90 NATURE-BASED EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY
small wind that is a part of the large wind that surrounds us. Stoknes
calls us to reawaken to the active creative process, the poiesis of the
air, in the shifting clouds, the endless changing colors of sunrise
and sunset, the everyday magic of fog and rainbows. This is not the
magic of supernatural power but the “magic of the real” (p.214). He
invites us to “walk into a vibrant forest and reimagine the exchange
and fine-tuned communication everywhere around you, the complex
interaction of birdcalls, of pollen and pheromones, dense patterns of
light, sound, smell, and more all hosted and held and mixed by the
air” (pp.215–216).
Stoknes echoes the earlier ideas of archetypal psychologist
James Hillman (1995) who asserts that our individual symptoms of
depression and anxiety are not just personal pathology but a normal
reaction to the world in which we live. For both Hillman and Stoknes,
symptoms reflect what the soul is trying to tell us, not just problems to
be fixed. We must ask what story the symptoms of climate change are
telling us about the state of the Earth and about the state of our own
minds and souls. We must make an epistemological shift from simply
explaining our personal and ecological pathologies to understanding
the messages of these symptoms as a call for a shift in values and
worldviews. Stoknes believes the symptoms of climate change will
not be addressed by a dualistic fight between good and evil, but by a
call to tell better stories about who we are and to act from the deepest
integrity of our souls. Stoknes spells out what is happening with the
challenges we face with climate change. He suggests reasons for our
inability to confront climate challenges, and he offers suggestions of
ways to move from denial to solutions by using social networks and
by reframing the challenges as conversations about ethics and values
and opportunities for wellbeing.Walking more gracefully in the world
Shifting paradigms is not easy. The physical, social and spiritual
realities of the world we live in are painful to see and experience.
New ways of thinking call for awareness, courage and action.