My word from nature
My name is SarahPoppy Jackson.
I have been a voice for Nature since 2006 when I had a moment of clarity. The boss told us he was moving head office to San Francisco - without us. All the money we had been earning the company never came back to us in bonus payments, we were always just short of the target.
What was I doing working all the hours for someone else to get rich? What was the point in what I was doing? I was basically encouraging people to buy shit they didn't need. On top of that, I was a voracious reader of environmental articles and books and the more I found out, the more I struggled with the dissonance I felt in my life.
So I decided to quit my job working for that corporate events company and start working for charities and become a Greenpeace activist and Transition Towner. This eased my feelings of dissonance to some extent. But after a few years of continuing life in the busy capital, I had another moment of clarity.
I was stood at the crossroads at Holborn tube station and saw the hoards of office workers run in and out of Sainsbury's with orange plastic bags filled with plastic wrapped meal deals and I felt hopelessly small in the face of the economic system that was destroying the planet. I felt the only way for me was to learn to live a more harmonious and sustainable life. So I booked a one-way ticket to South America to go and learn.
I stopped spending my income on 'stuff' (I was a shopaholic for years with huge debts on store cards) and spent it on courses to gain more understanding of our situation, such as Joanna Macy's The Work That Reconnects with Chris Johnstone, Non-Violent Communication, Permaculture Design, Transformational Leadership Coaching, Global Development, Nature-based Facilitation Practices, Action Learning, Systemic Coaching and Creative Facilitation to name a few.
I volunteered on organic farms, I learnt Spanish and shared stories from the west with the people of the south who in turn shared their stories with me. I experimented with a vegan diet (after years of trying out pescatarian and vegetarian diets). I lived in places with little or no water at times. I learnt to sail and crewed on boats in the Caribbean meeting the indigenous Kuna people. I travelled and worked in many countries...oh so many stories I can share with you.
When I returned to the UK, I started working for an environmental education charity and then decided to return to university and study a masters in Regenerative Economics (to evolve from my first degree in traditional Economics). The pedagogy was radically different, instead of just the rational mind, we were encouraged to engage our hands and our hearts too. The first module took us on a journey of the history of economic theory in relation to political and technological history. Something I believe should be taught on all economics courses.
I also took modules in Holistic Science, learning about Gaia theory, quantum physics, systems thinking and deep ecology. All of this rich learning is now here for me to share as I have stepped into my role as an educator and facilitator of transformational learning.
I have an obsession with water and compost toilets. I spent months researching and writing about them for my MA dissertation. I am always exploring ways to move beyond the out-dated patriarchal, competitive systems into more collaborative, compassionate and life-sustaining systems with respect for the feminine and wellbeing at the core using frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals, Zero Carbon Britain and Doughnut Economics to inform the way.
I view life from different perspectives. I question the norms. I think that our current world situation for the majority of the human population and other living entities, is simply
NOT
GOOD
ENOUGH
and I will spend my life trying to make it better.
This is my word from nature.
What is yours?
I have been a voice for Nature since 2006 when I had a moment of clarity. The boss told us he was moving head office to San Francisco - without us. All the money we had been earning the company never came back to us in bonus payments, we were always just short of the target.
What was I doing working all the hours for someone else to get rich? What was the point in what I was doing? I was basically encouraging people to buy shit they didn't need. On top of that, I was a voracious reader of environmental articles and books and the more I found out, the more I struggled with the dissonance I felt in my life.
So I decided to quit my job working for that corporate events company and start working for charities and become a Greenpeace activist and Transition Towner. This eased my feelings of dissonance to some extent. But after a few years of continuing life in the busy capital, I had another moment of clarity.
I was stood at the crossroads at Holborn tube station and saw the hoards of office workers run in and out of Sainsbury's with orange plastic bags filled with plastic wrapped meal deals and I felt hopelessly small in the face of the economic system that was destroying the planet. I felt the only way for me was to learn to live a more harmonious and sustainable life. So I booked a one-way ticket to South America to go and learn.
I stopped spending my income on 'stuff' (I was a shopaholic for years with huge debts on store cards) and spent it on courses to gain more understanding of our situation, such as Joanna Macy's The Work That Reconnects with Chris Johnstone, Non-Violent Communication, Permaculture Design, Transformational Leadership Coaching, Global Development, Nature-based Facilitation Practices, Action Learning, Systemic Coaching and Creative Facilitation to name a few.
I volunteered on organic farms, I learnt Spanish and shared stories from the west with the people of the south who in turn shared their stories with me. I experimented with a vegan diet (after years of trying out pescatarian and vegetarian diets). I lived in places with little or no water at times. I learnt to sail and crewed on boats in the Caribbean meeting the indigenous Kuna people. I travelled and worked in many countries...oh so many stories I can share with you.
When I returned to the UK, I started working for an environmental education charity and then decided to return to university and study a masters in Regenerative Economics (to evolve from my first degree in traditional Economics). The pedagogy was radically different, instead of just the rational mind, we were encouraged to engage our hands and our hearts too. The first module took us on a journey of the history of economic theory in relation to political and technological history. Something I believe should be taught on all economics courses.
I also took modules in Holistic Science, learning about Gaia theory, quantum physics, systems thinking and deep ecology. All of this rich learning is now here for me to share as I have stepped into my role as an educator and facilitator of transformational learning.
I have an obsession with water and compost toilets. I spent months researching and writing about them for my MA dissertation. I am always exploring ways to move beyond the out-dated patriarchal, competitive systems into more collaborative, compassionate and life-sustaining systems with respect for the feminine and wellbeing at the core using frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals, Zero Carbon Britain and Doughnut Economics to inform the way.
I view life from different perspectives. I question the norms. I think that our current world situation for the majority of the human population and other living entities, is simply
NOT
GOOD
ENOUGH
and I will spend my life trying to make it better.
This is my word from nature.
What is yours?
