Louise Macdonald / Beyond cynicism

One of the key questions of this whole project is: what does it feel like to experience change? The “change” we are talking about is our sense of the world around us, the context of the destruction we are wreaking on the planet. But – and as I order my thoughts this is becoming clearer – any change has to start at an individual level. So, that’s the process we are going through – and I have to say it feels challenging; and it feels difficult, but it also feels like a reconnection with something “right”. Oh dear, verging into “new age” territory there, and that’s a danger with this whole exercise I suppose – so much if the language about our respect for the earth and existing alongside all other life forms, shares a lexicon with that movement. I’m sure that must be a barrier to this kind of work and approach. But you get a sense that this (whatever this is) was here first – centuries ago – and that it has been hijacked in some way – with charlatans and those seeking to make profit from people’s vulnerabilities meaning the true message has been lost. So, I’m trying to keep my cynicism at bay, and also trying to find a way of expressing all of this which would pass the “Glasgow taxi driver” test – try explaining to him in a way that rings true!