astraea turns 26 today. Happy birthday!
It’s a bittersweet anniversary. astraea’s vision is to show the big picture to understand our place with, and within nature. From this flows everything else – our ability to thrive, liberate our highest potential, and find joy. We saw the growing need for system change, and changed our own lives in 1999 to help others see it too. And it’s happening! People are, in rapidly growing numbers, demanding change – deep change, system change, a new order – to protect our planet, and enjoy the world together in peace.
Our approach has been echoed by many voices of those who see the need for change like the amazing Mary Robinson, the late Hazel Henderson, and many more. We’ve shared our work at Friends of the Earth Ireland, collaborated with the Mary Robinson Climate and Nature Conference and shared the stories of real local change agents over the years. We have refined our message to it’s simplest ideas to encourage people to let go of the current systems of control and power and seek lifestyles that are more balanced, sympathetic and human, namely Breathe, Think, Flow or Live, Learn, Love.
But the challenges are, if anything, greater than ever as global events and local stories tell us that the disintegration of natural and social systems are accelerating more than was imagined even a few years ago. Not even Covid managed to derail the pyramid of power. Now others are talking about system change and in sometimes unexpectedly stark ways. A recent paper declared that “Collapse is Inevitable” but explained that while the data shows collapse is happening, it is a part of a rebirth which must happen far more quickly because we delayed adaptation for so long.
The author begins with what has been known for decades, even articulated at the global level in 1972 with Limits to Growth at the Club of Rome: “Collapse Is the result of asking a finite planet to feed an infinite story.” The article points out that recognising the collapse is merely relinquishing the denial that we adopt to stem the fear. But the article also points out that the simplification of society required will allow recalibration and that is a good thing as it will bring humanity back in sync with nature. So perhaps change is coming soon to our lives. And the sooner the easier.
The article’s conclusion is positive, a mindset change that simply steps back and shows the situation from a different perspective (“Change your mind, to change your world“):
The Transition From Fear to Proportion
Once the initial fear settles, something remarkable happens:
Collapse stops looking like doom and starts looking like coherence?—?the biosphere withdrawing credit from an overdrawn species and inviting us into humility again.
The Earth is not ending.
The extractive story is.
Collapse is not the apocalypse.
It is metabolization.
It is composting.
It is planetary feedback revealing the next evolutionary demand.
And the invitation hidden inside collapse is simple:
Live in alignment with life’s operating principles?—?or live with the consequences of violating them.
Awareness is the doorway.
Acceptance is the crossing.
Regeneration is the path on the other side.
The challenge is to let go of this system and move forward to live with nature.
So happy anniversary to astraea! An interesting and worthwhile journey continues.
January Retreat in the Zen Garden
Recognising the deeply felt need to simply stop, we have created a revitalising retreat in the Mediterranean in early January and invite you and your friends to join us in stepping back, relaxing and reflecting on next steps.
This special escape will help you to re-calibrate and begin the year afresh. It is a long weekend on Calypso’s Isle, or Gozo, part of the Maltese archipelago, where you can relax, sleep, and enjoy the spacious luxury of a villa by the sea.
We’ll spend time outdoors in the beautifully designed gardens, as well as walking along the rugged coastline where the view is pure sea and sky, inviting nature to do her magic on our bodies and souls.
Read more about the delightful Zen Garden Retreat and please share it. Let us know your queries or you can book your place directly here.
Enjoy the upcoming holiday season and bounce happily in to 2026!
Pam and Tom
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