OK, I know I said “summer break“, but in my defense, there are still 30°C (86°F) here in France in October…
My dearest Galosh,
It has been almost two months since I last picked up a pencil to draw. I feel stuck. “You’'ll draw when you have something to say”. What if I've said it all? What if there is no more saying within me?
I'm empty of convincing thoughts, at times.
I'm not a teacher.
I'm not an advocate.
I'm Jo.
Jo has silly hair and wears a straw hat. She walks barefoot most of the time.
And Jo never thought it would be this hard.
What was Jo thinking when she first started voicing? Did she believe she could just imagine these beautiful futures, and everyone would jump on board to make them real? Was it a 'show it, and they will come' type of thing?
What was Jo thinking? When she was hopeful, what was she thinking?"
Holding contradictory thoughts within one's mind and soul, detaching from the outcome, and doing the work with a smile while focusing on the present moment. The wu-wei way and all that jazz.
There are said to be three types of horizons: the first, comprised of those who follow established rules; the second, the entrepreneurs who seek innovative ways to improve existing things; and then there are the visionaries—those brave souls who dare to envision change and take action to make it happen.
Those who bravely challenge the status quo.
It feels like both a new kind of vision (it’s a strangely unique status quo) and a timeless quest. We're not the first to feel this way, and we won't be the last. The status quo may seem immovable for now, but we haven't reached the tipping point.
There will be a moment soon when everything starts changing rapidly.
I can feel it and you can feel it too.
When that moment comes, we will be there, holding onto our visions of a beautiful future and turning them into reality.
Until then, we continue the work. Every day, we detach from the outcome and focus on the small wonders around us—the daily bounty of the fig tree, the satisfying sound of cracking hazelnuts with a stone, and the unexpected warm kiss on the back of the neck as an invitation to put work aside and take a leisurely walk.
Off for a walk now, my dearest Galosh.
Love,
Jo
PS Much has been happening though, in the realm of teaching and advocating:
Courses
Climate-proof your home course is in beta, being tested by it’s first live cohort!
And the Permarchitecture course (which will aptly be named “Zero-ing in on Zone 0“ because the house in permaculture is called Zone 0) and the Listen to your Land course (a preview of which is in the Climate-proofing course) are both making their first steps out of the cave as well, so hurray to that.
If you’re hot for either one of these and want to bequietly added to the free-rider bucket, send me a DM:)
Ecosystems
I have been invited to serve as Ambassador of the beautiful endeavor that is Habitarmonia Academy.
Habitarmonia is a “Global Community Advancing Wellbeing-Driven Design in Living Spaces”, as in “let’s stop making buildings that make people sick“.
The platform is guided by systems' thinking and a regenerative understanding of the industry. It advocates for design that creates value for people, society, and the environment.
I tell you, it’s the new cool place to be. So join in.
Regenerative Patterns
The Regen Patterns project is advancing well. I have presented the idea to the community at
‘s fantastic Zoom Regenerative, and we will be presenting a follow-up at the end of October.The thing that excites me most about the patterns graph right now - apart from the obvious mapping out of what regenerative architecture might be - is the idea of boundaries between disciples.
The magic that happens where two ‘zones meet’.
I’ve written about boundaries here:
So what this have to do with graphs and design?
Well, when you bring disciplines together and get them to explore the boudaries between each other, there’s a special kind of magic that happens.
For one, it breaks the dreaded “silos of specialization“ and shows yet again how everything is connected.
Secondly, it takes the spotlight away from organizations and back to humans. Each of us, as individuals, are going to make this (TBD) happen, not our roles as CFO’s or heads of lahdidah department.
Thridly, it has the potential to be a breeding ground for the new type of ‘team’ we need, one that co-creates and let's things emerge, one that lets go of control, one that … well, the rest is TBD. Very wu-wei stuff. Planning not to plan.
So join in the fun and keep an eye out for the Zoom Regenerative session this end of the month.
Love,
Jo