Review written by Nicola
Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone have given so much of immense value in this book to us in these challenging times. We know when we open our eyes and look around at what is happening in the world, what we are doing to the Earth, and each other, there is great cause for concern.
As we face the reality of what the future might look like, for future generations, our children, grand children and even ourselves, it’s really easy to switch off, bury our heads in the sand and find distractions so we don’t think about it, or do anything to change it. We can feel disillusioned, disempowered and disenchanted, and as a result just crack on with ’business as usual’. Active Hope tackles this head on and is packed full of really inspirational ways to look at things differently, find strength in the uncertainty of our future and develop ways to bring others along with us as we work to create a different way of living on Earth.
What is Active Hope? Chris and Joanna explain “whatever situation we face, we can choose our response. When facing overwhelming challenges, we might feel that our actions don’t count for much. Yet the kind of responses we make, and the degree to which we believe they count, are shaped by the way we think and feel about hope…. Passive hope is about waiting for external agencies to bring about what we desire. Active Hope is about becoming active participants in bringing about what we hope for”.
This book is full of really practical ways to get ourselves, and others to a point where we have active hope, where we are actively taking action to create a different world, a sustainable world. There is also a wealth of additional resources on the Active Hope website, including links to articles, videos and information on online training, and Chris runs a year long Facilitator Development Adventure programme in Somerset. More information about this can be found on the Facilitation for Life on Earth website.
If you are looking to equip yourself with tools to help you face the mess we are in and play our role in the collective transition towards a life-sustaining society I can thoroughly recommend both buying the book, using the on-line resources and attending the training.
Click here to buy the book on Amazon