Maddy Harland

Where is our home and how do we travellers in space and time find our way back to it? That is Mark Boyle’s lifetime quest and this is the latest episode in his journeying.

In facing the problems of the world head on and seeking solutions, we are frequently told that we need to develop a new narrative. This can seem quite abstract and even a tall order as so much needs to be changed and so quickly if we are to slow down the great challenges of our time like climate chaos and the Sixth Mass Extinction. It may seem like a mouse standing in front of a careering juggernaut, yet we know that how we think influences the world that we create. When we think and act collectively we can have the power to change everything.

I have always been blessed with privilege. I grew up in a family with two parents, with a dad who gave up his nationality of birth to become British and subsequently had a very successful career. I have always had enough to eat, a roof over my head, good health, family, a good education and a white skin. Permaculture teacher and renowned author, Starhawk, taught me to acknowledge and be grateful for that privilege. It is an ongoing and profound lesson as privilege and our awareness of its systemic effects are often unconscious.