Transition Culture

14 Mar 2006

New arrivals and the birthing of a new culture…

Over recent months babies have been back in my life again, not this time through my own procreating (I have gone into retirement with such things, with a distinguished service record…) but through friends and family. Firstly my sister and her lovely man have announced that they are expecting (see scan, left), and that I will become Uncle Rob (a title of which I shall be inordinately proud) for the first time. It was a complete surprise and is deeply wonderful. Also my dear friend Matthieu and his wife Silvia have just produced their daughter, Charlotte Maria-Chiara (see below left) on March 2nd. Finally Aaron who runs PoweringDown and his wife just gave birth to a daughter, Keaton Phoenix. I remember from the birth of each of mine what a magical and wonder-filled time the birth of a child is. I try to hold that feeling in mind when I am thinking about the feeling we need to be helping people to feel about the emergence of this new energy descent culture we are endeavouring to birth.

I remember well the sense that nothing matters more than this tender little delicate life, that above all the miracle that is this tiny soul has to be loved, kept warm, and cocooned in the quiet and the calm. If we can come anywhere close to creating that kind of affection for our wider communities and the vision that we share for its abundant, local and sustainable future we cannot fail. Until I had children I used to feel that once people had kids they stopped being driven to change things, and focused inwards instead of out, but as soon as I first became a father I found that here in my hands was the first of the Seven Generations we are supposed to think ahead to. The ‘future generations’ to whom I had so often referred took form, and looked like me. Since then, I have been so much more focused, productive and motivated than I ever was before. I’m sure it becomes even more so when one becomes a grandparent. When people download the Kinsale Action Plan from this site, they fill out a little form, just so we can get a sense where it is going… one comment simply read, “I’m a grandparent, hence my interest”…

Aaron has put his thoughts about the arrival of his daughter (right) beautifully;
>”When I first told a certain thoughtful friend of mine that my wife and I were going to have a child he had a question in response. He said, “Aaron, You understand fully that the world we know might very well change in the near future in a way that is painful and less promising then that of the most recent past.