These cooperative neighbourhoods are proof that a regenerative economy isn't a distant theory. It has worked before, and it's working now, at a moment when more of us are ready to stop asking how to grow fairly and start asking the bigger question.

On my travels to Paris this summer, I came across gobs of indications that change is coming. These posters particularly delighted me. I’m not great at French, but even I can surmise the message is “Replace capitalism with a good nap.”

If enough of us develop the skills to map these constellations and build strategies around them, to get to the root of how our change journeys can result in meaningful transformation, be it through our activism, our workplaces, our schools, our sports clubs, we don't just change a neighbourhood. We change what the next generation believes is possible. We create, as Jon Alexander put it, the space for politics to move into.

Our economy is built to perpetuate growth. And the politicians and policymakers who mean well are still too wedded to business as usual to confront that destructive truth and transform it.

So let's do it ourselves.

Over time, we’ve become less collaborative - and we’ve built systems that reflect that, including the extractive, competitive economy we're living in now.

Which means we can build something different. Not by waiting for the right conditions or the right number of people. By deciding to practise differently, starting now, with the people around us who want the same thing.

As citizens, we're all economists. By believing we’re not, we give our power away.

The goal of a regenerative economy is not endless growth for a few. Growth still happens, but as part of a living cycle.

As they say, ‘scarcity captures the mind’.  It causes us tunnel vision - we can’t see the forest for the trees. We have a shortage of bandwidth - we use our cognitive energy and abilities to focus on the scarcity problem. Which means, our tired and myopic brains make poor decisions and we don’t have the energy for ‘executive function’ - how we manage and organise our thoughts. Go on, try to resist the temptation of a piece of chocolate cake when you have limited bandwidth.  Studies show it becomes FAR more difficult. 

The amazing research team at the Good Shift, a systems thinking and change institute in Australia, have outlined seven different change worldviews. Seven. No wonder people often think they are on the same page, but when we dig into the deep work of change, we’re misaligned.

I was seven years old, staring at a toilet paper roll that was supposed to be an angel. It looked like a craft disaster. The wet glue felt sticky on my fingers, and I was gluing my own hand instead of the cardboard.

The diminishing returns of economic growth have been demonstrated time and again. If Cambridge really is a city of world-shaping ideas, where is the space for a deepened understanding of different perceptions of economic reality and possibility?

For humans to survive, our collective need is a radical shift towards a regenerative (not extractive) relationship with nature. This will only happen at the scale necessary if we fundamentally shift our thinking about our relationship with the natural world.

“Go where the tension is”, is a phrase a dear friend of mine who is a seasoned facilitator and quantitative researcher loves to use. Why? Think about a rubber band pulled as tense as possible. The only way beyond the tension is release - and when the band releases, it flies.

WE are the powerful. We must believe it for it to be true. That starts by editing the story we tell ourselves about our perceived limits.

‘It’s more apt to say that what I am feeling is fear. That’s a perfectly normal human feeling and when I think of the Pink Panther, I quickly reject the idea that I’m an imposter.’

If you haven’t met the team at Fitzroy Street or in our online community rooms,  please allow me to introduce you to the Together Culture CIC Community Development Team.

If you haven’t met the team at Fitzroy Street or in our online community rooms,  please allow me to introduce you to the Together Culture CIC Non Executive Board of Directors. 

Together Culture is strong in making things happen and demonstrating that groundswell can build when we approach things with curiosity and openness to change. The vision has been informed by those who engage and it feels live and responsive.

The vision and the forward-looking intentions of Together Culture in this area in Cambridge and as a community are inspiring.

The enthusiasm, encouragement and support from everyone has helped me to focus, be accountable and build momentum in my business.