Transformation

In his new book Regeneration Paul Hawken talks about the climate crisis as a human problem. He says:-

'If we are to transform the climate crisis, we need to transform ourselves, and we had best not blink. Time is of the essence'.

Self-development used to be seen as a bit of an indulgence, even as narcissistic, something that only the pampered elite could afford to do because they never had to do a proper day's work or as the desperate last resort of those people who had tried everything else in an attempt to bring a sense of meaning to their lives. As such, it was not taken very seriously. I think that has all changed. I think we have begun to realise that self-development is important because it is the path to transformation. Or put another way, no transformation of the self can happen without development of the self. And right now in the history of the world I think most people can see that transformation is required of us and that it is urgent. If humanity doesn't get its act together now, if we don't radically alter the way we live, we will be living on a dying planet. Or rather the planet itself will survive but the life on it, including human life, will not. That's pretty sobering.

Fortunately we have scientists to tell us what we need to do to reduce carbon emissions, to safeguard the environment and wildlife, but that's not enough. We have to change not only what we do. There has to be a fundamental change in our attitudes and behaviours because unless we change who we are we will not change what we do.

The paradoxical nature of change is that we do not change by trying to change but by becoming more of who we are. This involves understanding who we are. There are many tools out there to help us on that journey and the Enneagram is one of them. It does not teach us everything about ourselves - as if anything could! - but it teaches us something profound. It teaches us who we think we are and once we start to see that our idea of ourself is not who we really are.... well, that is the beginning of change.

'If we win here we will win everywhere. The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it'.

wrote Ernest Hemingway in his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Let that title be a lesson.