Shaun Chamberlin's Blog: Dark Optimism

Hey friends,

It’s been a busy year — not least with building out our thriving Surviving the Future community in its gorgeous new online home — and I’m aware that this blog has been a little neglected lately!

So I wanted to share here the below update sent out to my mailing list, covering that new site, January’s forthcoming Deeper Dive and our new guests, my forthcoming appearance at the Revolution in the 21st Century online international festival, our global community map, books from our alumni, etc etc…

Just click the image below to dig in!

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The post An update on all things Dark Optimism appeared first on Dark Optimism.

Ah, Schumacher College. There’s a name to conjure with…

For so many of us, it summons magical memories of truly life-changing times. To this day, I remember the tingling surge of energy in my body during the fortnight of the “Life After Oil” course I took there in 2006 — as one attendee put it, I had the air about me of a man in an oasis, after wandering a desert for years.

And with good reason. It was there that I first found a peer group around my concern about our collective future. There that I began shedding the …

The post Death and Rebirth: Farewell, dear Schumacher College, hello new friends appeared first on Dark Optimism.

Last month the wonderful Kim Hare invited me to be the keynote speaker at a reunion for attendees of her freely-offered The Edge Retreat, which doubled as the launch for her book At The Edge.

I decided to offer a 20 minute whistle-stop tour of my life so far:

 
Before opening the conversation on the theme of ‘Transforming Our Relationship with the Future’:

 
It felt a potent event — and gave rise to an enjoyable impromptu evening of conversation round a Hertfordshire campfire! — so after they shared the recording, I thought I’d post it here.…

The post Voices from the Edge appeared first on Dark Optimism.

A few months back, amidst the stimulating ferment of The Deeper Dive, I literally woke one morning with the short analogy below in my head.  Prompted, without doubt, by my frustrations with the burgeoning popular debate on whether there’s “still time” to avoid the worst effects of destabilising our very climate.

I’m glad the climate scientists are doing their specialised work — who knows what useful insights they might unexpectedly turn up — but honestly, for the rest of us, it really doesn’t seem the critical question at this point…

Here’s what fell out of me when I woke up;

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The post It doesn’t matter whether there’s still time to save the world appeared first on Dark Optimism.

Autumn has always been my favourite season, and over recent years brings additional succour, signalling time to start preparing in earnest for the winter’s Deeper Dive.

This now-annual tradition has become a real highlight of my year, as a new small group capped at just fifty folk gather to reflect meaningfully on the challenging times we’re in, and the ways we might choose to move through them.  Starting in January and running online for nine weeks, I find it the perfect way to settle into the reflective energies of winter.

That said, I must check in with some of our Southern Hemisphere

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The post Surviving the Future: The Deeper Dive 2024 appeared first on Dark Optimism.

I was deeply shocked to hear last night of the death of Michael Dowd, creator of the wonderful PostDoom.com.  He and his wife Connie Barlow have been good friends to me, as they have to so many others.  Michael and I had exchanged a few words on Saturday, so I knew that he was in New York with his family, after the passing of his father on Thursday. 

I had absolutely no idea that he himself passed away that night. I’m very much still processing the news, but wanted to share the below beautiful tribute from Jordan Perry, approved by Connie, with whom my thoughts are.

It includes details of an online

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The post Rest in Peace Michael Dowd appeared first on Dark Optimism.

Well, it’s that delicious time of year again, as the leaves here in the Northern Hemisphere start changing colours, and I personally get a warm glow in my chest.  Autumn has always been my favourite season and recently it brings additional succour, signalling time to start preparing in earnest for the winter’s Deeper Dive.

This now-annual tradition has become a real highlight of my year, as a small group capped at just fifty folk gather to reflect meaningfully on the times we’re in, and how we might choose to move through them.  Starting in January and running online for nine

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The post Surviving the Future: The Deeper Dive 2024 appeared first on Dark Optimism.

As John Lennon had it, “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”.

And as this culture continues the gruelling, methodical work of devastating our world in the face of all wisdom, and I accordingly work at preparing this winter’s Deeper Dive into Surviving the Future, I actually want to write here about something more personal than my usual themes!

You see, lately I’ve been giving a lot of time to my relationship with my wonderful girlfriend Anna (of HAWXX fame), and she recently put something in what seems to me a rather revolutionary way. 

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The post Endorsed and unendorsed feelings appeared first on Dark Optimism.

The below phone message is from Morgan Trowland, the 40-year old civil engineer recently imprisoned for three years after suspending himself and a Just Stop Oil banner over the Dartford Crossing of the M25 motorway, prompting the police to close the road for 40 hours.

30th April 2023 message from prison

(transcript)

Recorded a week ago, I found it a moving, powerful listen, and in light of the news that he has been threatened with losing all privileges in prison if he speaks to the media from there, I decided to share his voice here.

I should stress that I have no direct relationship with him or his co-defendant

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The post A message from prison (updated) – Just Stop Oil protestor Morgan Trowland appeared first on Dark Optimism.

 
The below phone message is from Morgan Trowland, the 40-year old civil engineer recently imprisoned for three years after suspending himself and a Just Stop Oil banner over the Dartford Crossing of the M25 motorway, prompting the police to close the road for 40 hours.

30th April 2023 message from prison

Recorded a week ago, I found it a moving, powerful listen, and in light of the news that he has been threatened with losing all privileges in prison if he speaks to the media from there, I decided to share his voice here.

I should stress that I have no direct relationship with him or his co-defendant…

The post A message from prison – Just Stop Oil protestor Morgan Trowland appeared first on Dark Optimism.