Active Hope

Most books addressing global issues focus on either our dire problems or grand-scale solutions. Authors Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone focus instead on equipping readers with a transformational mindset. We face the facts of a planet and economies in crisis, and we acknowledge that individuals can’t necessarily create their desired outcomes, but rather than allowing these two realities to shut us down, we choose active hope. This hope is something we do rather than something we have. Rather than acting only when we deduce we may succeed, we “focus on our intention and let that be our guide.” On this path we discover new strengths, open to a network of allies, and experience a deepening of aliveness. Because we are actively giving — and receiving — hope, we can face global crises without despair and play a personal role in the collective “Great Turning” toward a life-sustaining society.