At our May 2024 European gathering in the Dutch countryside, Din van Helden led us in an exercise inspired by the work of Joanna Macy. Sitting in two concentric circles, we faced each other in pairs, imagining that those in the outer ring were from the present, and those in the inner ring were returning to this time from seven generations into the future (in an important assumption that humans will be present and thriving then). We in the present spoke of what it is like to live in these times, knowing what is at stake. "How did you find the courage to do what was needed?" those from the future asked, offering gentle reflections in response.
As we shared in conversation together afterwards, it was a powerful exercise. Michelle Holliday took notes and then shaped them into a collective poem, reading it the next morning at our closing campfire.
These are our words.
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