The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with hands clasped that we might act with restraint, that we might leave room for the life that is destined to come. 
​~ Terry Tempest Williams
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Much has shaped the dominant culture of disconnection and ethos of separation that we currently live with. Materialism, the rise of reductionist, mechanistic thinking, and a consumer culture to name a few, have distanced us from the experience of life, and led us away from a posture of humility, reverence, and awe for life. When we forget that we belong to this life, we lose perspective, and as Mother Teresa famously said, we forget “that we belong to each other.” Chief Seattle reminds us that we too have forgotten our deep belonging to the Earth,“The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth.” This misperception, rooted in disconnection, is apparent in the dire ecological challenges we face today. 

We have forgotten much of this wisdom, and are experiencing dire collective consequences such as the weakening of our individual and collective imagination and capacity for wonder, an inability to navigate complexity, an orientation around pathology rather than health, and an “every-person-for-themselves” ethos that lacks empathy. Self awareness is lacking, vitality declines, and joy is at a minimum; leading to a culture where loneliness is a global epidemic, and suicide and addiction are far too common. 

Culture mirrors what is at the center of it.  We have a conscious choice when it comes to cultural design. We can grow fear and disconnection, or we can grow connection and vitality. There is a natural ripple effect when it comes to culture building–starting with the individual, to the community of regenerative culture builders, to the community and place they are embedded in, and beyond. When life in a person is taken care of as it develops, we eventually grow communities and cultures over time that reflect that vitality. When we don’t take care of life in a person as it develops over time, we grow symptoms of disconnection. 

To build a regenerative culture, we must be aware of the challenges we face within the context of a culture in decline. We then must have the tools to support human development and to build a beloved community, eventually creating a regenerative culture that is connected to, and takes care of, the vitality in ourselves, one another, and the Earth.  Sourced Design situates human development at the center of the model, then moves out to support the building of beloved community, that in place over time, leads to a regenerative culture that restores relationship between humans and this Earth.

​The photo on this webpage was created by Springhouse learners and the Beehive Design Collective. Several years ago we collaborated on a project exploring how teens nationwide felt about their educational experiences. From that data, this mural was created.