You know what would be fun right now , because it doesn't come out until February 25 , it would be fun to just read the last paragraph , if you want . AJ: Do you want to ? PH: Yeah , yeah , if you'll let me .
Totally PH: Okay . AJ: All right , take your time .
Okay , ready , AJ: yeah , PH: okay . The cascade of troubling information about the future is staggering in disparity , great damage has been done to the whole of the living world . There is , and will be suffering .
Chief Oran Lanz of the Onondaga Nation described a prophecy , foretold a time when the earth became biologically degenerated and the purpose of humanity was lost . There would be two signs . One the wind would howl and blow as never before and the envelope of the earth would be ripped and torn apart , caused by the activity of humankind .
The second sign would be the children . Throughout the world , millions of children would be homeless , hungry , exploited and ignored . This is no longer a prophecy . This is heartbreak . Most of us turn down the dial to function . Quote consciousness , the great poem of matter seems so unlikely , so impossible .
And yet here we are with our loneliness and our giant dreams , writes Diane Ackerman . People sense something momentous is happening . Barry Lopez wrote we feel ourselves on the verge of something vague but extraordinary . Something big is in the wind and we feel it . We know that if we mean to make this a true home , we have a monumental adjustment to make .
We must turn to each other and sense that this is possible If you are afraid of what might happen in the future . Find the person you respect who does not act out of fear . If you feel overwhelmed , read the biographies of Sojourner Truth or Cesar Chavez .
If you think being kind , respectful and polite is ineffective , listen to Jane Goodall or Robin Wall Kimmerer . If you feel ineffective , mentor a child . Help heal a wounded animal . If you are weary of chasing hope , read original instructions written and edited by Melissa Nelson , a member of the turtle band mountain band of the Chippewa .
To stop the mind from caving in on itself . Go outside . Replace digitized awareness with direct experience . Mend and revive a verge , some solid land , a habitat , your backyard , a relationship . Reintroduce native plants that provide food and sanctuary for pollinators and birds . Learn their names and stories , as Wendell Berry counseled .
Be joyous , though you know all the facts . Although we face what appears to be an insurmountable endgame brought about by ignorance , aggression and greed , we also live in the most brilliant period in human history . Breakthroughs arise from breakdowns . Renewal results from disturbance . Regenerating the world is the journey to possibility . Vistas open .
The extraordinary diversity of voices , social organisms and entities emerging in the world are rehearsing the future . As I wrote this sentence above , a swallowtail butterfly flitted about the window and came in its wings , gently fanning the air above my fingers and keyboard . Change and wonder . Doubt and fear walk hand in hand .
This is the nameless era it was predicted , but the common fate of prophecy is to be ignored . The juggernaut institutions that lay waste to sea , land and people cannot endure . Top-down solutions for regenerating life on earth will fail as well , because nature does not work that way . A beginning is near a threshold and so too is an end .
Without fail , meaningful change begins with one person , one idea , one aspiration , an audacious dream . Singularity is the birthright of the planet and every cell . It is the seed of community . Plant it . Doom and gloom are cobwebs . Brush them aside .
We seek rapprochement with Mother Earth , the vast and mysterious primordial intelligence that steadily gives birth to all that exists , that sustains all that is . Beliefs do not change our actions . Actions change our beliefs .
Complex realities begin as simple acts Enchantment , humility , respect , imagination and constant gratitude , greater openings to the aperture of the living world . Monica Galeano suggests we stop playing God and instead play midwife . We can't save the planet , it will save itself . The planet is innately regenerative and we are invited to join .
The invitation is to create a world that's worth saving . Living species are rapidly dwindling in number . We eat , drink and breathe because of this mantle of life . Do we keep it or lose it ? You can't be both cautious and courageous , so choose Focus on what is in front of you . Give yourself permission to fail , leave room for foibles and giggles .
Find a restorative movement you can sing and dance to lest creation plays to an empty house . Where you are is where you are most effective . The power to act does not lay elsewhere . Fundamental human rights and needs must be met . Everyone on earth comes first . There's no second .
Revive , honor and nourish the wild , bountiful lives that forever astonish us with their splendor and grace . Our intention and our reward are the same To experience and express our irrevocable connection to all beings . It's the only way forward . Connection to all beings it's the only way forward .
PH: So you can take whatever you want . AJ: Oh I'll be taking it all . PH: anyway . AJ: Wow , I was just listening to the garden singing as you spoke and I thought , yep , the garden's singing there too . PH: Yeah . AJ: what a great privilege to share .
Oh yeah , it was lovely to be with you .
That was Paul Hawken , bestselling author and dear friend and supporter of the podcast from almost the very beginning . For more on Paul , his broad array of highly influential bestselling books and other work and how you can take next steps on the Regeneration website - that's his website, a ctually spelled Regeneration - see the links in the show notes .
There are a couple of photos on The RegenNarration website - that's my website The RegenNarration - and more for subscribers on Patreon . A nd it's thanks again to you generous supporting listeners for making this episode possible . If you've been thinking about becoming a member or other kind of supporter , please consider joining us .
Just head to the website or the show notes and follow the prompts . Thank you , and thanks also for sharing the podcast as usual and continuing to rate it wherever you can . The music you're hearing is Regeneration by Amelia Barden and at the top it was Green Shoots by the Nomadics . My name's Anthony James . Thanks for listening .