The 3 Seeds of Regenerative Living
You have heard the cliche “someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a seed”. Well, we don’t love Warren Buffet (to whom this quote is attributed) or quoting rich guys in general, but he’s not wrong. The same goes for the seemingly abstract things we want to create, like a regenerative future or sustained action for positive change. These things can feel so big, so overwhelming, so far away, so nebulous, it can be tough to know where to begin. What are the first steps to creating a regenerative future? How do you become a grounded, positive agent for change in the world?
Well, like everything bloggable in life there are “3 easy steps”! Kidding - sort of. We call them the 3 Seeds, and I’m not gonna lie to ya friend, they’re not always easy. They are not “steps” or “tricks” because there is no tricking your way into regenerative living. Regeneration by definition requires active engagement and responsiveness. It requires relationship, and relationship requires ongoing commitment and adjustment. Leading a regenerative life, and contributing to regeneration in the world, is not a linear process. These are not steps on a ladder to success but rather qualities with which to move through the spiral of regeneration and of life. They are seeds that we must plant consciously and tend intentionally. In doing so we invite the creative energy of Life to move through us and support us on the path to regenerative living.
There are no quick fixes here, but there is a beautiful simplicity. Stay Awake, Connect, Act. Stay Awake, Connect, Act. These are the 3 Seeds of Regenerative Living. They are split-second lifelong choices that open up a universe of possibility, both personally and planetary.
STAY AWAKE
Staying Awake means choosing engagement and presence with the world as it is. Staying Awake asks us to practice presence with what is rather than what we wish was or what we know should be. This does not mean giving up our visions for a better future or forgoing our morals. You don’t have to like or agree with something to be present with it. It simply means staying awake to reality, both the “bad” and the “good”.
Staying Awake requires an ability to hold paradoxes. Sometimes we are able to do this with grace, sometimes not so much. It’s all okay. We’re working with both/and here, and that’s hard work. This practice asks us to stretch the capacity of our minds and hearts to encompass the complexity and many-layeredness of what is.
When we practice Staying Awake we develop the ability to “sustain our gaze” at the world in all of its paradoxes - chaos and turmoil, love and loss, destruction and creation. If we’re able to hold our gaze long enough we allow ourselves the opportunity to process our initial (normal, healthy) reactions of fear, anger, overwhelm, helplessness etc to a point where we can act intentionally.
Staying Awake is also about staying awake to ourselves. Being alert to how we move in the world and what systems and structures we are upholding. Staying Awake means understanding our capacity for harm and destruction as well as our capacity for care and creation. Just as we must hold this paradox in the world around us, so too must we hold it within ourselves. Just as we must meet the world as it is, so too must we meet ourselves as we are. Staying Awake - to the world and to ourselves - allows us to develop an authentic commitment to healing and creating a just and regenerative future.
CONNECT
Connection is the enduring law of existence. We cannot not be connected, and yet disconnection is so often our primary experience. This is not an accident - colonialism, white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism have constructed the experience of disconnection as a means of control. And so connection is a crucial resistance and reclamation of the truth of being alive in this world.
Connection with Nature grounds us in the physical world to which our bodies belong. All of these human dramas - political, cultural, economic, spiritual - are occurring in the context of nature. Earth holds it all. Connection with nature reminds us of the deep and unbreakable interconnection of all life, and the beauty and resilience of nature which we also carry within us. Connecting with nature reminds us that we know how to live in cycles, in collaboration, in communication, in balance. When we see ourselves reflected in nature we can learn experiential lessons and imagine new ways of living and being together. Plus we’re not mad at the many amazing psychological and physiological benefits of nature connection (link source).
Connection with Others grounds us in the social and cultural contexts we are a part of and begins to dismantle constructed and socialized hierarchy among humans. Through connecting with others we remember how to meet each other as human beings and find common ground to create positive change. Connecting with others reminds us that we are not alone - that again, no matter what we do we are in relationship. In connecting with others we find new ways to understand and re-create those relationships.
Connection with Self is the thread that we hold on to through all this. It decides the quality and manner of all our other connections. Connection with self is crucial to understanding and stepping into our unique purpose and gifts. Who are we in this world? What is our role? How do we show up in that role? In order to be the most regenerative versions of ourselves, and the best agents of change in our world, we must learn to connect with and accept - perhaps even love (gasp) - all of who we are.
Connection with self is also the foundation of building our action in the world. To be impactful, positive changemakers we must give our gifts, and to give our gifts we must first know what they are. No matter where we are in the world, we are ourselves, and a strong relationship with Self enables us to withstand the winds that Staying Awake and Acting inevitably bring.
ACT
Action - effective, compassionate, and collaborative action - is necessary to change the status quo and create a just and regenerative future. Without action, our awakeness and connection stops short of its potential impact. Action is the way we express ourselves and our vision for the world. This action can take place in our individual lives, our families, with our communities, and in the larger social, economic, and cultural systems of which we are a part.
Action is not only necessary to create change in the external world, it is also necessary for maintaining and strengthening our own empowerment and joy as human beings. Taking action, even when it may not accomplish its desired outcome, has a positive psychological effect. It connects us to other people, to something bigger than ourselves, and helps us align the realities of our lives with our deeper values. It is an outward commitment to and manifestation of our values and a prayer of love and care for the Earth and for our collective future.
You wanna sit in the shade of your sustained positive contribution to the world? Same. You want your children and grandchildren to sit in the shade of a just and regenerative future. Saaaameeee. Plant those seeds. Stay Awake, Connect, Act. Stay Awake, Connect, Act. Together, we got this.
Source: This concept, originally named the “three keys” was developed by Dr. Eshana Bragg, Ecopsychologist and Joyality Co-Founder in her paper ‘Activist Ecopsychology’, published in Ecopsychology Journal March 2014.
Interested in how to apply and integrate these 3 Seeds in your life? Learn more about our signature Joyality Program and check out our courses and offerings!