Roughly 20 years ago I realized our current idea of civilisation could not be sustained. I imagine many have had similar insights. But also like me struggled with what do to and over time found that it is impossible to stop or redirect what can be seen as a supertanker on full throttle. And honestly maybe we also started to think that we were wrong. That this all might work out with the help of globalisation, international collaboration, technology, etc.

Today I’m glad I have at last shedded all such hopes, even if I hold a degree of openness towards possible miracles. But in general I have accepted that we are in the end state of this civilization. And this is paradoxically quite a liberation. It allows me to redirect my efforts and hopes in new, more fruitful, directions. 

At the core I am still a person that sees and needs to exist in a space of possibilities. So when possibilities seem scarce in and around our struggling institutions I now increasingly go for the outliers. For the small scale. For the local. For the community. For the human spirit. That is where I find hope and possibility today.

In a world running on steroids our old institutions act hard headed and will resist anything that seems to threaten their power and privileges. In the light of increasing complexity and uncertainty they tighten their command and control. Which is quite counter productive if they want to survive, and instead accelerates their disintegration. I’ve found this to be in line with how social systems tend to work when they get poisoned by ego, fear and power games. 

The easy (but soul threatening) thing to do is to play along. Not resist. Although it will still be tough work because those in charge will always want more from us. But the job in itself it is not so difficult. The truly difficult today is to take on the new possibilities that can be found at the fringes. Invite them and explore them. Test them. To bring people together, generate empowerment and build local trust and community. AND simultaneously defend these efforts against a variety of subtle and not so subtle attack and defence mechanisms from our institutions. 

I’m opting for the difficult.