From Vicious to Virtuous Cycle
Tapping into an emerging worldview by acknowledging people's deep-seated needs
Within the last 200 years or so, we have not only industrialized and commodified most of the planet but also our own bodies and minds. We know that this way of living is destructive, but we do it anyway because we’ve become addicted to it.
We're caught in a self-perpetuating, vicious cycle in which escalating industrialization and commodification deepen a void – and thereby a deep-seated need – within us and the planet, which we attempt to fill and satisfy with transient, superficial fixes, only to further fuel that very cycle of exploitation and disconnection.
When it comes to drug addictions, I read that…
“…the rehabilitation process starts when individuals acknowledge their need for help and are motivated to achieve sobriety.”
Let’s apply this to the idea of rehabilitating humanity – or healing humanity’s addiction.
Acknowledging The Need For Rehab
We could say that in order for humanity, or, let’s say, the majority population, to acknowledge their need for help, we first need the minority movement that tries to transform the system (i.e. the climate, justice, well-being, etc. movement) to acknowledge the addiction diagnosis and therefore focus fully on understanding that void that the addiction unsuccessfully tries to fill.
What strikes me is that this is quite different from what a lot of the activist movement currently does. What it, or may I say we, mostly do, is inform humanity that its addiction will ultimately lead to its demise, kinda like telling an addict that he should stop taking drugs because it will kill him or at least make him very sick. The climate movement, in particular, has become very focused on calling out the destruction, making people feel guilty, threatening people, and painting an apocalyptic future.
While the analysis might be true, the outreach justified, and this approach definitely helpful when it comes to spotlighting the reality of what’s happening, it is not (!) going to work when it comes to overcoming the addiction!
Lecturing an addict, making them feel guilty, and using threats and negative labels all fall under the NOT-to-say-to-someone-who-struggles-with-an-addiction advice. An addiction is an addiction precisely because one does harm to oneself despite knowing that it is harmful and bad.
So why do we use this approach to try to solve humanity’s addiction?! I get that back in the day, we needed to shed light on the truth to combat all those climate deniers, but I think now it’s time to shift gears because our current approach distracts us from seeing humanity’s call for help!
A more effective approach involves directly addressing that void – or deep-seated need – that our addiction unsuccessfully tries to satisfy, by recognizing and tapping into the growing desire people have to fill this emptiness.
That last bit is extremely important because that “void” is interpreted differently by different people! While there is ultimately a bigger picture forming (more on this later), people are very different; they have different lifestyles, and therefore, this “hole” – or deep-seated need – takes on a different shape within different types of people.
For some, it might be a void formed by the perceived meaninglessness of their job and, therefore, a deep-seated need to feel useful and to have more meaning and fulfillment in life. For others, it might be a feeling of overwhelm as a result of being unable to keep up with change and, therefore, a profound need to go back to simpler, slower, more familiar times.
The important role that we – the climate, justice, well-being, etc. movement – must play is to explore, spot, acknowledge, and understand those calls for help, and then weave them together into a bigger picture!
By training our eyes to recognize this, we'll see a growing number of indications that more and more people are desperately seeking to break out of this vicious cycle of addiction….and we’ll begin to acknowledge the need for rehab!
Motivated To Achieve Sobriety
The second requirement of starting a rehab process…
“the rehabilitation process starts when individuals […] are motivated to achieve sobriety”
…is also quite important as it speaks about the need for an enjoyable vision at the end of a rehab process. If I am unsure where this transformation process will lead to, or concerned about losing what I currently have and value, I am not going to be motivated to even get started. Quite simple!
“They tried to make me go to rehab and I said ‘No, no, no.’”
Amy Winehouse :)
Again, I see most of the current activist or changemaker movements neglect this. There is a huge unfulfilled need for more enjoyable visions of the future, but those who want to transform the system don’t really offer a clear vision of a better future!
Therefore, it’s crucial to not only acknowledge and explore that “hole” that the addiction attempts to fill but also to present an enjoyable vision – a way of living where that “hole” is genuinely and completely satisfied.
And this is actually not a this-then-that, sequential kind of thing. I believe that by exploring and acknowledging the aforementioned call for help, we will actually find those alternative ways of living and enjoyable visions, and by finding those enjoyable visions, we will, in turn, strengthen the call for help, for rehabilitation, again, and so on.
In other words, a virtuous cycle forms! And a new worldview emerges!
That’s it for this week’s Friday issue!
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Until next week!
Another vote for the value of optimism too 🥰