“The major problems in the world are the result of the difference between how nature works and the way people think.” Gregory Bateson, An Ecology of Mind

We are facing a polycrisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, massive weaponry, social polarization, the rise of authoritarianism, the unregulated growth of artificial intelligence, and the inability to differentiate truth from lies.  We appear to be accelerating our most debilitating characteristics: negativity bias, reluctance to know and regulate our emotions, intolerance of uncertainty, indecisiveness for the good, and the unleashing of outrage, blame and punishment.

On the other hand, there are thousands of smaller, less visible trends that move us towards a renewable energy future, reforestation, legal rights for nature, the protection of children, and the turning away from an extractive mentality and towards realigning ourselves with the earth.  

Joanna Macy calls these two trends the Great Unraveling and the Great Turning.  The question is whether the Great Turning will keep pace or be submerged in the chaos of the Great Unraveling.  We are invited now to step into our capacity for wisdom and maturity.  “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”  

Great change comes in moments of great crisis that require a collective maturation.  The SPEC Elders Circle is a collaborative structure inviting Western Elders to reclaim their role in Society, cultivate the qualities that strengthen their contributions, and join Indigenous Elders in bringing forth love and caring for ourselves, each other, and the life-giving planet.