#1: Future
(This post was originally shared in my love/news-letter, Our Common Future)
Future (noun): a period of time following the moment of speaking or writing; time regarded as still to come.
For a while now I’ve been thinking about how we might collectively imagine and build a regenerative, just and equal future for our people and our planet, and importantly how can I best lend my skills and experience to that (re)imagining.
At the weekend I had the great honour of meeting Ilarion Kuuyux Merculieff, Aleut elder, through the magic of Zoom. He reminded us that this generation, the people alive today, will be responsible for whether our species survives. And then he added,
‘…in the time that is coming, women will lead the way. As a man, my role is to create a sacred space for women to do their work. For you to do your work.’
Message received, time to dive in.
Despite the challenges and crises that surround us, as an eternal optimist, I am left wondering; what might be different if we had a positive vision for the future?
Add that question to another, who do I choose to be? and you have the key ingredients for two adventures I am taking this year.⛵️
The Sheffield Pioneers — my local crew. I have the immense privilege of hosting nine curious and courageous souls on a place-based Learning Marathon to explore solutions to the challenges faced by our society.
The Bio-Leadership Fellowship — my global family. Formed this past weekend, a learning, living network changing the story of leadership to save our planet by working with nature.
And so, in the spirit of learning aloud, and teaching all I know, I thought it was time to start collating my reflections and inspiration in one place — and here it is, Our Common Future. 🌱
Part journal, part cabinet-of-curiosities and part manifesto. I hope you enjoy it.
With love, and in community,
Stella 🌟
This week I have been inspired by:
- From What Is to What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want by Rob Hopkins, a beautiful book that challenges us to ask the question ‘What if?’ and rekindle the creative spark of our collective imaginations. 🕯
- The Wisdom of Trauma with Dr. Gabor Maté. Watched this past midnight on a school night (!) — charting how trauma is the invisible force that shapes our lives, broke my heart right open. Beautiful storytelling and stunning animation. It left me thinking: what might a future where we share our traumas with love and compassion, rather than shame and fear, feel like? 💗
- ‘Dancing guy’ — a lesson in ‘first-follower’ leadership. This 3-minute video might just change your world view. 👀
- and finally, meeting 42 new global friends during the Bio-Leadership Fellowship opening retreat. Learn more about how nature would change leadership with Andres Roberts in his TED talk. 🌱
This week I have been reading:
I have a chronic case of ‘ Tsundoku’ — acquiring books and letting them pile up without reading them (thank you to Lora Krasteva for sharing this condition, and teaching me a new word.) That said, I do read a lot — here is what’s on my bedside table at the moment.
Letters to the Earth — Writing to a Planet in Crisis — letters of love, loss, hope and action. Featuring Jay Griffiths, Joanna Macy, Mary Oliver and many others. This week, as I reflected on my own place in the world, the words of strategist & educator Jem Bendell resonated with me:
I listened to the story that if I wasn’t pragmatic I would come to regret my choices. I worried that if I choose to live according to my truth then I might become poor or marginalised, and come to see truth as a youthful naivety…Now looking back at these early choices, I can see that beneath it all there was something more primal. I was scared I’d lose someone that I loved. Not someone specific, but someone I hadn’t even met yet. Someone that I thought I’d need to impress: with status, charisma, confidence, wealth, style and skills…Those insecurities meant I pushed away the implications of knowing that our society is based on a lie of separation between humans, nature and spirit.
On Connection — Kae Tempest — as lyrical and truth-telling as their music, this short meditation on the importance of connection to help us establish a deeper relationship between ourselves and the world, is one I keep returning to.
Connection balances numbness. Connection is the first step towards any act of acknowledgement, accountability or responsibility. It offers, whether fleeting or long lasting, a closeness to all others. It is jubilant. Ecstatic. Without fear.
New perspectives in drawing
A closing thought: before writing this yesterday, I had an unrealistic expectation that I will write one of these notes every week — the capitalism-induced productivity and production stories run deep. Instead I am committing to sharing what moves me, when it does, and seeing what comes of that. Thank you for reading, I hope some of this resonates with you.
Written with gratitude for our parents (who finally made the leap to full time European living in France after 32 years 🇫🇷), Mandy Holden (for being my buddy on The Sheffield Pioneers, and gently holding me to account) and Lauren Currie (for creating Upfront, the final push I needed to step out and speak). 📣
Originally published at https://stellamckenna.substack.com.
