« Why Effective Conversations for Change Use More Story than Statistics »

Kritika Narula, subject of an earlier blog on this website, asked me some interview questions from across the waters in Delhi, India. Then she selected parts from the interview and posted them to the Green Follower website. Here is the final segment of the Green Follower blog she wrote.

Kritika’s Question: How do you think we can create effective dialogue for breaking the illusion that holds us? What is it that can compel people to change their ways?

My Reply: The question is important in our quest for OneEarth living because OneEarth ways are inherently interactive, interdependent, participatory, cooperative, and democratic. My response to the question comprises my next two books. But let me say briefly why I believe we can be part of the kind of effective dialogue you ask for.

Because so many people make their livelihood in the MultiEarth system, deep questioning of that system can trigger hidden fears and insecurities. They may, therefore, be defensive in dialogues of change. Such dialogues are not likely to be productive. At the same time, many in the MultiEarth structures express profound dissatisfaction with the practices of these dehumanizing, ecologically destructive, and morally-spiritually hollow structures. In addition, Earth shows no signs of giving up her protests of the MultiEarth’s antagonism toward her. We’ve reached Earth’s capacities to deal with human excesses. The quadrupling of our numbers in only 70 years is one acute expression of our excesses. We currently have the kind of species imbalance that Earth has not tolerated across her billions of years.

What I am saying is that a convergence is happening between human dissatisfaction with civilization’s structures and Earth pushing us to change. The two together mix a strong potion for dissolving illusions and embracing OneEarth directions.

A temptation in our dialogues is to offer a litany of facts and statistics. These can paint a horrific picture. Too often, such a picture generates argument, debate, or a cascade of depressing scenarios. There’s a better way. Our most effective dialogue will likely happen when we focus on stories of change. These stories invariably energize the tellers and hearers.