I think most people who are working hard to raise a family, pay a mortgage and just stay sane find it pretty impossible to examine what's actually happening on Earth with any depth. In this series, I have asserted that it's possible to find some hope despite all of the things that are going wrong. Since you are subscribed to a Transition newsletter, you already know a lot about what's wrong so I won't spend any words on that.

So how can smart people find hope? Can one combine intelligence with hope and not betray one or the other. Is the only reasonable position of intellectuals and people steeped in Western tradition and history one of total hand-wringing, head-scratching despair? If there is hope, then how deeply do we have to reconstruct the premises of our worldview in order to legitimately believe in the human enterprise, ourselves and each other. Pretty deep is the answer.

Western civilization enshrines the law of thermodynamic entropy and other laws of physics as central to our technological society. Entropy basically says everything falls apart. Everything dissipates into less structure, less order. Everything is fleeting. From materialism we've learned to accept the idea that death is the yawning grave; you're compost. That's it. 

Existentialism suggests that humans are free to direct their lives in any way they see fit. Ironically for most people, this concept results in existential despair. (If it's all up to me, then it's my fault that daily life is so screwed up.) A series of very "existential" presumptions have been built into Western civilization over the past 300 or 400 years with greater and greater ferocity.

So while the cultural trajectory has been toward more rationality, materialism, reductionistic control over nature and more, there are two interesting contradictions to this trajectory that are worthy of examination.

Our worldview has overlooked two fundamental facts about the nature of reality, and the absence of these two fundamental facts in our models of how the universe works is what has given us such a downward trajectory into factionalism, existential despair, a broken connection to nature and in some cases to each other. The recovery of these two things feeds a legitimate optimism. (I can only briefly describe the first one this month, and then I'll need to explain more about what it means in the next installment. Sorry about that.)

The first thing that science overlooked was the conservation of novelty. When I say science, I mean the entirety of Western values, not just science. Simply stated, that means over time the universe has become more complicated. New levels of complexity become the foundations for deeper levels of complexity. After the "Big Bang," it was too hot for atoms or molecules. Cooling lead first to atoms then later to molecules. Carbon-based molecules gave rise to organic molecules. Single-celled organisms, then multicellular organisms, plants, fungi and animals. Etc., ad infinitum.

Then human culture came along, and our technology increased in complexity so today we have a virtually connected global society with instant communication. I guess we could argue about the quality of that communication, but this obvious history didn't and doesn't behave according to the law of entropy. Stay tuned.

—David Cutter

My neighbors don’t really know that they are moving toward a Transition mindset.

On my block every Monday morning, nine people email back and forth to arrange yoga carpools. The yoga class is less than three miles away in a park. The carpool serves as a time to connect with neighbors, swap borrowed party plates and silverware, recipes and theatre reviews.

Rogue Yoga is a result of a yoga teacher wanting to give back to her community. She opened the class in 2011 for a five dollar donation and frequently reminded us that if we could not afford it we should still come. After five years she moved away. The new yoga teacher continues the tradition of the low donation. As we leave the class feeling limber, relaxed, alert and strong we comment to each other how lucky we are to enjoy the mountain view, changing clouds and busy hummingbirds while we practice yoga. There is a sense of connection to and gratitude for the beauty that surrounds the class.

On Fridays, two of us carpool to an early morning group meditation. Inner Transition, or a shift in consciousness, is an important part of being aware that every choice we make each day has impact on climate change: choosing the option that nurtures nature reduces fuel consumption or moves toward zero waste. The debate ensues on whether in order to lead a more Transition-based life, a raised awareness must come first or whether engagement in easy, resilience-building fun like yoga, gardening and sharing things comes first. It seems that both must develop together.

On Saturday mornings, six of us sometimes meet up at the neighborhood post office, weeding and pruning together in the garden that the larger neighborhood helped to establish. We share seeds and small plants that are crowding our gardens. The garden has been a delightful example of the theory of the broken window effect, where one broken window can quickly devolve to a second and then a dozen. But if the first broken window, or weedy plot of land in this case, is repaired promptly, the domino effect does not happen, the community is raised up. Disorder is abated by repair. Now that the post office has a beautiful array of native flowers, ground cover and trees, the trash on the property is reduced. The auto parts store across the street has tidied up its yard which was littered with trash and weeds. The bakery across the other street has built a counter with high stools so that coffee and nosh customers can gaze out to the lively bright yellows and purples and pungent blues and grays in the garden. In gratitude, the bakery donates loaves of leftover bread to Repair Café for the volunteers’ breakfast before repairs begin.

All these things embody the concepts of Transition. Abundance is shared. Waste is reduced. Relationships and community are nurtured. And by living more locally we are reducing our carbon footprint and helping climate change.

