inspiration that mobilises a response, we move out of apathy. The antidote to hopelessness is finding our personal power, and to deal with overwhelm it helps to remember the Butterfly Effect, that small changes early in a process can lead to massive effects later on. If we saw ourselves as part of this story of positive change, what might we do? How might The Great Turning happen through us?

It was Joanna Macy who coined the phrase ‘The Great Turning’ to describe the story of change required in our times. An article by her about this is viewable at: http://www.rainbowbody.net/Ongwhehonwhe/MacyGreatTurn.htm
There is more material on her website at http://www.joannamacy.net

Chris produces a free quarterly email newsletter about the Great Turning, and what we can do to get involved. It focuses particularly on both practical changes and also the deeper psychological and spiritual shifts that support the move to sustainable living. It is called The Great Turning Times, and you can read it online at wwwGreatTurningTimes.org.

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