Nature is appearing in the conversations more and more
Conversations amongst our partners and us during the COVID19 pandemic. 12th ay 2020
This week we talked about the changes we are noticing and asked ourselves how can we nurture those changes?
We started by sharing the things we are celebrating:
- The determination of people to help each other and strong values of solidarity and reciprocity on display
- Just getting through each day for some people, that is enough
- People coming together and the renewal of community spirit
- Examples of responses that not based on services, yet are meaningful and not top-down
- Being asked to be part of conversations about the future economy and what it means for the most marginalised people
- Cooperatives, mutual aid or other structures that don’t separate people into heroic helpers and vulnerable victims and possibly resist state intervention
We had a relatively small group, so the reflective practice felt slower, and the conversation flowed between connecting with ideas about nature and what we are perceiving.
Nature
It seems that recently some of us are hearing and seeing more of the natural world coming into our conversations. Whether it inspires us via metaphors or merely wondering what we can learn from nature during this time. In nature, we see a cycle of life which based on collaboration yet which also has a ruthless edge to it. For example, vultures can be viewed as opportunists and preying on the weak. However, others see them as an essential part of the ecosystem where they clean up and value resources where others don’t.
What is this telling us about the current system?
A caring economy
Weaved amongst nature-based references was a conversation about the economy. We shared insights on this current version of capitalism, and what its future focus could be. Examples of what we could take into the future were cooperatives which connect us rather than divide us into silos. It almost appears as an example of a pocket of resistance, and we were all drawn to an economy as a way to disrupt the dominant power structures and create meaningful connections.
These pockets of resistance appear to be on the margins and outside of the status quo. All examples modelled some different characteristics, whether they existed in or outside institutions, including whether they were labelled as activists or not. One such example is the Oxford Together project and team with a question for Lankelly Chase around how can we support more systems change like this whether it be helping to amplify, share or embody the behaviours that exist at their core.
Perspectives
Much of what we reflected on was connected by how we perceive and label. Some people are defined by perceived needs rather than their individuality and strengths. People in formal positions of power can sometimes too easily assume what people need based on perception rather than asking for facts.
We see opportunities for doing things differently. If this is a more visible window of opportunity, how do we hold different perspectives on what opportunities mean?
We shared a hope that vulnerability will soon be seen as a strength rather than a weakness.
Running through all of this are more fundamental inquiries around the life we choose to lead — especially in light of COVID-19. Perhaps the most controversial questions were what is important to us, and how do we want to live our lives? What does it mean to live it, and what stops us from living that life?
