Where Does Change Come From?
There is a central question we wrestle with at Groundwork: with our world in trouble, where does real change come from? A trend in environmental thought blames the big things for our problems: corporations and governments. It’s easy to point to faceless entities liquidating the living world for profit. But if that’s the only answer, where then does hope come from for ordinary people?
If we point out the window towards the CEOs and the politicians, a part of what we are pointing at is the reflection of ourselves in the glass. This recognition is not a resignation—it can be a source of hope. As individuals, we are a part of the systems that are destroying our beautiful world, which means that we have a say in where things go from here. The name I chose for this organization, Groundwork, is an expression of our core philosophy: large-scale change is intertwined with and depends upon small-scale change. Anything so large as solutions to global environmental issues requires a solid foundation to rest upon. We cannot expect large-scale change when our daily lives feed and are fed by the systems we claim to oppose.
In thinking about New Years resolutions, I often ask what would happen if everybody I knew adopted a particular resolution. That in-between scale is where we need to think to create change: way smaller than the global, but still much larger than the personal. Most importantly, that scale is within our sphere of influence. My New Years resolution is broad: to examine and transform the ideas and attitudes within myself and my community that feed and are fed by the systems I oppose.
As large-scale political action seems further from reach, this is a great time to study the Overton window: the concept that public policy falls into the narrow window of what is seen as acceptable by society. Each of us has a sort of Overton window in ourselves: there are things that are too radical for us as to picture in our own lives. You can sense where your limits are by asking series of questions: would I spend a year only eating organic food? Only food that’s in season? Only food from within 500 miles? 100 miles? 5 miles? Would I divest from fossil fuels? Limit my use of credit cards? Buy nothing new? Our window is a single pane of glass that helps make up the Overton windows of our community and of our society as a whole. If your neighbors turn their entire lawn into a vegetable garden, you are more likely to at least enlarge your own garden. If you commute daily on a bicycle, your family is more likely to at least see a bicycle as a viable form of transportation.
As you think about the coming year, I encourage you to consider how you might shift the window of what’s seen as possible within your community. Small actions and small ideas can change the world. In fact, they always do, if we are able to sit still, breathe deep, and watch carefully.