A silver lining!

We have just achieved what most thought impossible

Every cloud has a silver lining and although our current cloud is grim for many millions of people here in Australia - and life-threatening for some - it is no different.

Coming so soon after the worst bushfires in history further raised awareness for a substantive and long-term shift in global use of resources, this crisis is pushing us towards recognising what is important in a modern society.

I think to the surprise of many people there is a widespread acceptance that sacrificing economic activity to ensure the wellbeing of the average person is the way to go and spending more time at home may not be so bad.

We are in early days.  May be spending more time with family will turn out to be not so important, but I doubt it.  Biologically, we are built to thrive in the presence of closely bonded others.

What I will find interesting is seeing what happens when the opportunity arises to go back to ‘normal’.

Two of the key foundational ideas behind societies becoming more sustainable -and therefore able to survive long-term - are to use fewer resources and be more local.

Well, we are using fewer resources – 2020 is on course to suffer the biggest decline in oil consumption since reliable records started in the mid-1960s, grounded airlines and fewer commuter trips being major causes.

Working from home combined with self-isolation is making us more local in a good way, more time with family, more family dinners, more family activities.

At first this is a very strange situation – an aberration from what is normal - but after some months of the new normal it may turn out to be more attractive than the old.

When the opportunity arises, how far will we go back, or will society reset somewhere in between?  But with the knowledge that reducing resources, becoming more local are both now do-able things.

Fear of a coming apocalypse made people scared and feel unable to act, the coronavirus has made people act, whilst saying there is really no need to be scared.

There is a lesson in that.

John Corrigan is an expert in helping individuals to bring their whole of mind to their daily life and increase their effectiveness and the effectiveness of those around them. This expertise scales from the individual to the team to the organisation. At the core of this work is the practice of encounter.  Earlier blogs can be found here.

• To purchase a copy of Red Brain Blue Brain or Student Feedback go here