How to rediscover meaning and
serenity in a changing world

The alarm clock rings. I open my eyes with difficulty. The insomnia was strong. All night long, I’ve been replaying yesterday morning’s images in my head. Hail raining down on the crops. Tearing seedlings apart, one after the other. How can we sleep when we know that our food can disappear in front of our eyes, so easily and so quickly? How can we have peace of mind when we think of all those insects, so important in the cycle of life and therefore so important in sustaining our lives, at the mercy of these hard-falling balls of ice? I wince. And yet, afternoon already, seedlings have arrived, donated by other communes. We’ll be able to rebuild. We’re not going to run out of food, there’s abundance, because people are helping each other.

That doesn’t change the strong emotions I’m feeling. These emotions… I’ve learned to accept them, to welcome them. They are the guardians of my link to the world, of what connects me to the living.

At the time, people spoke of eco-anxiety, or even eco-emotions or eco-lucidity, to talk about the emotions linked to anticipating what’s going to happen. That’s what my occupational therapist (OT) told me. But
today, it’s no longer relevant… Because all this is no longer anticipation, but the present. Every day, we experience the damage created in this world by past generations, or more precisely by the “powerful” people of past generations.

Solastalgia, suffering from what’s deteriorating, what’s disappearing… Not “homesickness for the country we’re leaving”, but “homesickness for the country that’s leaving us”. Our home, in the broad sense of planet Earth, our landmarks, which are being destroyed in front of our eyes. This, too, no longer speaks to me… We haven’t had landmarks for a long time. Things are changing so fast… Hail, floods, record temperatures, pandemics, famines.

And, at the same time, we are changing some of our own landmarks, positively. Today, societies and communities are constantly changing. They are evolving to meet current and future challenges, but also to be more balanced, more inclusive. For better intergenerational and interspecies occupational justice, as Camille, my OT, would say. These changes are largely driven by citizens’ assemblies (in Switzerland, they are called Citizens’ Chambers). They have brought so much in such a short time. A few years ago, the healthcare system was completely redesigned. Nowadays, it is mainly focused on prevention. And it was not so complicated to implement since, a few months before, the universal basic income was introduced. Many healthcare professionals had already started this change, since their financial needs were covered. The introduction of this income has not only changed the health sector, it has drastically transformed people’s occupations. Suddenly, people were able to focus on what really mattered to them, and this often came down to taking care of their loved ones and the community. This has led to radical changes in occupational profiles: people work less and create neighborhood projects, as varied as the population is. For example, in my community, there was the establishment of a monthly party for new arrivals, specifically focused on migrants, with a godmothering-godfathering system ; the creation of a wood-fired oven to bake our bread together twice a week ; a room for lending objects (which has cleared out many apartments) ; shared meals, prepared by a rotation of people ; as well as storytelling evenings. Now the neighborhoods look more like villages or large families. Children are looked after among and, most of the time (and in all weathers), they play in the street or in the forest; the elderly stay at home longer, supported by the neighborhood, which complements home care and relieves them. In a way, we can say that the nuclear family has imploded. Extended families often come together geographically, in order to spend more time with the people they care about (oddly enough, this empties the villas, in favour of buildings, which leaves room for micro-farms). Everyone plays a role in taking care of the community and, very often, this seems to generate a lot of joy. Thus, we have come closer to traditional functioning or people more connected to the living. I recently learned that Maslow’s pyramid was inspired by a similar societal functioning (the community responded, jointly and through mutual aid, to the needs of the individuals who make it up), but was adapted to an individual functioning. I am glad that we have returned to its basic inspiration…

Of course, we’re still working, but jobs have changed as well. Fewer hours per week and professions that are linked to caring for others and the living, or that meet our basic needs. Personally, I work four days a week in collective permaculture gardens close to the city. I go there by bus (free, more frequent and with a better geographical distribution) or by bike. There are fewer cars and, with a few exceptions (for people with reduced mobility, for example), they are shared. Results of a cantonal citizens’ assembly.

Camille told me that all these changes required a great deal of adaptation and resilience on the part of OTs: they had to revise their theories and models. For example, the environment has become a backdrop to all occupations. It has become much more than just a variant of participation, as is the person and the occupation. Participation no longer only concerns other humans, but also oneself and the rest of the living world. Social roles have been re-explained, and independence and autonomy are no longer central. Their focus is now on interdependence: finding one’s rightful place and role in the midst of all these living systems working in synergy. They have incorporated rites of passage into their models, as these rituals have regained a prominent place in the lives of individuals and communities.

So, OTs have taken more community-oriented roles. For example, an OT from our chequered city works in the municipal services and has been able to set up an innovative system of pedestrian zones for neighborhood life: one street in two is pedestrianized and embellished, according to residents’ requests, with playgrounds, picnic tables, trees, gardening tubs and petanque courts. As a result, since almost all the apartments are walk-through, parents are more relaxed about letting their children play outside, watching them from their windows; residents have largely taken up cycling, because safety was improved; and neighbors have gotten to know each other and organized neighborhood and mutual aid events.

I take a deep breath, still gripped by anxiety. This morning I’m alone. This time, it’s my partner who has gone to sleep in a bivouac with my son and his class. Relatives are invited to share and also prepare learning moments in public schools. The elderly are particularly solicited for their knowledge. OTs are involved in preparing school programs, which take place outdoors, particularly in the forest, and in developing projects according to the children’s wishes.