Thinking the change, knowing its own contradictions

Sorry, this entry is only available in French. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

Talking with a committed person and putting her face to her contradictions is a perilous act. First, one should be oneself free of bad practices. Then, it’s also a risk of hurting one way intimate a person in his pride, put it in front of contradictions, while yet according to her so many others do less. Risk of irritation, of counterproductive result, a purely counter-reaction emotional.

Know your limits

That’s why we have to learn what our limits are. in our commitment. To know and accept them is not not synonymous with not wanting to change, nor does it become a crutch on which to rely to excuse that we do not do enough. The Socratic maxim “know yourself” takes all its importance so to understand our barriers and to be able to overcome them.

To be able to make a conscious approach to what we do may have a negative aspect for the environment. It could be
beneficial than analyzing over a week, a month, what we do daily and classify these actions in relation to their impact environmental. Without having an aspect of judgment, but simply to ask if the impact is neutral and / or if everyone would do the same if it would work. According to the social realities of each currently in the current system, we can not do otherwise, but the goal would be to become aware of what we are doing. Then, even if it’s not an immediate change, allow yourself to see on the long term how to change that.

Recognize what is a luxury of our society and what is correct to do. Because the problem of the environment is that we have built our way of life against it and a lot of our activities and habits are not neutral with the natural ecosystem. It follows that often changing or giving up activities may be perceived as deprivation when we compare ourselves to others.

It is the same with the involvement in the democratic life of the city, our community; in the management of the city. The man is a social animal, however the representative democratic system and the capitalist economic system have altered the social cell. It is not no longer need to attend meetings or take an active part in the maintenance of his neighborhood, his street, his neighborhood or his city. We vote and we pay, that’s enough. The Western human no longer awareness of the functioning of a community. There is of course still the family and friends, but they are not always inhabitants of the same place, therefore, more importance is given to a physically remote cell than to the local cell.

As much environmental gestures are more or less easy to evaluate, while democratic involvement is still a little blurry. From what time is involved? What do we have to do ? Why is it important? The time factor will work against this implication because in addition to looking after his family, working for a salary, seeing a little friend and then rest, there is not much time left.

Do not forget: society

We are individuals, but evolving in a society that has dictated our rules, which has accustomed us to energy comfort. Switch individually is important, but it is nothing if there is no societal change. Both are from peers and one without the other will be able to change. We place a lot of importance on the change individual because it is easy to empower the individual in his behavior without questioning the system, yet it is in its globality that we must requester the whole. Because if society as a whole goes in a way, the unique individual will be able to try to swim to
counter-sense, he will be carried away by the current.

Just like for his individual action, make a chart of what works or no for the environment is to be done. This can show where the implication can be done and what requires a global change. What do you would like to change in your behavior but that you can not do without help from the company? (eg more accessibility for cycling, it’s a decision on a different scale than individual, but that is necessary for the change of his habits)

How to make that our notion of time on a day, a week or a month can also include engagement in his community?

A collective project

In the transition manual, Rob Hopkins focuses on a practice interesting that we do little or not, have a vision of the future and imagine. What would be the world in which we want to live in 2030, 2040, 2050? Imagine this future or the contradiction is no longer as flagrant, more damaging, perhaps even more present; it’s give the possibility to imagine the necessary steps starting from now. Because it’s easy to say that you have to change this or that other because they are not good, but change by what, how and to what? Change can bring worse if we do not think ahead
what we want.

A collective project of ecological and social transition should be objective criticism of today’s society, but also
for the community to help with individual changes. A project like this one has to build a vision for the future that will animate the members of the community to want to participate in a project like this.

---

Also published on Medium.