My website was hacked, so I am in the proces of re-posting some old posts with refreshed thoughts!
I’ve just had a look at the recently published document ‘”Transition in the East” on the Transition Culture website. After a quick update on local transition initiatives, there follows a refreshingly honest description of the difficulties that people encounter within this process. The first paragraph of Transition Troubleshooting reads:
“There comes a point when you realise – Transition is hard work. The Handbook makes it sound like a breeze. Doors are supposed to be open when they are shut. You’re supposed to be positive and you feel downhearted. People are telling you the movement is too radical, not radical enough, not inclusive, too middle class. Your inbox has 101 emails. The press don’t return your calls. You NEVER want to put on an event again. Nobody turned up to the screening. Your family doesn’t want to hear one more thing about Local Food or Peak Oil (even your cat has turned against you – so what happened to all those nice radiators that used to be on, huh?)”
And then: “None of us wanted to indulge or offload the bad news (most of us having joined Transition as a welcome relief from the doom-laden anti-everything activist stance taken by most environmental groups). However we didn’t want to do a jolly Transition marketing spin on our experiences either.”
And even more courageous: “We sat in a circle………… saying how Transition was going in our respective initiatives. Nigel from Woodbridge spoke first. “I would say it had a negative effect,” he reported calmly. Several small gasps were unleashed into the room. Negative? We’re supposed to be positive, aren’t we?”
Isn’t this what tranparency is all about? It takes real courage to be honest, to admit exactly where we are. This includes all our achievements as well as the places which feel really difficult, attempts to do things for the better which seem like they have failed. Trying to make a difference to this world in crisis involves working together. Sometimes this is really good fun and there is a great sense of getting things done. Other times this is bloody difficult. Yes. Bloody. Group dynamics inevitably emerge, people inevitably irritate and frutrate each other. We ahve different ways of doing things which often don’t fit. Typically in Britain people shy away from expressing their feelings. Before you know it, that group that was working together so wonderfully in their honeymoon phase now feels dead, or argues all the time, or no-one turns up because apparently there are other, more interesting, things to do.
The temptation is to use positive spin, to not talk about the things that don’t work, to miss out the so-called ‘negative feelings’. Why? People are scared that the meeting will end up being a time spent indulging in complaining, arguing, or accusations. Of course this is a danger. But there is also the danger that when we don’t talk honestly to one another, a depression descends, the work goes dead, or the ‘negative feelings’ emerge sideways in really unpleasant and puzzling ways.
For real and deep change to happen, it seems to me have to learn the art of talking honestly to one another. This involves quite a degree of self-awareness, so that we don’t descend into unnecessary complaining, accusing the other of what we are really responsible for ourselves, or pretending everything is alright when it isn’t. Psychological insights about mechanisms such as denial of what one is feeling, projection ones feelings onto others, and more are very helpful when it domes to understanding the range of fears, angers, and frustrations of working in a group.
So as well as being inspired by hearing about the incredible successes of movements towards sustainability around the world, I look forwards to hearing more about the failed attempts. This will keep us on the edge of our seats, help us learn as we navigate our way into unknown territory. It’s only when we admit what has gone wrong, and look carefully at it, that we have a chance of getting it right next time.