The Transition movement is based on Permaculture principles, which are the principles that have long been observed in Mother Nature herself. Nature takes care of people, shares in a reciprocal way, it nurtures relationships and leaves no waste. It is inherently sustainable and resilient. My neighbors may not see themselves as engaged with Transition Principles, but their minds and hearts and actions are shifting. The Transition movement gets the credit from my perspective, but as one of my dear mentors, Martha Fitzgerald liked to say, “A lot can be accomplished if you don’t mind who gets the credit.” 

​—Therese Brummel

As the gift economy (some say sharing economy) becomes more commonplace in our society, various initiatives have sprouted around town. One of them is Repair Cafe Pasadena, a Transition Pasadena project.

Steeped in the philosophy that we should all be better stewards of our planet’s resources and that creating zero waste is one of the best strategies for that objective, Repair Cafe delights in coupling handy folks with people like me who can barely operate a screwdriver. Broken items of all kinds are brought to a central location where talented neighbors fix fizzled lamps, fried toasters, torn trousers and battered electronics. And it is all free!

Somewhere back in 2012 a few local sustainable world fanatics borrowed the Repair Cafe structure from an international movement and had the grand opening at the Armory Center for the Arts. Since its founding, RC has appeared over 45 times, traveling to a dozen locations in our community to spread the joy and spirit of this great Block Party with a Purpose.

Along the way there were moments of introspection and analysis: Are we serving folks who we want to serve? Are we at the locations best suited for this work? Do we have the right craftspeople at the table? And are we not only fixing stuff but creating community?

There was certainly some discussion about where to house RC, with some wanting a consistent location and others pushing for moving it around town. Also, the notion of free repair has always been the focus of the group, but should folks be asked to contribute in other ways? And how is success measured when thinking about the outcomes of each event? By the number of toasters that can now hold down slices of bread or the level of conversation between the helpers and the helped?

Sometimes success isn’t numerically quantifiable. Sometimes it is more about how you feel because of human interaction and just being seen. And while RC serves a need to repair items that are broken, it also serves its volunteers (185 and counting!) through their yearning to do good and to help others.

Repair Cafe is a community living room/workshop: It provides folks who might not ever meet one another with the opportunity to sit, swap stories, try to fix a broken item together and share in an activity that recognizes each one as being valuable. For three to four hours, an alternative universe is created where money doesn’t really matter and people see each other not as transactions, but as neighbors and friends. And that, of course, is the best way to build a community that cares about the people who live there.

So maybe measuring success for Repair Cafe isn’t about the number of antique appliances saved from being thrown on the trash heap but more about transforming the world, one relationship at a time. As one volunteer calmly stated at the end of a recent Repair Cafe: “This is the world that I want to live in!”

—Brian Biery

Next Repair Cafe:
May 26, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Altadena Library
600 E Mariposa St
Altadena, CA 91001​

Council is the practice of listening and speaking from the heart so as to awaken connection with self, others and the natural world. Think of people 10,000 years ago sitting around a campfire telling stories. That's what council is. Every indigenous culture on earth engages in some form of this kind of storytelling practice. Even in a modern industrial culture we see elements of this; I'm thinking of the conference table in a board room as one example.

​Council is not just a storytelling practice but rather a way to connect to each person's story so deeply that a sense of the group as whole becomes present. The group mind is one way to describe it. Council can be used to deepen a sense of community and for brainstorming solutions to problems. Council can also be used for resolving conflicts. It's important to add that Council is not a form of counseling.

I'll describe some elements of Council in this article but to really get the flavor of it, I recommend participating in a Council. During a Council session there are four intentions. To speak from the heart, to listen from the heart, to be lean in your speaking and to be spontaneous in deciding what to say.

The concept of thresholds is important in a Council practice. We mark the time we enter into a Council by making dedications. For example, "I dedicate this Council to my sister in law who is really struggling at work right now." Others can make a dedication or not. No one has to speak and everyone can always pass. We close a session in a variety of ways. The facilitator will pick a simple activity that feels appropriate to what participants have said previously. It can be simple and profound or light and fun. One example is simply holding hands and then sending a pulse around the circle of participants by squeezing your neighbor's hand. 

I was introduced to council through an organization called the Center for Council which came out of its parent organization, The Ojai Foundation. The practice of council as it was developed by The Ojai Foundation took many elements from the Lakota Sioux indigenous culture. I immediately saw its potential for connecting people to their deeper and more profound places. These connections make for more meaning, for a better quality of life and a stronger community. Like the unexamined life is not worth living. I decided I wanted to pursue a certification in training people to facilitate Council. 

To be a part of human industrial civilization means lots of doing. But lots of our doing is divorced from who we are being. When you are being present in your body, life is much more fulfilling, rewarding and just downright feels better. I am more effective at whatever I am doing when I feel fully present. Council is one practice that helps create more of a sense of being. Oh.... and the awareness that Council generates might even hold answers to our society's predicament.

—David Cutter

Transition Pasadena is now offering an ongoing monthly council at no cost to anyone interested in this practice. Please contact TransitionPasadena at gmail.com for more information.