OUR SYSTEM

The subtitle to ' Inheritors of the Earth ', by Chris D Thomas (2018), is 'How Nature is Thriving in an Age of Extinction'. This is a really interesting piece of work. One of the essential points is that biological diversity is increasing regionally even while it is declining globally. This is due to the massively increased migration of species between regions as a result of human migration and trade. And in the longer term - if we preserve a mix of habitats, and assist species endangered in their current habitat to migrate to places where they can thrive - the outlook is for global biodiversity to increase markedly due to greatly increased evolutionary activity, activity that has already started as a result of our far more interconnected, and warmer, world. Here are some salient quotes: "There is no correct state of nature." p19 "Huge numbers of species are thriving in the human-altered world, and we may even be stimulating a mass diversification of new ...

Think Forward to Thrive , by Jennice Vilhauer, is a useful book for thinking about your life and learning to thrive. She calls it Future Directed Therapy (FDT). Here are some quotes: “One hypothesis of Future Directed Therapy (FDT) is that the desire to pursue rewards and to thrive promotes the evolutionary progression of humankind. Every human invention, from the first stone tool to the supercomputers we use today, has been driven by the desire to improve our circumstances. In order for forward movement and thriving to continue, there must always be a difference between where we are in life and where we want to be.” p4-5 “In FDT we believe that when people feel they have the power to obtain what they want, they experience wellbeing. However, when they feel they are unable to move into their desired future state, they experience distress.” p5 “Often people think they are focusing on what they want, but if they are not feeling good about it, what they are likely focusing on is the fact ...

When I wrote The Common Purpose Manifesto in 2008/9 I tried to cover every key aspect of our system. But one part I left out is critical to creating a system where everyone has the freedom to live without harm. That part is love. As an analyst, I do not usually deal with the emotional, feeling aspects of systems. Typically, these aspects are ignored in rational assessments, as they are expected to be dispassionate to be taken seriously. However, emotions are fundamental to people in systems. Even analysts have them. And love is the strongest and most rewarding emotion. Love of life, love of wisdom, love of truth, love of others - these are vital to building a system based on fulfilment without harm, because fulfilment is all about life, wisdom and truth; and the capstone of living without harm is the love of others. The following excerpt on love was added yesterday to The Common Purpose Manifesto ... "The pursuit of fulfilment without harm is the love of life, wisdom and truth, an...