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Joanna Macy. Eco-philosopher and action researcher. Rest in Peace

My very first ARJ interview was with Joanna Macy. That was over 20 years ago back when there were no podcasts.

I had wanted to talk with Joanna about her work which integrated eco-philosophy and the practices of creative experiential education. Her works made a real difference for those who experienced them. Her books too – she was on the edge back then for deliberately brings Buddhist thought and Systems Thinking together.  She worked with change leaders, not the typical cast of characters then, but with youth and others whose passion had not yet gotten lost.

I believed then (and today) that her work has much to teach us about working with what blocks us from embracing and realizing the social and personal changes we desire. I learned from Macy how to acknowledge and address difficult emotions through creative practice. At the time she was unique in  drawing attention to what we now call Eco Anxiety, the kind of emotional wallpaper that deeply colors all our so-called rational efforts. Her work inspired me to find more balance between heart and mind and between sensitive nervous system and intellectualism. Through Joanna’s work and our conversations I found inspiration for doing better action research. I trust her impact continues to ripple through what we do and what we offer at AR+, i.e., the articles we develop and publish at ARJ and more recently our podcast and variety of community meetings.

May Joanna rest in peace. My original interview may be accessed at this link:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14767503030012005