Sustainable Future

We’re in a Film. In the Abyss We Find Our Inner Strength to Triumph.

In every film, there’s a point of no return. This is the moment when the heroine (hero) has to find her inner strength and change.

You know the part in a movie when everything has gone wrong. The adversity is just too big. The deep dark pit of desperation has arrived. The protagonist doesn’t know how to get out of her misery anymore.

The abyss.

There’s no way back. It’s the point of no return.

She has changed. Everything that has happened before influenced her thinking, her actions. It got her where she is now.

In the abyss, she has to regroup herself. Find her revelation. She has to go to her inner wisdom and feel what really matters to her.

The old self of the heroine has died. She has to be reborn. And she has to do so by herself. What will she choose?

Her old ways, which still feel comfortable? Or new horizons?

Well, this is exactly where we are now in the virus-crisis.

Aka ‘back to normal’ or ‘new normal’? And what will that look like?

Here, I hesitated for a long time in my story.

What film would I describe as an example of this revelation scene?

The heroine’s journey has been on my mind a lot lately.

“The feminine journey is about going down deep into soul, healing and reclaiming, while the masculine journey is up and out, to spirit” — Maureen Murdock, The Heroine’s Journey.

I like the way Jungian psychotherapist Maureen Murdock writes about a woman’s inner journey. I even like it better how writers and filmmakers are trying to make new creations with it.

And my real wish is to write a book structured on the heroine’s journey and make it mighty suspenseful! Nailbiting suspense without violence. With lots of diversity. And fun!

It can be done. But it hasn’t been done very often yet. So a popular movie with that script just didn’t come to my mind.

All things considering, I chose a violent movie anyway.

The Deer Hunter

The Deer Hunter is an American 1978 epic war drama.

Sorry, millennials, it’s a Golden Oldie. But a famous one, so you might have seen it anyway. And if you have any better ideas about more recent movies, just tell me in the comments!

The Deer Hunter won five Academy Awards and has been critically acclaimed for character development. It features the music of one of our favorite guitar players ever: John Williams.

Robert de Niro plays the hunter Michael Vronsky who enters the Vietnam war. He’s used to going hunting in his native town in Pennsylvania.

In Vietnam, his character goes through monumental shifts and changes around war, friendship, and violence.

In the point-of-no-return-scene toward the end of the film, everything comes together when he raises his rifle on a monumental deer.

We see his revelation happening on the screen. We feel his doubt. We can taste it…

The historical patterns in his brain urge him to just pull the trigger. He’s done it so often before. What’s different now?

Life and death.

His conscious choice.

Will he shoot?

And will he save his friend’s life?

In Our Own Virus-Crisis-Film

Well, in our own personal suspenseful film, we’ve arrived at the point of no return now.

The abyss in virus-speak, in crisis-lingua.

We’ve faced adversity to the max. We are losing loved ones. We feel fear. We mourn. And at the same time, we want to see some action again. Shops are closed, streets are empty, bars are all dried up.

We feel restless…

Some of us are taking the time to go to the silent spot inside. Tap into our inner wisdom. Find our own, very personal revelation.

Others don’t have the guts for it. Yet.

This Is Our Life

But there’s one thing we need to realize. This particular film is not featuring Beyoncé, or Meryl Streep, or Greta Thunberg.

We are the main character in our own life.

And this abyss is something we have to overcome. With all our shortcomings and flaws, we have to find our own strengths. We need to create something good for the rest of our lives. Otherwise, it will be mission failed.

We will get the revelation.

We will learn and get wiser.

We will make our own life-changing moves.

All by ourselves. We have that power. We can trust it.

And I’m sure we’ll all use that power wisely when the time has come.

The good news is that every day is a new day to take the next step.

Basic Reproduction Number

For now, we’re staying at home because we need to save lives.

Brave choice. And it works.

The basic reproduction number (Ro) has gone down to below one in many countries. It means that every person infects less than one other person.

This is important information.

Keep this basic reproduction number in your mind.

I’ll explain how it can work for different spreading as well. It might come in handy for the big transition.

For the most important challenge of our times.

It’s the Economy, Stupid

So, what will happen next when the crisis has slowed down?

Many political leaders are shouting that we have to get the economy going again. We have to buy stuff. Otherwise, we will not preserve our standard of living. Our economy.

But do we know what’s really happening?

Do we know where the money is really going?

