wisewords Healing the Ecosystem Within
A Conversation with Bioneers Co-Founder Nina Simons by Brita Belli
B
ioneers are in- novators from all walks of life, seek-
ing to make the world a better place in ways that respect the Earth and all of its inhabit- ants. Their organization, considered a “network of networks,” con- nects people and ideas through their annual National Bioneers Con- ference, local commu- nity action groups and original multimedia productions, including the award-winning “Revolution from the Heart of Nature” radio series. Bioneers co-founder Nina Simons,
co-editor of Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart, talked with Natural Awakenings about the role each of us plays today in creating a more sustainable tomorrow.
How can we be hopeful about the state of the Earth? I feel that we each need to cultivate a balanced view. It’s important to hold what I call a “both/and” awareness, which recognizes how seriously our planet’s life support systems are compro- mised and how intensive the demand is for us to engage in reversing their deterioration. At the same time, I remain deeply hopeful, because so many people are awakening to the urgency of the issues we face and many more are now mobilizing to act in positive ways.
Does this mean that you see a societal shift toward a better way of thinking? Our state of mind is directly affected by
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where we place our attention. If our primary source of information is mainstream media, then it’s easy to feel depressed and hopeless. Each of us would benefit from limiting our daily media intake, because it influences our inner story and impacts how we nourish our psyches, stories and visions. One of the greatest medicines for despair is action. When we act on behalf of what
we love and those in need, it can help restore gratitude, a sense of faith and a more balanced view. That’s why natu- ral disasters often elicit the best kinds of responses human beings can offer: compassion, empathy and a desire to generously contribute to solutions.
To what extent does healing the Earth depend on healing ourselves? We co-created the current political, economic, energy, industrial and food production systems based on competi- tion and hierarchies that are wreak- ing havoc on Planet Earth and on our collective quality of life and future survival. As long as we participate in them, we perpetuate them. We have an immense opportunity to reinvent our selves and society’s systems right now. Our culture conditions us to be
hard on ourselves, judging and compar- ing our talents and actions while often valuing ourselves primarily based on our work or relationships. To be the most effective change agents we can be, I believe we need to reverse these
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