Active Hope Quotes

“By refreshing our sense of belonging in the world, we widen the web of relationships that nourishes us and protects us from burnout.”
― Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone, Active Hope

“By strengthening our compassion, we give fuel to our courage and determination.”
― Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone, Active Hope

“In the past, changing the self and changing the world were often regarded as separate endeavors and viewed in either-or terms. But in the story of the Great Turning, they are recognized as mutually reinforcing and essential to one another.”
― Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone, Active Hope

“By inviting in these experiences of interconnectedness we can enhance our sense of belonging to our world. This mode of being widens and deepens our sense of who we are.”
― Joanna Macy, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy

“In choosing our story, we not only cast our vote of influence over the kind of world future generations inherit, but we also affect our own lives in the here and now. When we find a good story and fully give ourselves to it, that story can act through us, breathing new life into everything we do. When we move in a direction that touches our heart, we add to the momentum of deeper purpose that makes us feel more alive. A great story and a satisfying life share a vital element: a compelling plot that moves toward meaningful goals, where what is at stake is far larger than our personal gains and losses. The Great Turning is such a story.”
― Joanna Macy, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy

“In the Business as Usual model, nearly everything is privatized. The parts of our world remaining outside individual or corporate ownership, such as the air or the oceans, are not seen as our responsibility. Gratitude is viewed as politeness, not necessity.”
― Joanna Macy, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy

“More resources have been consumed in the last fifty years than in all preceding human history.13 Yet we’re not any happier, and depression has reached epidemic proportions.”
― Joanna Macy, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy

“While we touch on both of these, our focus is on how we can strengthen our commitment and capacity to act, so that we can best play our part, whatever that may be, in the healing of our world.”
― Joanna Macy, Active Hope (revised): How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power

“Cultural shifts happen on a different level; they come into view only when we step back enough to see a bigger picture changing over time. A newspaper photograph viewed through a magnifying glass may appear only as tiny dots. When it seems as if our lives and choices are like those dots, it can be difficult to recognize their contribution to a bigger picture of change.”
― Joanna Macy, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy