A friend of mine (JH) talked about her past vision for her life. She said it was a dream for another time.
PERSONAL DREAMS FOR ANOTHER TIME & DREAMS FOR THIS TIME
It’s a good phrase. Some of my dreams were dreams for another time as well – of having children, doing a PhD, studying at CIIS, and so on. They are no longer my active dreams or the ones I engage with. They were for another time, another set of circumstances, and another person.
For this time, this set of circumstances, and this person, I have other dreams – of regeneration, community, developing a food forest, and so on.
These dreams are not new. Since my teens, I have been passionate about sustainability, community living, permaculture, a more life-centered way of life, and more. Because of my life now, these particular ones have come into the foreground and other dreams have faded into the background.
COLLECTIVE DREAMS FOR ANOTHER TIME & DREAMS FOR THIS TIME
It’s similar for us collectively. To me, so many of our collective dreams seems to be for another time and another set of circumstances.
The dreams tied to the domination and separation aspects of our civilization are, really, for another time.
These are dreams telling us that business as usual is OK. We can live as if our impact on the web of life has no consequences for ourselves. We find security through accumulation. Meaning comes primarily through career, family, or recreational activities. Success is having a house with a lawn. And so on.
In an age of global ecological overshoot and collapse, these are dreams for another time.
What are the dreams for this time?
Obviously, this will say as much or more about me as they do about our collective situation, but here are some of what comes up for me:
Dreams of community, strong community bonds, and mutual support. Dreams of regeneration of ecosystems – of lawns, parks, farmland, ocean ecosystems, plantation forests, deserts, and so on. Dreams of finding meaning through engagement in creating a regenerative civilization. Dreams of regeneration of ourselves and our communities. Dreams of creating a civilization – in ourselves, our life, and our network – that takes the best from domination and partnership cultures and orientations.
These are hopeful dreams that show us the way out of our situation. These are dreams we can engage with and bring into life, in whatever way is suitable to our situation. These are dreams that are profoundly meaningful, enriching, and nourishing, independent of whether they are implemented collectively or at a large scale.
Photo from Finca Milagros, the land we are stewards of / participants in / “owners” of in the Andes.