The Great Turning
What is The Great Turning?
“Future generations, if there is a livable world for them, will look back at the epochal transition we are making to a life-sustaining society. And they may well call this, the time of The Great Turning.” Joanna MacyThe Great Turning is a phrase many are using to describe these tumultuous times. In the midst of an ecological revolution, we are moving towards a sustainable presence on the earth.
The phrase was coined by Buddhist scholar, systems theorist, eco-activist Joanna Macy. As global environmental and economic crises, and war, push us to wake up and embrace a whole new relationship with the earth, each other and ourselves, it’s a time in which we are being asked to look at the deep hunger, underpinning western culture, that drives our consumption-based lifestyle. It is a time in which we are departing from the practices of the Industrial Growth Society, and beginning to invest in the infrastructure of a Life-Sustaining Civilization.
Comparable in magnitude to the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions which took place over long periods of time, the Ecological Revolution, or what many are coming to call The Great Turning, must happen within decades if we are to avoid the potentially catastrophic, irreversible consequences of global warming.
The good news is, that it is, and, we each have enormous opportunities to live rich lives of meaning, as we take up the challenge before us.
The Great Turning is Unfolding in Three Dimensions:
- ● Holding Actions are actions taken to slow down the damage
to the environment and society, i.e. Save the Rainforest campaigns, peace initiatives, shelters, and soup kitchens.● Structural Changes are shifts in organizational structures that support sustainability goals, i.e. Locavore and Fair Trade movements.
● Shifts in Consciousness come when we recognize our interdependence with all of life and begin to act in service to the whole, i.e. choosing clean energy sources in response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
The Great Turning film will focus on Shifts in Consciousness by looking at the transformative process of change within human beings and culture at such times. It is a remarkable thing to realize that we are wired for this kind of change. It’s happening all around us, amidst the destruction. As we tap into the wisdom of several visionaries, including Joanna Macy, who will help us to place this “Hero’s Journey” in context, we are reminded that the human spirit is vast, resilient and infinitely resourceful. Come meet the courageous people who exemplify the capacity held within each of us, for change in difficult times.
Film Summary
The Great Turning: The Hero’s Journey of Our Time
The Great Turning, a feature-length HD cinema vérité film, follows two urban youth as they embark on a journey of self-discovery, set within and mirroring of the larger story of our times, a global community coming to terms with today’s ecological crisis. As unlikely leaders coping with their own anger and angst, struggling with social conflicts and the many temptations society offers for numbing out, they step away from their own day-to-day realities to attend, of all things, a traditional rite of passage. We watch a heart-rending, inspiring shift-against-odds, as they each reconnect with nature, face their fears, find new strengths, and discover their part in the planetary whole. They emerge speaking with new and powerful voices for change.
Buddhist scholar, systems theorist, author and activist, Joanna Macy, Anishnabe elder David Courchene, naturalist and educator Jon Young, youth activist, Joshua Gorman and other visionary leaders, place this process in context by offering deep wisdom, for linking the personal, collective and archetypal stories of transformation. In finding inspiration by witnessing the potential for change offered by today’s youth generation, we find hope and a path forward for each one of us, young and old.
A production of TwoWings, Inc. – http://www.TwoWingsInc.wordpress.com
