This is a post in my series on organizing ”between and beyond.” Other posts are here. The purpose of this post is to reflect on subjects occupying my mind. I make no claim to fully believe what I write. Neither do I pretend that others have not already thought or written about the same subject. More often than not, I take up, combine, and add to already existing thoughts and ideas.
What is on my mind?
Michelle Holliday (@thrivability), author of Age of Thrivability (here is my review), shares her impressions from a recent gathering of people dedicated to regenerative life-aligned ways of living in this post .
Michelle noticed that:
… patterns of patriarchy and domination are still occasionally present, even within this well-intentioned, peace-loving movement. … And it took a dedicated conversation … to tease out when and how those patterns appear, why it matters and what might be a fruitful way forward.1
The first breakthrough in the conversation was moving from analytical problem-solving to seeking the inherent potential in what is, together discovering what could be. The second breakthrough was moving from gender to the language of archetypes that Michelle had offered in her keynote presentation. Michelle’s starting point are the following conditions, which are present in all living systems:2
- Divergent Parts
- Patterns of Relationship
- Convergent Emergent Wholeness
- Self-Integration & Self-Organization
The point is to create conditions for Life itself. Michelle proposes the following supporting conditions for life to thrive:
- A field of action
- Rootedness
- Community
- Rhythm
- Practices
- Nourishment
Michelle also invites us to engage in any, or all, of these conversations:
- Ourselves—What more could it mean to be able to bring the best of ourselves?
- Infrastructure—What more could it mean to support playfulness, learning and joy?
- Purpose—What are we called to express and create together, in service of life?
- Nourishment—What would bring the most life to this situation?
Michelle Holliday invites us to see differently!
Seeing differently seems, to me, to be key for regenerative living—and working.
Notes:
1 Michelle Holliday, When Warriors Try to Weave, 2018-06-30 (accessed 2018-08-04).
2 Michelle Holliday presents the core conditions of living systems, in a variety of contexts, throughout her book The Age of Thrivability.
Related posts:
Organizing in between and beyond posts
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