Book Review: Active Hope by Macy and Johnstone

An excellent guide to personal resilience

I have taken part in workshops led by both Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, and regard them as two of the best teachers on personal resilience in a full sense of the phrase. Working in depth with this book could be a good start to exploring super-resilience. This book is a clear, concise guide to their approach, and has the authority and richness that comes from their many years of teaching.

Their work is known by various names, including Deep Ecology, and the Work That Reconnects. It draws from a range of sources, including Buddhist teachings and general systems theory.

One of their key ideas is that there are three ‘stories of our time’, and it is empowering to name them, and choose the one we live by:

Business as Usual: this is the story that governments and business would like us to trust in them. There’s nothing basically wrong, and a bit more economic growth and technology will sort things out soon.
The Great Unravelling: worsening climate change is only one of several huge problems which show that the world is falling apart and it’s too late to save it.
The Great Turning: whilst this story is less visible in mass media it is already happening in many ways across the globe: a turning to sustainability, fairness, and shared resources.

To some extent, all three stories are happening, but only the third one encourages us to act and believe we can make a difference. The book highlights three Dimensions of the Great Turning:

Holding actions: this means actions to reduce or stop the damage caused by Business as Usual to the climate, ecosystems and lots more. Whilst some of the big changes need to come from government and business, we can change our own lifestyle, and participate in campaigns, boycotts and more.
Life-sustaining systems and practices: in every sector, including banking, food and transport, sustainable approaches are already available. Individuals can choose to make such changes now. But it requires big changes to spending priorities and to the patterns of Business as Usual, which will require much wider popular pressure on governments.
Shift in Consciousness: this is a sense of belonging and connectedness with all life on Earth. As we deepen this, it brings a sense of urgency, and a passion for positive change.

Much of the book is about how to achieve this change in consciousness, and act upon it. Central to this is The Work that Reconnects, a four-stage process explained in full practical detail in this book. Let’s explore each step in turn:

Opening to gratitude. Whatever your challenges and worries may be, try shifting your focus to thankfulness: for the gift of life itself, and all the resources that keep you alive. Include the many gifts of nature, such as food and beauty, and the good things you receive from other people: friends, family, and the huge array of workers we all depend on. Starting with gratitude helps us be present in the here and now, to relax and open up beyond our worries, and to have the energy to face our pain.
As Joanna Macy says: “Thankfulness loosens the grip of the industrial growth society by contradicting its predominant message: that we are insufficient and inadequate. The forces of late capitalism continually tell us that we need more – more stuff, more money, more approval, more comfort, more entertainment.”
Owning our pain for the world. This stage can be tough: most of us stuff down and deny the pain we feel at the ways that the earth and its creatures are being abused and destroyed. It takes courage to face your pain, it can be distressing, but this step should enable you to move into the next two. The word pain can include a range of difficult feelings, such as anger, fear, guilt, despair, confusion. I’ve led many groups through this process, and confirm Joanna’s view that the key element is being able to voice your pain and have it witnessed by others. This breaks through the sense that these feelings are abnormal, and you’re alone with them.
Seeing with new eyes. By letting yourself feel your pain for the world, you open up to a new sense of connection with that world, and with other people. Macy calls this “a shift in identification… from the isolated “I” to a vaster sense of what we are.” This is a crucial prelude to the fourth step: as small, solitary egos, we are right to feel powerless. When we feel ourselves as part of the living network of life, and part of a community, something different becomes possible.
Going forth. This is the stage of taking action: maybe as an individual, maybe with others. Macy describes this as “the discovery of what can happen through us… one simply finds oneself empowered to act on behalf of other beings – or on behalf of the larger whole.” And taking action includes holding a vision of positive change.

The book has a whole chapter on each of the four steps in this process, plus valuable chapters on such topics as Catching an Inspiring Vision, Building Support around you, and Maintaining energy and enthusiasm. Unlike some books in this sector, this one is well written, and pretty concise at 238 pages. The passion, wisdom and huge experience of both authors shines through, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it. It gracefully interweaves large perspectives, wisdom from great teachers, real-life examples, and self-help exercises.