QUOTES
The
Great Turning is a name for the essential adventure of our time: the shift from
the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization.
The
ecological and social crises we face are inflamed by an economic system dependent
on accelerating growth. This self-destructing political economy sets its goals
and measures its performance in terms of ever-increasing corporate profits--in
other words by how fast materials can be extracted from Earth and turned into
consumer products, weapons, and waste.
General
systems theory, emerging from the life sciences, brings fresh evidence to confirm
ancient, indigenous teachings: the Earth is alive, mind is pervasive, all beings
are our relations. This realization changes everything. It changes our perceptions
of who we are and what we need, and how we can trustfully act together for a decent,
noble future.
“The
most remarkable feature of this historical moment on Earth is not that we are
on the way to destroying the world—we’ve actually been on the way for quite a
while. It is that we are beginning to wake up, as from a millennia-long sleep,
to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves and each other.”
The
truth is that all aspects of the current crisis reflect the same mistake, setting
ourselves apart and using others for our gain
There
are the holding actions, the changing actions, and the vision of the future —
what we want to see happen for the Earth. All are essential.
"If
the world is to be healed through human efforts, I am convinced it will be by
ordinary people, people whose love for this life is even greater than their fear.
People who can open to the web of life that called us into being".
