Dear friend,

When we set out to make this issue on all that has risen to the surface in 2020, it wasn’t clear exactly what to say. As I write this, immersed in the incredible reflections and learnings from this year that fill these pages, I am even less sure that there is a narrative to weave and put forward right now. What I can share from my experience is that there have been several moments over the past couple of months when my thoughts turn to where we are, and suddenly I’ll be hit with an overwhelming feeling of despair, longing and love. That feeling, I have come to understand, is grief – grief for all that has been lost over this time: lives, jobs, freedoms, ecosystems, dignity, road trips, the ability to see loved ones, hope, gatherings and so much more. Some of it we might get back if we decide it’s important enough; a lot we won’t.

When we sit with this loss, and even when we don’t, there’s no denying the truth of our impact on the planet and each other – we have the imagery now of those blazing fires, we have the horror of George Floyd’s last words in custody, we have entire industries, businesses and lifestyles put on hold for a tiny, fast-moving virus that has taken hundreds of thousands of lives. We can no longer look away from how much has been devastated by some of the structures we’ve created, and the illusion we’ve been sold that we are separate from everything. Perhaps if I was to say anything with certainty about this year, it’s that it has changed us. We have, as Bayo Akomolafe puts it, “become alien” to the people we once were – our desires, perceptions and minds are different now. Consciousness is rising.

In this issue, we hear from some of our community about what has been shifting for them over the past eight months – how lockdown in particular has challenged assumptions and posited fresh thinking around happiness and success. We also invited a small group to share with us their visions of an ideal world in 20 years’ time. I found it so moving to read their responses, and to observe how much creative capacity we hold between us. Even though we might not be able to see this moment for what it is right now, there are so many people charged to make sure that wherever we’re going is more just, more caring and more beautiful than where we’ve come from.

That promise of tomorrow feels possible when we see leaders emerge like the Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney, Jess Scully, and Ella Noah Bancroft, who runs women’s returning gatherings in the Northern Rivers. I’m excited for you to meet them – and all the people who share with us in this issue.

Sending love,

Nathan