You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
― R. Buckminster Fuller
There has been much talk of revolution during the recent presidential primary campaigns, especially among Bernie Sanders supporters. Unfortunately, this talk has focused on the changes we need to make in the current system.
Real revolution brings about real change. It’s not simply about changing leadership or even adjusting the current system. On a deep level it is about creating new ways of relating with ourselves, each other, and the world around us. As the word revolution implies, it involves movement, revolving into a new perspective, a new way of understanding, and a new way of being.
Let’s explore our relationship with the earth. As a society we have come to accept private ownership of land and resources. We believe that owning the land gives us a sense of security, of safety. Yet, this is a misplaced sense of wellbeing. We assume that if we own it, we will be able to control our ability to enjoy a happy, healthy life. Anyone who has experienced a natural disaster, war, other smaller catastrophes or accidents, illness, death of a loved one, or even the breakup of a relationship, knows that the things we own at the time offer little comfort. The fear of vulnerability has led us down the path of material acquisition and self protection and ultimately separation from the dynamic social relationships of the community that offer real security.
In this light, we see that Private ownership of land is an expression of this cultural myth; and this experience and assumption of control has its natural limits. It is then that we may begin to seek a new way of being in the world – an interbeing or partnership with the Earth that supports all of life, including our own.
How we inhabit the land sets the tone for all our relationships: how we relate with the animal, plant, and mineral kingdoms of nature; how we relate with other human beings; and even how we relate with ourselves inwardly. The Community Land Trust model is the best form I have found within the American legal system for creating land tenure based on interbeing and stewardship.
This model has also been used with great success to help a broader spectrum of people have access to land who wouldn’t ordinarily have access, especially through the creation of permanently affordable housing, community gardens, larger agricultural initiatives, and cooperatives.
AzCLT is a part of the new paradigm, the new model that Buckminster Fuller speaks of in the quote above. As a member of AzCLT you have an opportunity to work with dedicated people, revolutionaries if you will, to help strengthen this model and build awareness of cultivation of partnership as the next step rising from the ashes of the culture of domination that has been active on our planet for over 5000 years.
Please ask us how you can become more involved!
Richard Starling