THE MEANING OF TRANSITION - IN THE CONTEXT OF TRANSITION TOWNS
There are essential difference between 'Transition' and a compilation of good green community initiatives – even though the initiatives are essential and need to be part of ‘Transition’. There is more to it!
Transition – needs to seek and hold a vision of a very different future. It looks to a future with less oil and less power, a true 'power down' rather than just an adaptation to alternative sources but life as usual! It seeks to consider the implications of depletion in the petro-chemically based items that we are so reliant upon in all aspects of our lives. They will become vastly expensive, so that in many cases, we will need to adapt to life without such items.
That doesn’t have to mean ‘going back in time’, but it requires a very different thought process. A way of thinking that has not been done before. It requires a mind-set that incorporates modern technology with good practice from the past. Thinking ‘outside the box’ about every aspect of our lives. We can’t follow ‘history’, we can’t follow existing ‘rules’, because the situation will be very different indeed!
Accepting that our future will have to change, we can then work on the priorities of live. What is really important to us? Food is essential, clean water is vital. The latest gadgets are not essential! How can we improve the version we see, accepting the new rules, and working towards a better life? My vision is a positive one, more community based, more local, more caring, less cluttered and with more true meaning. With this vision, we need to back-track and work out how to get there!
Simply said, but not an easy task!
This future will arrive, so we may as well be prepared for it and shape it to be better!
We are all in ‘Transition’ but not many of us know and accept it! For positive action to work, we need to accept the need for change.
