Wow, what do you do when one of your ‘heroes’ agrees to have an interview with you? Well, I must admit, I spent the better part of the 24 hours before our phone call trying to think of the most brilliant questions I could. Meanwhile, Coach Jeff AKA the hubby kept telling me to relax and just enjoy it! He was right, because as soon as the phone call started I realized my ‘brilliant’ questions were not going to be asked, and I was just going to go with the flow.
“What stage of development do you think the ‘human family’ is at… toddler, adolescent, adult, or elder?”
This is a question Duane Elgin often asks his audiences when talking about the profound changes that are taking place on planet Earth. In speaking with audiences around the world, he has found that, for a resounding majority, the answer is ‘adolescence’, a phase that is often associated with rebellion, recklessness, and a sense of immortality.
As he related this analogy to me, I could definitely see the parallels between what humankind is going through as a species and what I went through as a teenager. It wasn’t until I started to see that I wasn’t superhuman or immortal, that there were powerful consequences to my choices, and that others may actually have better answers and more information than I did, that I began to transition from adolescence to adulthood and I began to be more responsible and conscious of my choices.
Duane sees humans in the same way. We are beginning to see the consequences of our disposable consumable ways… how our choices have affected our water, air, earth, health, ecosystems, families and communities. As we begin to transition to adulthood, we are taking more responsibility for our actions and choices.
Although Duane believes that the global situation is much more serious than most people think and that is deteriorating far more quickly that people expect, he believes that positive changes are also occurring. More and more people are beginning to “feel it in their bones” that a revolution is waiting to happen and it’s time for each of us to “face the truth, make a decision and do what we can” as we “have a challenge to be deeply creative” in taking the next step in this collective “rite of passage”.
Duane and his wife Coleen have spent the last 15 years exploring alternative and creative choices of their own in working towards their goals of living sustainably and creatively. Without a “nest egg” of savings to fall back on, they live month-to-month and have explored alternatives such as living in an eco-village of 50 adults and 20 kids, where Coleen was the coordinator for landscaping and Duane was a regular cook for meals in the common house. They gave up a more ‘traditional’ life where Duane worked doing research for the President’s Science Advisor and for the National Science Foundation. Now they prefer their way of living as it “allows them to engage life with a greater sense of purpose, giving their gifts to the world, and living in greater harmony with the Earth.”
Duane’s work now includes speaking engagements around the world. In addition to receiving the International Goi Peace Award in 2006 (in recognition of his contribution to a global “vision, consciousness, and lifestyle” that fosters a “more sustainable and spiritual culture”), Duane has published various books and articles.
I was first ‘introduced’ to Duane (and the idea of simple and natural living) at a Living Simply workshop which was based on his book Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life that is Outwardly Simple and Inwardly Rich (1993). He has two other books of note (which are both on my wish list!): Promise Ahead: A Vision of Hope and Action for Humanity's Future (2000), and Awakening Earth: Exploring the Evolution of Human Culture and Consciousness (1993).
In reviewing my notes and thinking more about our conversation, I realized I was no longer so apprehensive about the future. I think what helped me be more positive was that Duane was so excited about the work that my husband and I do. He emphasized how we all -– each community, each culture, each economic group -- have the ability to make the critical changes necessary to create a promising future. And, as he said to me on the phone I believe that everyone should have a voice in this transformation because it is so essential our survival.”
