By Chuck Peters
For the last ten years, prompted by living in a community which suffered a significant natural disaster, I have been exploring narratives that support the development of truly sustainable and inclusive local communities connected globally.
Initially I thought that I could ‘discover’ compelling global narratives that would enable living into that desired future, a future many call regenerative. When I reached the end of that search and had not found the compelling narrative I found myself back within my body, sensing the next best step, taking that moment of freedom to decide, and then reflecting.
At first that was very hard. I was used to creating a communicable narrative with a small group of people and then rolling that out to hundreds or thousands of others, usually to support a defined project with a timeline and a budget. It was very difficult to give up that ‘certainty’ within a dominant social narrative and trust that by taking the next best step based on my perceptions in the moment the appropriate future would emerge.
Seven years into that experiment of sensing the next best step I cannot imagine another way of being. Which is why I believe that vitality centered development, the core of Sourced Design, is so critical for each of us in our time. As we imagine new ways of living, in harmony with ourselves, others, and nature we first need to be in touch with our authentic selves. And focusing on vitality – what brings us alive, what is alluring – is the best measure of our authenticity. Sometimes I cannot explain why I am sensing allurement or vitality but I don’t need to be able to explain it to trust it.
Being in that state of alignment and agency, I am able to engage in authentic dialogue with others, in place, over time which I believe will encourage the emergence of regenerative culture. At the very least, such dialogue allows a generative field to emerge which enables us to imagine creative new approaches to living regeneratively.
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