Work with groups

I help people see and experience connections between our natural environment (of which we are part), our social arrangements (and the extent to which they fairly distribute rights, access, opportunity, and responsibility), and our spiritual lives (expressed in contemplative practice, song, prayer, sacred texts, worship, etc.).

Work that connects two but not all three of these spheres has drawbacks:

• Environmental justice activism that neglects spirituality overlooks an important dimension of people’s relationship both to the earth and to justice.
• Eco-spirituality that neglects social justice (common in predominantly white groups) reproduces white supremacy, settler colonialism, and other systems of oppression.
• Faith-based social justice work that neglects the earth perpetuates the illusion of human independence and dominance, which justifies the exploitation of the earth.

In contrast, stitching together all three spheres nurtures integrity and makes our work more meaningful.

When we face all the social and environmental crises in our world today it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, hopeless, and powerless. To shift from despair to hopeful action we need grounding. I therefore lead groups through practices that strengthen connections between our mind, body, and spirit, between ourselves and the earth, and between ourselves and the people around us.

I follow the spiral of the Work that Reconnects by creating opportunities for gratitude and love to well up within us then honoring the pain we feel for a suffering earth community. Exploring the connections between grief, rage, and love helps us to harness sources of energy within us.

To counter all the bad news we hear, I enjoy sharing good news with the groups I work with. For example, there are so many crises (racism, war, poverty, sexual violence, forced migration, political dysfunction, climate change…), but they are interconnected. In fact, they are all symptoms or manifestations of an underlying social and economic order that is more than 500 years old. This may sound like bad news, but it actually gives us focus and helps us work together more effectively.

Recognizing the depth of these problems and the relationships between them helps us see that technological fixes are insufficient. We need something more: a just transition (or “Great Turning”) from an economy based on extraction and exploitation to one based on care and reverence for people and the earth alike.

We can apply this approach to climate change, which is inextricably connected to racism, patriarchy, colonialism, and other oppressive systems. Climate justice demands both decarbonization and equity. And there are plenty of great examples of projects that are already advancing both. More good news!

Although the work that awaits us will be difficult, each of us can contribute. Our work can be joyful and life giving. I guide people through a series of exercises that helps them discover their own inner resources. There are many roles to play, and we each get to find our role. As Joanna Macy puts it: “You don’t need to do everything. Do what calls your heart; effective action comes from love. It is unstoppable, and it is enough.”

We practice finding hope. “Hope is not optimism,” writes Rebecca Solnit. Rather, “hope is an ax you break down doors with in an emergency.” Active Hope (to use Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone’s phrase) is a discipline, something we do rather than something we have.

While our work is partly individual, it also requires us to join forces. I help people make plans to reach out to their friends and family, then to local institutions they might be able to influence. Finding groups that align with our interests and values is key to amplifying our efforts. I especially encourage people to connect with organizations led by members of marginalized groups (the Climate Justice Alliance is a good place to start).

Although we may all be “in the same boat” (planet Earth), we occupy very different positions in the boat. How we experience the crises in our world depends largely on our position. For example, marginalized groups are already suffering disproportionately from climate change.

I am a white man who has just about every kind of privilege a person can have. I am aware that it has mostly been “my people” who have gotten us into this mess. It’s a good thing that the leaders of the climate justice movement are mostly young people and members of marginalized groups and frontline communities, not people like me. And also… I believe that I have a role to play in creating a more just and sustainable world, and so do people like me.

In my work with groups I model and help people develop skills for working modestly, respectfully, and effectively across lines of difference toward collective liberation.

I acknowledge my particular position in the world and my partial (not objective or universal) knowledge. To counter the fact that white men in the Global North have dominated conversations about climate change, I center the knowledge and experiences of women, people of color, Indigenous peoples, and people from the Global South.

Examining environmental problems requires talking about racism, class domination, and other systems of oppression, which can be hard. I frame conversations as practice sessions in which we show up as learners and make mistakes. I encourage white people (especially white men) to recognize defensiveness, guilt, and shame when they arise and to find ways to stay engaged in uncomfortable conversations without shutting down or taking over. I encourage all people to notice and learn from their emotional responses to difficult conversations. Embodied, emotional, and spiritual grounding helps us root ourselves in wisdom and truth that lie beneath the distortions that lead to oppression.