Here’s an enlightening article about it. Our economy is sick. Really sick.

And the cause is NOT that you and I spend too little.

The cause is the current economic system. The speculation. There’s enough money around, it just goes to the wrong places.

The shareholders of big companies are filling their deep pockets with more and more cash. Taxpayers cash.

And you and I, the average citizens, are paying the bill.

Our Revelation

So, what do we need to do in the abyss? What do we need to do at this historic moment in time? The point of no return.

Please, have a deep, long think and find your own answers.

Your inner wisdom is there. You know it. You can feel something’s wrong. This is not all there is to life.

You can do better!

There’s a whole new life waiting for you.

Your purposeful life. Your best life.

But how to jump on that bandwagon? How to do something with the insights you gained?

Don’t worry. I’ll give you some ideas so your brain can figure out what’s next for you personally.

We all have to make our own choices…

Exponential Growth

But whatever solutions for our own personal lives we will come up with, the mathematical formula of the infectious spread comes in handy.

We can be a virus for the good.

If we all find our new selves and act with kindness and compassion, we can change the world. Together.

We can spread our own mindful actions with the mathematical formula many businesses use. Exponential growth.

It goes like this.

2 x 2 = 4

4 x 4 = 16

16 x 16 = 256

256 x 256 = 65,536

Do you see what I mean? It’s like a virus. If everyone infects one other person, or maybe even two or three, we’ll have changed the world in no time.

Next Steps

So what are concrete actions we can take?

We can make our lives more simple. Live with less stuff. Just buy what we need. What’s beautiful and useful and durable.

Kathryn A. LeRoy, Ph.D. wrote an impressive story about living a minimalist life.

It is exactly as she says. Minimalism is much more than just the absence of possessions. It’s about aware choices.

What do we want in our lives? How do we spend our dollars, euros, pounds to reach this goal?

And I can tell you, minimalism is definitely the wrong word for it.

Let’s call it ABUNDANISM from now on. My life has become so abundant ever since I simplified it!

I gained purpose

I gained adventurous experiences

I gained close connections to my loved ones

My life has become worth living!

There are many more steps you can take and they’re all worth it.

• We can connect to nature. Start a permaculture garden. Grow our own food
• We can join forces with people in our communities and get some local action going on all kinds of subjects that are dear to us
• We can learn about regeneration and connect to the growing group of people who take action. Starting with healthy, tasteful food
• We can make our voices heard in many different ways. Be an activist. Write. Make inspiring youtube films

Designers can design our products with fully biodegradable materials. Teachers can spread knowledge about the ReGeneration and all it involves.

Entrepreneurs can build their purposeful, regenerative businesses, so we can spend our money on beautiful, useful, durable products instead of sh*tty plastic stuff.

The Time Is Now

This is our moment to become invincible.

Let’s use the abyss wisely. Take the time to look deep inside ourselves.

Find our inner strength and build a beautiful tomorrow together.

We are with many. We can do it!

Link Between Virus and Environment

And if you’re still not convinced. If you are thinking: why?

Why do we have to change?

Why is she calling for action? Why is her motto:

to restore ecosystems and learn to live within the boundaries of our planet

Well, this is one of the big WHYs you’re looking for.

It’s so logical. Viruses have unique animal hosts. We are rapidly destroying the habitats of these hosts with our consumerist economies.

With the unlimited growth obsession of our economies.

Rainforests disappear because there’s a business model for palm oil.

Oceans are polluted by our incessant need for plastic packaging.

‘Someone who believes in infinite growth is either a madman or an economist’ — David Attenborough

The viruses need new hosts.

They choose us because we are with many. Conveniently packed close together.

If we do not restore ecosystems, we will have created an unliveable planet that can no longer be our home.

We have to find ways to start living within the boundaries of our planet. It’s the only way forward. And she needs us. She needs our personal efforts to make it happen.

Let’s make GAIA our beautiful home again.

And just before I press the publish button on this story, another story arrives. Simona wrote it. This young woman captures the spirit. Joy. Purpose. Love. Life can be so beautiful when you start being the director of your own movie…

If you want to connect, you can find me on LinkedIn or Facebook. Or somewhere in nature being inspired. Looking within myself for answers to the many questions that constantly pop up into my head…

Thank you, Mike, for adding your wise energy to my words on film.

Further reading

About the author

About what can be different