| Into The Between |
| Have you read “The Cultural Creatives” by Paul Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson? |
| It is an enthralling analysis of our time, with a central image running like a thread throughout. |
| The two American authors note that millions of people are dissatisfied with the values of the Modernist story of material success and climbing the greasy pole. They say these people have “separated” from Modernism and have headed into the Between, becoming Cultural Creatives seeking deeper spiritual values. |
| The journey through the Between can bring an earth-shaking crisis of meaning for people, a deconstruction of the self. |
| After the trek through the Between individuals can emerge finally in Integration. They have integrated ecological, spiritual values and are now showing up in society as effective change agents, as the elders in our midst. |
| I find this a compelling image and it corresponds to what I sense is happening around me. I meet people who tell me that they have been in a process of deconstruction for years. This is true, for example, of some university-trained scientists now in middle age. |
| More and more people in the rich world are identifying themselves as Cultural Creatives. In May 2004 I went on a beautiful one-week pilgrimage in the French Pyrenees with 10 other people from Britain, the United States, Japan and Brazil. One fellow walker from Minnesota had recently read “The Cultural Creatives” and was full of praise for the book. By the end of our walk we had all assumed the identity of Cultural Creatives and were proud to wear the badge. |
| Ray and Anderson argue that at the end of Modernism three possible scenarios beckon. The first they call Falling Apart, with ecological crisis and the gap between rich and poor leading first to the breakdown of democracy and later to the end of civilization. |
| The second scenario, The Highly Adaptive World, is the rosiest picture. Cultural Creatives work together and rapidly develop ways to make our world economy ecologically sustainable. |
| The third scenario, Muddling our Way to Transformation, gets their vote as the most likely human response. This scenario, they say, could include devastating suffering, perhaps new plagues triggered by climate change. Then, after things have reached a pretty awful state, the learning kicks in and societies finally adapt. |
| Where does business stand in all of this? My guess is that it is heading off into the Between. Some mainstream voices seem to be suggesting this. |
| Sir John Whitmore, in his book “Coaching for Performance”, asks: “Could the global business community be approaching a collective crisis of meaning?” He detects telltale signs, he says, with both corporate ethics and the environment posing unprecedented challenges to business. |
| With the world at this monumental crossroads, the need for coaching could not be clearer. |
| Stephen Powell, July 23, 2004 |
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