Rachel, what I appreciate most in your writing is that you consistently invite/beckon me to reckon with the fact that struggle is inherently inconvenient and disruptive. And those of us bathed in convenience from birth will need to acknowledge the enormity of the shift required for substantive change. You also remind us that relationship is the root of everything, something I write about a lot because it's the core of being restorative, which just involves asking in every moment, "am I/is this moving me closer toward right relationship?" We change when we need to be in right relationship and we are not. We change when right relationship matters more than material comfort or gain. Thanks for holding up a mirror and asking us not to blink.
I appreciate your generous response, Rachel. There are many clear voices out there and I find yours particularly illuminating and so usefully invitational. Maybe some read what you write and feel challenged. I feel summoned to be honest in my reading and response. I so appreciate that you invite accountability. I recommend Planet Critical to people because I find it so helpful. You are a companion who engages us, and that's true service. The great writer and healer Rachel Naomi Remen wrote that true service is mutual. If it's one-sided, it's charity. Your research and analysis are not simply morsels to ponder. You ask us to grapple with what you present. That summoning, that engagement enlivens me. I wonder if I could send you a copy of Being Restorative? I imagine you have a zillion books and articles to read. The book has no expiry date and I sense you might find it resonant. If you are interested, I can mail you a copy. No pressure. An offering not an expectation:)
The way the Shuar and Achuar have reacted to the contact with modernity demonstrates that there is no mystical path to a simpler life that some seem to think indigenous peoples exemplify. Eventually, if some benefit is seen in some technology or social trend, it will be picked up and used. Humans, given their evolved abilities, will make use of resources when possible. It's only when those uses aren't possible that humans will revert to simple existence, for a while, until some find a way to engineer convenience from what resources are available.
I would upgrade to paid but I’ll be jiggered if it means using Apple Pay.
I like that you brought in the biological aspects of our culture system. In this respect the Christian views on body vs. soul as two distinct entities do us great harm. We are inherently biological and should never forget that. Capitalism makes sense from an evolutionary biology perspective. Struggle is a core element of biological/ environmental systems. So is extinction.
Fascinating to hear the parallels and patterns of human systems repeating themselves in the context of the Achuar people. Two sentences stood out to me for some reason; "it is the nature of systems to reproduce themselves" and "the struggle must become the path of least resistance".
"Fossil-fueled patriarchy"? Funny, my read of history is that fossil fuels liberated women. Men are biologically stronger than women. Doesn't make them better. Just a fact that tends to make many human groups patriarchal--in that sense. Fossil fuels equalize men and women because the physical advantage of men is neutralized. Women can compete with their brains and do so!
I know I can't argue with you ;) The problem we're facing is that only a husbanding of resources will allow us to keep this equality. Instead, greed (both male and female) will burn through all our fossil fuels and we'll be back to men with their physical advantages.
Renewables, in my view, can also bring back a patriarchy because wars will be fought over the necessary remaining oil allowing for men's testosterone to do what it does.
It doesn't look good. It is NOT what I want.
People often laugh when one says an uncomfortable truth, or does something that is oblivious to social mores. I've had many experiences where I say something (obnoxious as you'll probably think?) and believe I wasn't understood. Only for that person to approach me later and thank me for bringing the subject up.
Suffice it to say that I've had similar worries about how our approaching energy descent will impact gender and gender-relations for nearly a decade-and-a-half. As Chakrabarty noted, ‘The mansion of modern freedoms stands on an ever-expanding base of fossil-fuel use. Most of our freedoms so far have been energy-intensive.’ Of course, the relationship isn't directly causal (there are a few low energy gender-egalitarian societies in the anthropological and historical literature; albeit not very many). But the fossil-fueled madness of peak-civilization is showing clear signs of "lets make patriarchy great again" as everyone scrambles for what's left. Far too many unwelcome truths on the horizon (and in the rear-view mirror).
