The Committed Optimist

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At a garden party in Tel Aviv in the 1950s Moshe Feldenkrais observed a little girl trying to catch a light ball. The adults would gently throw the ball to her, and she would try to catch the ball by throwing her arms wide. This did not work. The ball would hit her in...

A few months ago, reflecting on the confrontation between the US/NATO and Russia in Ukraine I concluded that there was a high probability of escalation to an intercontinental nuclear war, which via would mean the horrible unravelling of civilization as we know it....

Like all wars, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is monstrous. To my mind, the lead up to the war is even more monstrous. I’m writing this because I think a highly probable outcome will be nuclear exchange between Russia and the United States. We should do our best to...

‘A life-affirming culture’ is a culture that cares for people and the planet. It is an umbrella term that encompasses the goals and aspirations of much if not all of the environmental, progressive and faith  communities that care about the environment. It stands in...

I received an email requesting information about how various practitioners help kids deal with climate anxiety. Here is how I responded. What I am about to say is not what you’re looking for, but it is relevant to the climate change and anxiety conversation....

The magnitude of our ecological and social crisis calls us to respond in innovative ways. Please join an exploration of how we can ‘mass produce’ the conversations and thinking that will lead to transformative change. Tuesday, May 12 7 PM Sydney time Register here....

At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin commented, We must all hang together, or surely we shall hang separately. In my view, if we are to really be effective, the environment-progressive movement must align together to inspire mainstream...

This quote is from the last chapter of Lloyd de Mause’s The Origin of War in Child Abuse. I recommend the book, along with Robin Grille’s Parenting for a Peaceful World, and my own The Witness: Gateway to Self-Development. "The crucial task of future generations will...