Where to from here?

Reflecting on the past few weeks I’ve felt a wide spectrum of emotions from grief, frustration, numbness, inspiration and determination.

This has predominantly stemmed from two things:

1. Personal life events that have rattled, shaken but also strengthened my will and determination to live mindfully, in the present moment and cherishing those I love around me; and

2. The extreme disappointment and distress from the outcome from the recent referendum to determine whether Australia was to step up and formally recognise our Original Peoples of Australia in our Constitution and integrate a representative voice within policies, legislations and other important decisions that we make as a collective.

Due to these feelings, I have experienced a creative block and found it hard to find my authentic voice on platforms like LinkedIn without posting something just for the sake of it.

However, after taking time with beautiful friends - both former and new - and reconnecting with our awe-inspiring Yorta Yorta land at the incredible Strawberry Fields festival at Tocumwal, I feel like I’ve found my voice from the heart again and feel it’s time to speak up.

Source: Saskia Ranger

While Australia unfortunately let our Original Peoples of our land down by voting a majority “No” to enshrining a Voice to Parliament in our Constitution (with evidence to deem a heavy influence by the likes of Atlas Network), this isn’t the end of the road of opportunity. There is so much more that can be done.

For individuals this can materialise as listening to the voices of the Mob community to understand how we can live more connected to our beautiful country and each other. Each of us also has a responsibility with how we spend our money as with every dollar spent, we are voting on what our future looks like.

For corporations both small and big actions matter and have a larger impact that we often realise. These collective groups need to start educating the boards, leadership teams, clients, supply chains, employees and all other stakeholders as to how we can all work together to align ourselves with good practises to put our people and planet above profit.

As a species, especially in the Global North (this is made up of affluent countries such as Australia, the UK, the US, Canada and others), we need to consume less of the things that we simply just don’t need. Next time you’re at your local department store, I’d encourage you to take a moment to look around at all of the ‘stuff’ that is for sale. What purpose do these random items actually serve and do we actually NEED them. I’d be surprised if this exercise didn’t wake us all up a bit more to the path we have slipped down: endless consumption, consumerism and leaning into hedonistic pleasures.

Photo source: Forbes

Finally the public sector (the Government at all levels) has to continue stepping up to engage with the local communities through mechanisms such as co-design to apply a Systems Thinking approach to the policy reform and creation that will incentivise the right behaviours and discourage harmful behaviour to people and planet (such as building resilience and governance around climate action and misinformation respectively). This empowers each and every person’s agency and limits external control over people’s own choices.

There is so much to do but we are the best and most qualified species for the job. Innovation is our core skill and together we can make space for everyone (both human and non-human) and create prosperity for all while living within our planetary boundaries.

As Margaret Mead famously stated: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has."