Rachel, what I appreciate most in your writing is that you consistently invite/beckon me to reckon with the fact that struggle is inherently inconvenient and disruptive. And those of us bathed in convenience from birth will need to acknowledge the enormity of the shift required for substantive change. You also remind us that relationship is the root of everything, something I write about a lot because it's the core of being restorative, which just involves asking in every moment, "am I/is this moving me closer toward right relationship?" We change when we need to be in right relationship and we are not. We change when right relationship matters more than material comfort or gain. Thanks for holding up a mirror and asking us not to blink.
Thank you so much, Leaf <3 I always really enjoy reading your take on my work.
I appreciate your generous response, Rachel. There are many clear voices out there and I find yours particularly illuminating and so usefully invitational. Maybe some read what you write and feel challenged. I feel summoned to be honest in my reading and response. I so appreciate that you invite accountability. I recommend Planet Critical to people because I find it so helpful. You are a companion who engages us, and that's true service. The great writer and healer Rachel Naomi Remen wrote that true service is mutual. If it's one-sided, it's charity. Your research and analysis are not simply morsels to ponder. You ask us to grapple with what you present. That summoning, that engagement enlivens me. I wonder if I could send you a copy of Being Restorative? I imagine you have a zillion books and articles to read. The book has no expiry date and I sense you might find it resonant. If you are interested, I can mail you a copy. No pressure. An offering not an expectation:)
Fascinating reflection, thanks!
Thank you for being here!
The way the Shuar and Achuar have reacted to the contact with modernity demonstrates that there is no mystical path to a simpler life that some seem to think indigenous peoples exemplify. Eventually, if some benefit is seen in some technology or social trend, it will be picked up and used. Humans, given their evolved abilities, will make use of resources when possible. It's only when those uses aren't possible that humans will revert to simple existence, for a while, until some find a way to engineer convenience from what resources are available.
I would upgrade to paid but I’ll be jiggered if it means using Apple Pay.
I like that you brought in the biological aspects of our culture system. In this respect the Christian views on body vs. soul as two distinct entities do us great harm. We are inherently biological and should never forget that. Capitalism makes sense from an evolutionary biology perspective. Struggle is a core element of biological/ environmental systems. So is extinction.
Fascinating to hear the parallels and patterns of human systems repeating themselves in the context of the Achuar people. Two sentences stood out to me for some reason; "it is the nature of systems to reproduce themselves" and "the struggle must become the path of least resistance".
Please visit EARTHABOVEALL.NET
Please visit EARTHABOVEALL.NET
"Fossil-fueled patriarchy"? Funny, my read of history is that fossil fuels liberated women. Men are biologically stronger than women. Doesn't make them better. Just a fact that tends to make many human groups patriarchal--in that sense. Fossil fuels equalize men and women because the physical advantage of men is neutralized. Women can compete with their brains and do so!
I know I can't argue with you ;) The problem we're facing is that only a husbanding of resources will allow us to keep this equality. Instead, greed (both male and female) will burn through all our fossil fuels and we'll be back to men with their physical advantages.
Renewables, in my view, can also bring back a patriarchy because wars will be fought over the necessary remaining oil allowing for men's testosterone to do what it does.
It doesn't look good. It is NOT what I want.
People often laugh when one says an uncomfortable truth, or does something that is oblivious to social mores. I've had many experiences where I say something (obnoxious as you'll probably think?) and believe I wasn't understood. Only for that person to approach me later and thank me for bringing the subject up.
Suffice it to say that I've had similar worries about how our approaching energy descent will impact gender and gender-relations for nearly a decade-and-a-half. As Chakrabarty noted, ‘The mansion of modern freedoms stands on an ever-expanding base of fossil-fuel use. Most of our freedoms so far have been energy-intensive.’ Of course, the relationship isn't directly causal (there are a few low energy gender-egalitarian societies in the anthropological and historical literature; albeit not very many). But the fossil-fueled madness of peak-civilization is showing clear signs of "lets make patriarchy great again" as everyone scrambles for what's left. Far too many unwelcome truths on the horizon (and in the rear-view mirror).